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The Transportation Security Administration is considering eliminating passenger screening at more than 150 small and medium-sized airports across the US, according to senior agency officials and internal documents obtained by CNN.
The proposal, if implemented, would mark a major change for air travel in the US, following nearly two decades of TSA presence since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and comes as the Trump administration has stepped up screening measures for items such as laptops and tablets.
Internal documents from a TSA working group say the proposal to cut screening at small and some medium-sized airports serving aircraft with 60 seats or fewer could bring a "small (non-zero) undesirable increase in risk related to additional adversary opportunity."
The internal documents from June and July suggest the move could save $115 million annually, money that could be used to bolster security at larger airports.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by khallow on Thursday August 02 2018, @12:30PM (7 children)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:22PM (3 children)
I wonder if this will create a business opportunity for flights that avoid large airports altogether.
Should be interesting when Southwest starts flying 737s out of smaller, regional airports (some of them do have big enough runways). Trumptards need another 9/11 to justify their excesses ... how long before one happens in the wake of standing down our security, however imperfect and theatrical it may be? But hey, most of the victims will be in urban areas, and they aren't his base anyway.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bradley13 on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:30PM (1 child)
"Trumptards need another 9/11 to justify their excesses"
TSA is an equal opportunity joke. It may have started under The Shrub, but Obama kept it going just fine for eight long years.
Now, under Trump, they're considering eliminating some of the useless theater - and you somehow manage to twist that to fit your anti-Trump agenda?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday August 02 2018, @06:17PM
Now, under Trump, they're considering eliminating some of the useless theater - and you somehow manage to twist that to fit your anti-Trump agenda?
Yes, in the same way you are twisting this Obama-admin proposal into your ant-Obama agenda.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday August 02 2018, @03:16PM
Already happens when traffic justifies it and the airport can handle it, just not by Southwest.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article149355429.html [fresnobee.com]
http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12416565/alaska-airlines-adds-boeing-737-800-service-to-operations-at-redmond-municipal-airport [aviationpros.com]
https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2018/05/22/united-airlines-making-the-slopes-in-vail-alot.html [bizjournals.com]
But my guess is that if traffic flow is big enough for 737 service then it probably won't lose TSA coverage (just guessing).
This sig for rent.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bradley13 on Thursday August 02 2018, @01:33PM (2 children)
"I wonder if this will create a business opportunity for flights that avoid large airports altogether."
That would be great - a return to the pre-hub days, when there were a lot more direct flights between cities. It may be less efficient for the airlines, but it is a lot more convenient for passengers. And no TSA? Wow!
Of course, if this happens, it's entirely likely that TSA will be back with a vengeance. Otherwise, they might be shown to be as irrelevant as they actually are...
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 02 2018, @04:58PM (1 child)
The industry is already moving in this direction. Aside from the A380, smaller planes are being introduced, replacing large ones in more direct routes.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by legont on Friday August 03 2018, @12:58AM
Yep; they are also usually cheaper.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.