Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/aSIMULAtor/Flickr

Increased airline baggage fees have more passengers toting carry-on luggage, reports the Washington Post. The increased flow of baggage to be inspected has passed the costs on to the Transportation Security Administration, which in turn is passed on to taxpayers. According to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the influx of carry-on luggage is costing approximately $260 million per year.

More carry-on luggage requires more security

So long as carry-on luggage fits an airline’s parameters, travelers have the right to bring it aboard. However, as Napolitano reminded Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairwoman Sen. Mary Landrieu, nothing comes free:

“When you have to pay to check a bag, it increases carry-on luggage, and that means there is more to inspect at the gate and so forth for passengers to get on planes,” she said.

In order for the TSA to be able to function optimally, costs must be absorbed. What’s at stake currently is whether the airlines or U.S. taxpayers should be covering the cost of additional carry-on luggage. Napolitano suggested to Sen. Landrieu and her subcommittee colleagues that increased airport security fees be assessed on airline tickets. By adding an additional $5-$10 per ticket, Napolitano estimates TSA would take in $600 million more per year.

Airport security fees haven’t made it through Congress

An airport security fee is far from a new idea. It has appeared each year since the concept was first proposed in 2002. However, Congress has not approved the airline ticket cost increase. Fewer flights, higher ticket prices and other passenger fees have already contributed to the first profitable year for the airline industry since 2007. Government estimates place 2011 airline profits at $5 billion and $5.6 billion in 2012. Perhaps Congress doesn’t want to push its luck with more fees.

Baggage policies for economy airlines

Knowing exactly what an airline’s baggage policies entail is important before hitting the gate. You may be surprised by what’s free and what isn’t. In general, wheelchairs are checked in as free baggage and do not count toward a traveler’s baggage allotment. Certain airlines allow children’s strollers for free without counting as part of the luggage allowance. In most cases, airlines won’t accept luggage heavier than 100 pounds as checked in baggage. Here are some baggage policy highlights for a trio of major economy airlines:

• Southwest – Two checked bags up to 50 pounds each are free. Extra and oversized luggage ranges from $25 to more than $100.
• JetBlue – One bag weighing 50 pounds or less may be checked for free. The second checked bag costs $50. Up to a 40-pound carry-on luggage piece is also free. Excess or oversized pieces run $50 to $100.
• Virgin America – First checked bag costs $25 and may weigh up to 70 pounds. Subsequent check-ins up to 50 pounds are $25 . Excess and oversized bags run $10 to $50 each.

Sources

About.com Air Travel

Washington Post

Cenk Uygur vs. Ana Kasperian on carry-on luggage

Is racial profiling bigotry by definition, or is it a pragmatic response to terrorism? (Photo Credit: CC BY/publik 15/Flickr)

Georgetown University journalism professor and feminist Muslim reform activist Asra Q. Nomani believes that it’s time for the United States to be pragmatic when it comes to homeland security, rather than being politically correct. In a recent op-ed piece in The Daily Beast, Nomani argues that racial profiling and religious profiling are the most practical way to handle the increasing number of Muslim terrorist threats. She believes that the route the Transportation Security Administration has taken to maintain homeland security is inefficient.

Racial profiling as a response to religious ideology

According to Nomani, the U.S. must open a dialogue regarding the use of racial profiling in order to address what terrorism experts classify as an explosion of religious ideology that drives terrorist organizations and individuals to heinous acts. Beginning with 9/11 and moving forward with numerous smaller incidents in the U.S. including the recent potential car bomb threat in Portland, Ore., Asra Nomani asserts that terrorism has been perpetrated in large part by Muslims. In Nomani’s estimation, the proper response by airport security – while difficult – would be racial and religious profiling. But there would be a twist, according to Nomani – it would be rational profiling.

“Profiling doesn’t have to be about discrimination, persecution or harassment. We are not arguing that the TSA should send anyone named Mohammad to be waterboarded somewhere between the first-class lounge and the Pizza Hut,” writes Nomani.

Racial profiling is about threat assessment, argues Nomani

Those with nothing to hide at the airport should have no reason for concern, Nomani states. In a recent debate over the issue of racial profiling, she said: “Profile me. Profile my family.” She said she is willing to be subjected to profiling because “we in the Muslim community have failed to police ourselves.” Following recognizable “trouble signs” for terrorism via profiling would solve the problem, Nomani argues.

At the beginning of the debate, 37 percent of the audience supported religious and racial profiling, with 33 percent against and 30 percent undecided. After the debate, 49 percent voiced their support for racial profiling, while 40 percent were against it and the remainder were undecided. It was an academic debate, however. Whether racial profiling and religious profiling could gain popular traction remains to be seen.

Sources

BYU Journal of Public Law paper on rational profiling

The Daily Beast

Do the benefits outweigh the costs?

(Photo Credit: CC BY-ND/Redacted News)

Airport security post-9/11 has been a tedious process for all involved, from passengers to screeners. Sometimes the tedium crosses the line into invasion of personal space. Hot Air reports that a TSA official in Chattanooga, Tenn., showed that she could perhaps use some sensitivity training after a recent episode with a cranky child. Captured on video by the child’s father, the TSA official pats down the 3-year-old as the child writhes and screams.

TSA pat down began with teddy bear tantrum

The TSA pat down of 3-year-old Mandy Simon – daughter of Houston TV news reporter Steve Simon – began when Mandy was separated from her teddy bear at a scanner checkpoint. Mandy began to cry inconsolably, and TSA flagged the child for “closer inspection,” meaning that a pat down and hand scanner were mandated. Whether TSA officials had serious reason to believe that Mandy Simon was an explosives mule for al-Qaeda is unclear; such things have occurred with children and the mentally impaired in Iraq. Thus, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security mandates that such invasive procedures occur, despite their intensely unpopular standing with passengers and airport staff.

Yet the video of the incident speaks for itself. As Hot Air suggests, perhaps TSA could have taken mom and dad aside for questioning, to see if an inspection was truly necessary.

The U.S. could take a page out of Israel’s book

According to reports, Israel has not had an airport security breach in decades. Their methods are said to be both more comprehensive and more subtle than what TSA currently uses in the United States. If TSA screeners were properly trained in what to look for, the random sample method would be unnecessary, argues the Wall Street Journal. “Mugging random 3-year-olds,” as Hot Air puts it, would be a thing of the uninformed past. If a young child must be searched, making a game of it in efforts to redirect a child’s fear or anger could help make the process more efficient and less traumatic. Proper training – and proper attitude from someone in what amounts to a highly specialized customer service position – could help restore Janet Napolitano and the TSA’s severely tarnished images.

Sources

Hot Air

TSA must learn how to work with children