4 ms·

For the lay - could someone explain the benefit of a private airport (as opposed to a fleet of private planes)? The speed at which you can get through security

For the lay - could someone explain the benefit of a private airport (as opposed to a fleet of private planes)? The speed at which you can get through security can't be worth that much - can it?

Evbn 14y ago
That's a half hour savings at leat.
jasonjei 14y ago
Don't you still have to go through TSA even to board your own private plane? I could be mistaken...
- ratsbane 14y ago
  No.
- balbaugh 14y ago
  From my very limited experience of flying on private planes, I have never gone through any security or undergone any form of inspection by TSA.
  - neurotech1 14y ago
    From what I understand, its at the discretion of the Captain or owner/operator of the jet, and what their FAA Air Operators Certificate allows. For charter flights with vetted/verified clients, that is very minimal security, and rarely by the TSA. Technically speaking, TSA, who are not federal agents, have to be invited onto an aircraft by the Captain.
    - saraid216 14y ago
      Er. I'm a bit confused. How is the TSA not a federal agency? I know there are state transit authorities, but the TSA is federal, no?
      - icebraining 14y ago
        A government agent or a federal agent is an agent of a federal law enforcement agency. They're a federal agency, but not of law enforcement (AFAIK).
        roc 14y ago
        I wonder where the TSA VIPR teams land on that axis. As I understand it, they can be comprised of actual law enforcement personnel, including federal. But don't necessarily. And even if a VIPR team included federal law enforcement personnel, it's not clear that they're necessarily acting with federal law enforcement authority. As if the TSA wasn't a confusing-enough bureaucratic monstrosity.
        neurotech1 14y ago
        Not sure.. but my comment was referring to TSA Screeners, which despite labels to the contrary are not federal agents or (sworn) federal officers. My guess (IANAL etc) they can be refused permission to search a private aircraft without probable cause or invitation by the Captain, same deal for any federal agent.
        roc 14y ago
        Right. But screeners can also be on VIPR teams. And as the VIPR program falls under the TSA's law enforcement office, it seems an open question whether random TSA gate goons gain federal law enforcement authority in those situations. The old rules are simply not something I'd be confident applies. In the trivial case, sure, a gate agent isn't a federal officer. But if a TSA agent were to appear at a private aircraft, that would be out of the ordinary. And once you start talking about out-of-the-ordinary set-ups, it's worth noting that even a random TSA gate rapist may have out-of-the-ordinary legal authority in some situations. To say nothing of what law enforcement officers may be operating under the TSA's purview in said out-of-the-ordinary set-ups.
        neurotech1 14y ago
- jasonjei 14y ago
  http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/private-plane-public-menace/308335/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/private-...
theorique 14y ago
Private flights (aka "general aviation") have to take off from somewhere. I don't know if there are currently private flights taking off from SJC - I think the Google executive planes take off and land at the nearby military base.
- newhouseb 14y ago
  You mean at Moffett Field, which is operated by NASA. For what it's worth, there's already a Signature terminal near SFO that private jets can fly in and out of, so Google is just saving the 10 extra minutes it takes to get to SFO by lobbying for a Signature terminal at SJC.
  - ecspike 14y ago
    10 minutes by air but the on-ground transit time difference from SFO and SJC to the Googleplex is significant.
- prostoalex 14y ago
  There are quite a few jets parked in SJC by Coleman Rd, both marked and unmarked (SJSU and San Jose Sharks have their own jets), so yes.
- neurotech1 14y ago
  Moffett Field (a NASA-run federal airfield, and former Naval Air Station) has significant operating restrictions for Google, and there is probably strict limits on what aircraft they can base there, and how often they takeoff and land there.
  - theorique 14y ago
    That's the one. Not military - my mistake.

For the lay - could someone explain the benefit of a private airport (as opposed to a fleet of private planes)? The speed at which you can get through security can't be worth that much - can it?

Evbn 14y ago

That's a half hour savings at leat.

jasonjei 14y ago

Don't you still have to go through TSA even to board your own private plane? I could be mistaken...

ratsbane 14y ago
No.
balbaugh 14y ago
From my very limited experience of flying on private planes, I have never gone through any security or undergone any form of inspection by TSA.
- neurotech1 14y ago
  From what I understand, its at the discretion of the Captain or owner/operator of the jet, and what their FAA Air Operators Certificate allows. For charter flights with vetted/verified clients, that is very minimal security, and rarely by the TSA. Technically speaking, TSA, who are not federal agents, have to be invited onto an aircraft by the Captain.
  - saraid216 14y ago
    Er. I'm a bit confused. How is the TSA not a federal agency? I know there are state transit authorities, but the TSA is federal, no?
    - icebraining 14y ago
      A government agent or a federal agent is an agent of a federal law enforcement agency. They're a federal agency, but not of law enforcement (AFAIK).
      - roc 14y ago
        I wonder where the TSA VIPR teams land on that axis. As I understand it, they can be comprised of actual law enforcement personnel, including federal. But don't necessarily. And even if a VIPR team included federal law enforcement personnel, it's not clear that they're necessarily acting with federal law enforcement authority. As if the TSA wasn't a confusing-enough bureaucratic monstrosity.
        neurotech1 14y ago
        Not sure.. but my comment was referring to TSA Screeners, which despite labels to the contrary are not federal agents or (sworn) federal officers. My guess (IANAL etc) they can be refused permission to search a private aircraft without probable cause or invitation by the Captain, same deal for any federal agent.
        roc 14y ago
        Right. But screeners can also be on VIPR teams. And as the VIPR program falls under the TSA's law enforcement office, it seems an open question whether random TSA gate goons gain federal law enforcement authority in those situations. The old rules are simply not something I'd be confident applies. In the trivial case, sure, a gate agent isn't a federal officer. But if a TSA agent were to appear at a private aircraft, that would be out of the ordinary. And once you start talking about out-of-the-ordinary set-ups, it's worth noting that even a random TSA gate rapist may have out-of-the-ordinary legal authority in some situations. To say nothing of what law enforcement officers may be operating under the TSA's purview in said out-of-the-ordinary set-ups.
        neurotech1 14y ago
jasonjei 14y ago
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/private-plane-public-menace/308335/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/private-...

theorique 14y ago

Private flights (aka "general aviation") have to take off from somewhere. I don't know if there are currently private flights taking off from SJC - I think the Google executive planes take off and land at the nearby military base.

newhouseb 14y ago
You mean at Moffett Field, which is operated by NASA. For what it's worth, there's already a Signature terminal near SFO that private jets can fly in and out of, so Google is just saving the 10 extra minutes it takes to get to SFO by lobbying for a Signature terminal at SJC.
- ecspike 14y ago
  10 minutes by air but the on-ground transit time difference from SFO and SJC to the Googleplex is significant.
prostoalex 14y ago
There are quite a few jets parked in SJC by Coleman Rd, both marked and unmarked (SJSU and San Jose Sharks have their own jets), so yes.
neurotech1 14y ago
Moffett Field (a NASA-run federal airfield, and former Naval Air Station) has significant operating restrictions for Google, and there is probably strict limits on what aircraft they can base there, and how often they takeoff and land there.
- theorique 14y ago
  That's the one. Not military - my mistake.