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TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

washingtonpost.com

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Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#111
post #22

From the last few paragraphs: > There is an official way for travelers to bypass long TSA waits if they’re willing to spend: hiring concierge services to escort them through security. > Perq Soleil is an airport arrival and departure assistance service that can help travelers through TSA in about a minute flat by accessing alternative lines usually reserved for airport staff and airline personnel. The company — which…

The people arriving on private jets have always bypassed these bureaucratic procedures. Brotherhood and equality.

As somebody who doesn't travel on private jets, I'm very, very happy that I'm not anywhere close to those people.

Imagine the pandemonium that would ensue if Taylor Swift were to enter an airport terminal through the normal entrance.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question itself feels like it calls for "Schoolhouse Rock" level basics about how the federal government works. The federal government does not work like a private escrow account where a fee collected for X automatically goes to Y. Tax revenue comes in to the Treasury, and Congress decides what agencies are allowed to spend. So even if TSA screening is funded in part by a per-ticket user fee, TSA still does not g…

SFO doesn’t use TSA for security and works like this with whatever contractor it hire. I wish all airports would just use private security funded via usage fees, then we would never be held hostage because some whacko wanted to use masked thugs to beat up and shoot Americans.

Where did you get the information that SFO doesn't use TSA?

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SFO doesn’t use TSA for security and works like this with whatever contractor it hire. I wish all airports would just use private security funded via usage fees, then we would never be held hostage because some whacko wanted to use masked thugs to beat up and shoot Americans.

Where did you get the information that SFO doesn't use TSA?

From like the way it is and has been for many years?

From their website:

Covenant Aviation Security, a private company under contract with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), provides passenger and baggage screening at SFO.

Visit Covenant Aviation Security to learn more about security screening at SFO.

https://www.flysfo.com/about/airport-operations/safety-secur...

More coverage here: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/26/nx-s1-5759273/not-all-airport...

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SFO doesn’t use TSA for security and works like this with whatever contractor it hire. I wish all airports would just use private security funded via usage fees, then we would never be held hostage because some whacko wanted to use masked thugs to beat up and shoot Americans.

Where did you get the information that SFO doesn't use TSA?

https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/screening-partnerships

> The Screening Partnership Program contracts security screening services at commercial airports to qualified private companies.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#115

I know it's bad, but yeah, I just hate waiting, it's stupid. So whenever I can I just go through "first class" security and nothing bad happens, just skipping the queue. Look decent, look busy, keep on walking and bam you're past the security in a minute compared to tens of minutes or hours. And don't ever remove that "short connection" or "priority" tag from your luggage, it indeed goes out first. Airports are so fr…

Some people are challenged by the choice whether to go without medication or food this week.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#116
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should private plane passengers be subject to TSA? TSA (paid for by you and me by the way, not for free) exists to protect the public from harm, on public flights by common carriers. It used to be contracted by airlines themselves. Unless you are the most extreme of pro-seatbelt law people, it would make little sense for TSA to screen anyone on a private plane manifest unless the client asked them to.

No, the TSA exists because 19 people hijacked 4 flights and succeeded in crashing 3 of them into various important buildings in the US on 9/11/2001. Private planes are just as capable of crashing into buildings as commercial jets. The TSA has picked up some ancillary public safety functions over the years, but their raison d'etre is to prevent hijackings.

No, the TSA exists because politicians felt they needed to be seen doing something after 9/11. If there were actually much political will for it to fulfill actual security purposes, it surely would’ve been reformed after it’s continually abysmal performance on security audits.

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#117
post #39

[flagged]

At least it is a break from the endless stream of anti-LLM posts written by LLM with half the comments being serious replies and the other half fake-politely debating whether it was written by LLM. Plus there is a bonus start-up opportunity to LLM-code an app that enables travelers to earn money while they wait in line at the airport.

How do you feel about complaints about complaining?

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#118
post #38

I wonder why Trump just doesn't sell this himself, like golden tickets that you can buy from ICE where they just push back the free-tier line enjoyers to insert the patriotic gold level travelers. In Turkey people with connections to the government get strobe lights permit to skip the traffic through the emergency line. There's so many opportunities both for monetization and loyalty rewarding. Due to lapses like that…

The reverse applies: if you protest against the regime, your TSA pre can be revoked. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic...

Re: TSA lines are so out of control that travelers are hiring line-sitters

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SFO doesn’t use TSA for security and works like this with whatever contractor it hire. I wish all airports would just use private security funded via usage fees, then we would never be held hostage because some whacko wanted to use masked thugs to beat up and shoot Americans.

Where did you get the information that SFO doesn't use TSA?

I thought it was common knowledge, but anyone who has been through SFO in the last decade should know that they aren’t using TSA for the checks to get to gates. Always seems fast.
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