AncienTrails

Fall                                                                   Samhain Moon

Trip over.  A key reason I dislike our state security apparatus (in addition to the primary one of there being a state security apparatus at all) is its unpredictability and its inscrutability.

My friend Tom Crane, who flies many thousands of miles a year, a pro at the airport dance, observed quite a while back that smaller airports are more restrictive because they see exceptions infrequently and don’t know how to respond to them.  The airport at Lihue, Kauai gave me an early instance of this when they detained me to investigate my DVD player which had already transited, without comment, mainland security.

In Atlanta last night I experienced pre-check screening.  My eligibility for this surprise, a pleasant one (which was a surprise in itself), came at the TSA kiosk for security.  The woman said, “Pre-check screening.”  And pointed.  No explanation.  She pointed toward a roped off section.  A TSA officer opened it for me, provided a cryptic explanation and pointed me toward another roped off area.  No one was there to open it so I had to move the stanchion myself and go around.

In a second line.  Checked again.  The TSA person here looked at my i.d. and my boarding pass, blew out her cheeks for whatever reason and passed me through.  At this point I encountered a miracle.  I passed through security with shoes on, belt on, all objects in my backpack and went through an old style metal detector.  No buzzes, no scans, no dirty looks.  Just straightforward, go on through.  Thanks.  Whoa.

After my experience in Charlotte on Saturday, this highlights the unpredictability of the whole process.  Here’s a note from the TSA website about precheck screening.*  If you read it, you’ll note it says something about pre-flight volunteering.  Nope.  Did not.  A mystery.

Here’s a link about the program and how to access it.

*TSA Pre✓™ How it Works