4 ms·

you don’t need to wait 20 years, just pay $80!

wl 3y ago
Today, that's a metal detector that intentionally randomly goes off even if you don't have any metal. Not quite "standard" in my book.
- plagiarist 3y ago
  It is security theater. We just needed millions of dollars in equipment to go in so that Chertoff was able to get his payout. The frequency of false positives and false negatives is irrelevant.
- wl 3y ago
  For the downvoters because I can't edit anymore: No, this is not sarcasm about the quality of the metal detectors. The TSA intentionally configures their metal detectors to randomly trigger on people despite them not otherwise meeting the detection threshold. It's a different beep. It's a way to randomly select people for a body scan or a patdown.
Der_Einzige 3y ago
Don’t tell them about TSA pre check! It’s so wonderful because many people don’t know about it, so it keeps the line short! And definitely don’t tell them about global citizen!
- candiddevmike 3y ago
  > so it keeps the line short I've seen the TSA pre-check line be longer than the regular TSA line recently. I think there has been a big push to get folks into pre-check, including opening up more interview places and making it less of a pain in the ass to get. It's all a money grab at the end of the day.
  - orev 3y ago
    The types of checks they do in the PreCheck line are different and take less time, so even a longer line still moves quicker. There’s also far less chance of being behind a family with strollers, or someone in a wheelchair, which also slows things down. People with PreCheck are usually frequent travelers, and are more likely to be prepared (with everything out of their pockets, etc) when going through instead of having to wait for multiple rescans of the same person.
    - scarface_74 3y ago
      > There’s also far less chance of being behind a family with strollers, or someone in a wheelchair, which also slows things down Unless you fly out of MCO (Orlando)…
- phpisthebest 3y ago
  I dont travel every often, but the few times I have Pre-Check has always been longer or equal to normal check.. One time I was in a mid sized city airport, there was like 30 people in PreFlight Line, and 20 in the Normal line, I got through the initial ID Checkpoint faster with no precheck. lol Global Citizen may be worth it, but I only travel international about 1 time per year so...
  - easton 3y ago
    It costs like $10-$15 more than PreCheck, so probably worth it if you're close to an enrollment center.
  - laweijfmvo 3y ago
    Depends on the airport, it seems. SeaTac always has a full PreCheck line in my experience, and smaller airports often don't even have a PreCheck line!
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    It’s not just about the length of the lines. My wife and I take one way trips across the country while I work remotely… https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36767599 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36767599 My backpack has two computers (work and personal), an iPad, a portable USB C monitor, a keyboard and a mouse depending on the airport without PreCheck, I have to take everything out and put it in separate bins Not to mention taking my shoes and belt off. With precheck, I just dump everything in my pockets into a back pocket of my backpack and go through. Not to mention with Clear I even skip the precheck line and get go security faster.
    - phpisthebest 3y ago
      The airport in the city I fly out of have the upgraded scanners, nothing comes out of the bag any more. You do still have to take your shoes off though As more and more airports upgrade to the new scanners I see less and less of having to remove Electronics into separate bins. Even at aiports with the old scanners I have never removed mouse to go through security... and rarely do i do separate bins, 1 Bin for my Shoes, Belts, Jacket etc, 1 Bin for my Electronics, Laptop, Cell, SteamDeck, and Tablet all go in 1 bin, never had a problem

wl 3y ago

Today, that's a metal detector that intentionally randomly goes off even if you don't have any metal. Not quite "standard" in my book.

plagiarist 3y ago
It is security theater. We just needed millions of dollars in equipment to go in so that Chertoff was able to get his payout. The frequency of false positives and false negatives is irrelevant.
wl 3y ago
For the downvoters because I can't edit anymore: No, this is not sarcasm about the quality of the metal detectors. The TSA intentionally configures their metal detectors to randomly trigger on people despite them not otherwise meeting the detection threshold. It's a different beep. It's a way to randomly select people for a body scan or a patdown.

Der_Einzige 3y ago

Don’t tell them about TSA pre check! It’s so wonderful because many people don’t know about it, so it keeps the line short! And definitely don’t tell them about global citizen!

candiddevmike 3y ago
> so it keeps the line short I've seen the TSA pre-check line be longer than the regular TSA line recently. I think there has been a big push to get folks into pre-check, including opening up more interview places and making it less of a pain in the ass to get. It's all a money grab at the end of the day.
- orev 3y ago
  The types of checks they do in the PreCheck line are different and take less time, so even a longer line still moves quicker. There’s also far less chance of being behind a family with strollers, or someone in a wheelchair, which also slows things down. People with PreCheck are usually frequent travelers, and are more likely to be prepared (with everything out of their pockets, etc) when going through instead of having to wait for multiple rescans of the same person.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    > There’s also far less chance of being behind a family with strollers, or someone in a wheelchair, which also slows things down Unless you fly out of MCO (Orlando)…
phpisthebest 3y ago
I dont travel every often, but the few times I have Pre-Check has always been longer or equal to normal check.. One time I was in a mid sized city airport, there was like 30 people in PreFlight Line, and 20 in the Normal line, I got through the initial ID Checkpoint faster with no precheck. lol Global Citizen may be worth it, but I only travel international about 1 time per year so...
- easton 3y ago
  It costs like $10-$15 more than PreCheck, so probably worth it if you're close to an enrollment center.
- laweijfmvo 3y ago
  Depends on the airport, it seems. SeaTac always has a full PreCheck line in my experience, and smaller airports often don't even have a PreCheck line!
- scarface_74 3y ago
  It’s not just about the length of the lines. My wife and I take one way trips across the country while I work remotely… https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36767599 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36767599 My backpack has two computers (work and personal), an iPad, a portable USB C monitor, a keyboard and a mouse depending on the airport without PreCheck, I have to take everything out and put it in separate bins Not to mention taking my shoes and belt off. With precheck, I just dump everything in my pockets into a back pocket of my backpack and go through. Not to mention with Clear I even skip the precheck line and get go security faster.
  - phpisthebest 3y ago
    The airport in the city I fly out of have the upgraded scanners, nothing comes out of the bag any more. You do still have to take your shoes off though As more and more airports upgrade to the new scanners I see less and less of having to remove Electronics into separate bins. Even at aiports with the old scanners I have never removed mouse to go through security... and rarely do i do separate bins, 1 Bin for my Shoes, Belts, Jacket etc, 1 Bin for my Electronics, Laptop, Cell, SteamDeck, and Tablet all go in 1 bin, never had a problem