Sherman's Travel

Every time I set foot in an airport I’m overtaken by the urge to look like I know what I’m doing, which is quickly followed by a desire to actually know what I’m doing. And sometimes I fail on both counts. While I’ve learned much about travel the hard way, I do try to learn from my blunders. Here now, five common mistakes that are all too easy to make at the airport, and how to avoid them. Read more

We’ve all been there: midway through your flight, having exhausted all your entertainment materials, you think, “Hey, now would be an excellent time to finish my whittling project.” Or start a pick-up lacrosse game. Or practice your golf swing. Whatever the case, you’ve got to fight back the urge, because all of those activities require items you’re simply not allowed to bring on an airplane. Until now.

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I, for one, have always been under the impression that celebs are constantly receiving special treatment – whether it’s being comped at a restaurant or skipping the security line at the airport. Well, as it turns out, the later is not actually true! Read more

Since we’re being open and honest here, I have a confession: I’m a pretty demanding travel companion. I want to get to the airport on time (but definitely not too early); I follow the rules and take my belt and shoes off and always take my toiletries and laptop out at security; but most importantly, I just want to get to my gate quickly (though I’m generally okay with a quick stop to grab some airport comfort food). Here are some reasons why I’m not the biggest fan of traveling with friends and family (pets are another story).

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With the holiday travel season underway, expect airports to be flush with harried families and short-fused fliers. In these merry and maddening days, members of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are often seen as the nemesis of stress-free travel. But the TSA understands your pain and has even released a helpful guide of how they plan to accommodate the high-volume of customers, and what customers can do to make their experience manageable. Some of the agency’s tips include:

Take Advantage of Streamlined Security Screenings

Waiting is the hardest part. Ask a flier to list their travel annoyances, and security screenings will often appear near the top of the list. Frequent passengers can benefit from a more efficient security process, which may cause even the most veteran travelers to fantasize about hopping the line and making a break for their terminal. The TSA PreCheck program allows eligible passengers to enjoy a streamlined experience, by-passing some of the more vexing aspects of the screening process. Such perks may include keeping shoes, jackets, and belts on, as well as being able to hold standard-compliant liquids and gels in a carry-on bag. Read more

While the European Union announced Monday that they would be putting a halt to the use of potentially carcinogenic body scanners, the TSA holds that these machines are “still completely safe” and are “well within applicable national safety standards.” This is following an investigation conducted by ProPublica/PBS NewsHour that found that the X-ray scanners might cause a small number of cancer cases.

At first, the Transportation Security Administration announced that they would begin their own independent study of the effects of their X-ray body scanners. However, at a Senate hearing last week, TSA Administrator John Pistole abandoned his previous commitment and stated that he believed the machines “are still completely safe” after reading a draft report on the body scanners that was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

There are currently 500 body scanners in use in airports across the United States, half of which employ the potentially carcinogenic radiation known as backscatter. The amount of radiation from a backscatter is equivalent to the amount of radiation received when flying at a high altitude for two minutes.

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Following up on last week’s announcement that the days of taking off your shoes in the airport security line are numbered, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress yesterday that the TSA will institute new policies at airport security checkpoints for children under 12. In the coming months, kids will no longer have to take off their shoes to go through security, and overall will be subjected to fewer pat-downs. The new procedures are part of efforts to take less time scrutinizing “low-risk” passengers so the TSA can increase focus on those that could pose a security threat, Napolitano said. A widely publicized video last April of a 6-year-old receiving a rigorous pat-down prompted calls for changes to how the TSA treats children. Napolitano cautioned that all passengers, regardless of risk level, may be subjected to random checks, but overall we’re happy to hear airport security will soon be less intrusive for kids.

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The days of air travelers having to take off their shoes during security screenings are numbered, according to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. “We are moving towards an intelligence and risk-based approach to how we screen,” she said at a recent forum in Washington, according to Bloomberg. The announcement comes 10 years after the 9/11 attacks that redefined air travel and security, domestically and abroad.

Better technology is the key to eradicating the policy on shoe checks, which stems from the 2001 attempt by Richard Reid to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes while on a flight from Paris to Miami. The Transportation Security Administration’s goal, according to an October 2009 report by the Government Accountability Office, was to have shoe scanners deployed at airports by 2015. These would only require passengers to step on a black mat to have their shoes scanned. No decision has been made on the technology.

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After nine years of the five-tiered, color-coded terror alert system, United States Department of Homeland Security has decided to officially end the system in late April. Since its establishment several months after the September 11 attacks, critics have ridiculed the five-level system, saying that it was ineffective and too broad to impact U.S. citizens in its intended manner. The ascending rainbow-colored terror alert system, with the lowest level alert being green and the most severe being red, has only fluctuated slightly and has not changed from yellow “elevated” since 2006, creating a discreditable system for many. In its place, the DHS will implement a National Terror Advisory System that will focus on advising defined geographical populations about precise threats. DHS hopes that the new, specified system will help U.S. travelers feel more secure rather than scare travelers with vague terms and colors.

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