Some fliers can skip security lines — for a price

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16487869/

While thousands of travelers queued up daily at Orlando International Airport, yanking off their shoes and shoving them through X-ray machines, a select few got to avoid the hassle during the latter part of 2006 — and passengers at four other airports nationally will soon join them.

These travelers, who paid a $100 fee and underwent a background check to be part of a test program, bypassed the line and stepped into what may be a glimpse of the future — they inserted a biometric identification card into a kiosk that scanned their irises and their fingerprints to verify their identity, placed a fingertip on an explosives scanning device and stood on a scanning platform that determined whether their footwear hid a bomb.

Operated by Verified Identity Pass Inc., a New York City-based company headed by Court TV founder Steven Brill, the GE Security screening kiosks will go into official use this month in Orlando and are expected to also begin operation at the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, San Jose, Calif., airports, and Terminal 7 at New York’s JFK International Airport. Only the shoe scanner has received Transportation Security Administration approval for official use to date, so customers won’t get the fingertip scan, at least initially.

“Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had that system in Denver right now?” said painting contractor John Fox as he traveled from Florida to his snow-walloped, jam-packed home airport recently. Even though he only flies about three times a year, he said he would sign up if Denver’s airport got the program. “It’s giving up a little privacy for efficiency. I’m all for it.”

So what's to prevent a terrorist(s) from exploiting this system? Bet they can find a way to get a clean background check.

[rinsd]

1. To answer yor question, likely little different from the system as it is now

"they inserted a biometric identification card into a kiosk that scanned their irises and their fingerprints to verify their identity, placed a fingertip on an explosives scanning device and stood on a scanning platform that determined whether their footwear hid a bomb ."

Its not like they take out their decoder rings and then aren't given a 2nd glance.

[rodeodance]

2. I read that the price will be much higher (when no longer test program)

[rinsd]

3. I did too. I thought it was in the $300 range

Which would make sense(economically) for the frequent biz traveler but not so much for someone flying just a few times a year.

[daleo]

4. Talk about creating a demand for a service

First, ramp up security and time wasting, then loosen it up...for a price.

[frylock]

6. what a racket

[piedmont]

15. Exactly.

The money-making racket we should have all expected from the corporate/federal alliance that is our government.

[VegasWolf]

5. I already bypass it by flying first class, many airports have private first class lanes. nt

[MooPie]

7. It doesn't seem worth it to me.

I fly out of Orlando several times a month and generally take less than 15 minutes to get through security. I've never seen more than one person utilizing the special security line and even then, I think they still have to go through the xray machines. I could be wrong about that though. At any rate, they're only gaining 10 minutes if that, for all of the money they spent.

[pitohui]

8. you must never fly out of mccarran

there are places where flying first class provides SIGNIFICANT savings in time, sometimes on the order of 2 hours!

orlando seems a strange place to do the test if there are no lines to begin with

but if we've learned one thing by now it's that dept. of homeland security is stupid-ass

i'd pay $100 a year if i was allowed to bring all the liquids i wanted on board, otherwise, as the other guy says, frequent flyers and first class flyers already jump the line

it's actually the exact same line in some airports, being first class just puts you at the head of it

[VegasWolf]

10. I use McCarran all the time. First Class has its own line here shared with flight attendants.

SFO just puts you at the head of the ordinary line.

[pitohui]

18. agreed i was responding to the other poster

who flies out of orlando and has never had to wait in line

[VegasWolf]

19. Yes, let him try that at McCarran! nt

[Danmel]

9. Wonder if they'll let me use it

I have a prosthetic- every time I fly (with a doctor's note btw), they drag me out of line, sequester me in a room of hostile female screeners, pat me down, make me expose my leg, dust me explosives (just in case this 46 year old, 5 foot tall, one legged Jewish mother) wants to blow up the place on which she, her husband are traveling. See, you didn't know this, but all of the 9-11 terrorists were really short Jewish female amputees!

If drives me crazy- it is discriminatory, and most of all it is stupid- they waste at least a half an hour checking to be sure I'm not going to explode. Who are they NOT checking while they are spending all their time on someone who is most dangerous when singing????

I wonder if I could pay $100.00 to avoid that humiliation each time I fly. I'm ready to drive to Canada and fly out of there rather than go through his crap every time I want or have to go somewhere.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. You know I had to fly fto Mexico

last year and was on crutches... and I know exactly what you are saying. Los Angeles was the worst.

I told my hubby, next time we fly out of Tijuana

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

11. I would take this in a second,

I travel for work constantly and I would kill for a way to avoid the TSA fucktard freakshow at LAX and SNA.
There is this one particular white trash asshole at T5 who I seem to get every single time.

Hey, has anyone noticed the TSA gang graffiti near LAX?

[depakid]

13. Always for a price. Republicans would sell their own mothers and children

If you paid enough. I figure that's the nature of these sorts of people. Always has been- and always will be.

Which is why I make sure to actively avoid them in my life.

[gratuitous]

14. Wow, no WAY terrorists could scrape together a hundred bucks!

And since TSA never eh-eh-ehver makes mistakes, this should be a perfect bypass for all us law abiding citizens!

[daleo]

16. Yep, $100 won't discourage Saudi billionaires

Like Mr. Bin Laden, who supposedly started all this fuss.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. shrug

I don't see it making much difference, I know someone who accidently traveled with his 9mm Glock from Houston to San Fransico and back in his carry-on on a day trip, he didn't notice he had it until he got home. So he went though TSA security in Houston AND San Fransico and neither found the gun. He figures they didn't notice it because it was upright and just looked like part of the suitcase.

The TSA is too busy looking for mouth wash and large paper clips and showing us business travellers just how much power billy bob meth mouth really has. "y'all wanna fly today?"