TicklingDuo
3rd Level Yellow Feather
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2001
- Messages
- 3,733
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Drew and I just went on a trip to WA last week. We had a great time. But, there were things we saw that upset us. With the whole post 9-11 talk, you'd think that security would be really tight. When we went to FL in December, it was pretty tight at each of the airports we were at. They even asked us to take sips of the drinks we had in our hands. When we went to Epcot, they were checking everyone's bags before letting them in. We were pleased at that. But then, things were still pretty fresh in everyone's minds.
Now, nearly a year later, with the nation on alert for possible attacks to mark the anniversary, you'd think that security would be at least as tight as it was in December. Not so! 🙁 When we flew out of Hartford's airport, security wasn't bad. They checked everything...taking a long time to examine the carry-on bags we had in the screeners. Checking and double-checking IDs and tickets. Again, we were pleased. When we transfered in Detroit, we had a very short time and remained within the secured area. But, we noticed plain clothes officials keeping an eye on things as we waited. Once again, our IDs were closely checked before boarding our flight. Not bad!
When we got to WA, one of our trips was to the Space Needle. Remember how concerned everyone was about security there and the possibility of that being hit? There was NO security whatsoever...even with a major event taking place in the park where the Needle is located. We could have taken anything we wanted in there unchallenged! (I even saw a couple of guys walking around with sheathed hunting/combat knives.)
Our trips to Mounts Rainier and St. Helen's were uneventful. They were drive-through attractions. So, there was little that could be done without searching every car that entered. Even then, it would be easy enough to turn a car into a bomb.
Our return trip was what upset me the most. We flew out of SeaTac airport...between Seattle and Tacoma. Security there was a joke! When we checked in to get our boarding passes, the woman wasn't even going to check our IDs. (We presented them anyway.) Once through that, we hung out in the ticket area for a while so that I could grab another smoke or two before our flight. I got yelled at and threatened with a hefty fine for smoking in a noon-smoking area outside. OK, fine. I moved to the one small area of a huge airport where smoking was allowed...outside of the baggage claim area. That's cool. I have no problem with that.
When it got closer to our departure time, we headed over to the trams to go to the boarding areas. There were airline people there as a show of security. All they did was look to see if we had tickets...and not a close look, either. I held up the folder our passes were in and said yes, when they asked if Drew was with me. We breezed through there and went on over to the gates. There, we went through screening. Since we had shorter hops and were expecting no chance for real food on our return trip, I'd packed a cooler with soda and sandwhiches in ice and stuck it in my backpack under my books. Before putting my bag through, I mentioned to the guy that he'd want to be sure the bag remained upright in case any of the ice had melted. I even offered to take the cooler out of the bag. (I didn't want it leaking into the scanner.) He thanked me and let the bag go through as is while I went through the detector. I was watching him to be sure that the bag didn't tip and leak. He never even looked at the screen! I could have had anything in there. The detector beeped. So, I was pulled aside to check with the wand. As I sat facing the scanner, I noticed that this guy wasn't looking at the screen on anyone's bags! What the hell was he even there for?! 😡
When we reached the gate itself, we just hung out reading until it was time to leave. Again, our tickets and ID were hardly paid attention to. They scanned the boarding passes and barely looked at the IDs or us. I don't know. Maybe they figured we'd be okay after having gotten through 2 other "security" perimitters by then. Still, it bugged us.
We transferred in Minneapolis on the way back. Again, we remained within the secure area. Again, there were people watching everyone. I even spotted a "hidden" camera. Our passes and IDs were properly checked going through the gate. We had an uneventful return flight.
What got me about the return trip was that SeaTac is an international port. You'd think that security would be tighter there than at other airports. Instead, it was almost non-existant. These things really need to be properly investigated and dealt with!
OK, I'm done ranting now.
Ann
Now, nearly a year later, with the nation on alert for possible attacks to mark the anniversary, you'd think that security would be at least as tight as it was in December. Not so! 🙁 When we flew out of Hartford's airport, security wasn't bad. They checked everything...taking a long time to examine the carry-on bags we had in the screeners. Checking and double-checking IDs and tickets. Again, we were pleased. When we transfered in Detroit, we had a very short time and remained within the secured area. But, we noticed plain clothes officials keeping an eye on things as we waited. Once again, our IDs were closely checked before boarding our flight. Not bad!
When we got to WA, one of our trips was to the Space Needle. Remember how concerned everyone was about security there and the possibility of that being hit? There was NO security whatsoever...even with a major event taking place in the park where the Needle is located. We could have taken anything we wanted in there unchallenged! (I even saw a couple of guys walking around with sheathed hunting/combat knives.)
Our trips to Mounts Rainier and St. Helen's were uneventful. They were drive-through attractions. So, there was little that could be done without searching every car that entered. Even then, it would be easy enough to turn a car into a bomb.
Our return trip was what upset me the most. We flew out of SeaTac airport...between Seattle and Tacoma. Security there was a joke! When we checked in to get our boarding passes, the woman wasn't even going to check our IDs. (We presented them anyway.) Once through that, we hung out in the ticket area for a while so that I could grab another smoke or two before our flight. I got yelled at and threatened with a hefty fine for smoking in a noon-smoking area outside. OK, fine. I moved to the one small area of a huge airport where smoking was allowed...outside of the baggage claim area. That's cool. I have no problem with that.
When it got closer to our departure time, we headed over to the trams to go to the boarding areas. There were airline people there as a show of security. All they did was look to see if we had tickets...and not a close look, either. I held up the folder our passes were in and said yes, when they asked if Drew was with me. We breezed through there and went on over to the gates. There, we went through screening. Since we had shorter hops and were expecting no chance for real food on our return trip, I'd packed a cooler with soda and sandwhiches in ice and stuck it in my backpack under my books. Before putting my bag through, I mentioned to the guy that he'd want to be sure the bag remained upright in case any of the ice had melted. I even offered to take the cooler out of the bag. (I didn't want it leaking into the scanner.) He thanked me and let the bag go through as is while I went through the detector. I was watching him to be sure that the bag didn't tip and leak. He never even looked at the screen! I could have had anything in there. The detector beeped. So, I was pulled aside to check with the wand. As I sat facing the scanner, I noticed that this guy wasn't looking at the screen on anyone's bags! What the hell was he even there for?! 😡
When we reached the gate itself, we just hung out reading until it was time to leave. Again, our tickets and ID were hardly paid attention to. They scanned the boarding passes and barely looked at the IDs or us. I don't know. Maybe they figured we'd be okay after having gotten through 2 other "security" perimitters by then. Still, it bugged us.
We transferred in Minneapolis on the way back. Again, we remained within the secure area. Again, there were people watching everyone. I even spotted a "hidden" camera. Our passes and IDs were properly checked going through the gate. We had an uneventful return flight.
What got me about the return trip was that SeaTac is an international port. You'd think that security would be tighter there than at other airports. Instead, it was almost non-existant. These things really need to be properly investigated and dealt with!
OK, I'm done ranting now.
Ann
