Flying With Fish The Blog for Those Who Fly & Those Who Want to Fly Smarter

In less than one week the former Pan American Airways Unit Terminal Building, more commonly known as the Pan Am WorldPort, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, taken over by Delta Air Lines in 1991, and now simply known as Terminal 3, will cease operations after 53 years. .

JFK’s iconic Terminal 3 has a long historic and storied history. Serving as a major global gateway to the United States with Pan American Airways from 1960 to 1991, and a significant international gateway for Delta Air Lines from 1991 until the 23rd of May 2013, it is uniquely designed.   WorldPort was commissioned by Pan Am after the airline introduced the first transatlantic jet flights from New York’s Idlewild Airport, now JFK Airport, in 1958, with the Boeing 707-121. The airline wanted a terminal with a roof to keep passengers dry from the rain while boarding and deplaning their aircraft, the result was an elliptical design with a four acre roof, suspended over the aircraft and WorldPort ushered in the jet age.

When the Beatles arrived in United States, they arrived at Pan Am’s WorldPort.  The first commercial Boeing 747 flight, Pan Am’s Clipper America, departed from WorldPort on the 21st of January 1970. The golden age of jet travel has long been associated with WorldPort and it is burned into global consciousness as the gateway to New York and the United States through its repeated appearances in movies and television shows … but with Delta Air Lines officially opening its new terminal, which has been added onto JFK’s Terminal 4, on the 24th of May 2013, the end is near.

As it stands now, on the 23rd of May 2013, around 10:30pm EST the last flight ever will board at JFK Terminal 3, from Gate 6, and at approximately 11:25pm EST the last aircraft will close its doors, and push back into the alley for the last time.   Delta Flight 268, a Boeing 747-451, will taxi to intersection Kilo-Golf, onto Taxiway Alpha and JFK’s Terminal 3 will cease all operations.

Fifty three years of history will close and there will be no documentation of WorldPort’s final story.  No final moments recorded, no independent images of the last moments and nary a mention before the festivities of the new JFK T4 is opened and a former airline paradise is literally paved over to make a parking lot.

For me, Terminal 3 is where I looked as a child when I dreamed of seeing the world.   I spent part of my childhood in Terminal 2 looking across the ramp at Pan Am jets dreaming of going where they go.  The few times my parents took me into WorldPort I would spend my time not looking out the windows at the planes, but looking at the departures and arrivals boards amazed at the far places this terminal could take me.  I am not alone in these memories, I know many other traveler and airline folks who saw WorldPort as a place of wonder and amazement.

As a journalist and travel professional I have spanned the globe, stopping in many places that seemed like impossible fantasies while gazing around wide eyed inside WorldPort. I have visited many of these destinations departing or arriving from WorldPort, Moscow, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Beijing, Milan, and many other dots on the map.    My last international Delta flights, to Paris and Moscow in March, departed and returned to Terminal 3.   I spent time walking around the terminal taking it all in and saying goodbye … but …

… I had planned on documenting the last day of Terminal 3 for some time. I had emailed back and forth with Delta Air Lines a number of times and was almost always told that we’d talk about it more as the last day approached.  I followed up two weeks ago and was told once again we’d talk about it later, then later came.   The answer from Delta Air Lines is that all their corporate communications staff is tied up with the launch of the newly expanded Terminal 4 on the 24th of May and my request to document the last day at Terminal 3 was being declined.

Delta’s answer was that the Heritage Museum had determined what would be saved from Terminal 3 and brought to the museum in Atlanta and essentially there was no need to document the last day, a day that I am sure will be filled with emotion for many in the terminal.

For me, the desire to document the last day at Terminal 3 in its entirety has nothing to do with activism.   I have already said goodbye to a place that has a deep personal and emotional connection to my life, I made sure of that in March.   The desire to document the last at Terminal 3 comes from a sense of history, one rooted in journalism, a passion for airlines and a sense that we all to quickly forget the past if it does not align with a corporate message and it is not convenient.

So … on the evening of the 23rd of May a major chapter in airline history closes and it won’t be documented. That is a travesty.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

Booking flights is essentially the same from one online travel agency to another online travel agency. There are some unique online travel agencies, such as Hipmunk, but now Routehappy has entered the fray with a different approach.

Routehappy’s goal is unique, to assist travelers in choosing their flights based on the quality or experience of the flight, as well as the price.

Routehappy’s default flight display is not based on the usual lowest fare, it is based on the “Happiest” flight, showing flights in descending order based on their happy factor.   Yes, users can choose flights by lowest fare, fastest routing and other usual options … but if you are using Routehappy you should be prepared to search by the happiest flight.   Happy flights are based upon aircraft, seat space, in-flight entertainment, wifi, AC power and the user experiences of the flight

Out of the gate, Routehappy has the support of a number of airlines, as it allows the airlines to differentiate themselves and their products.   With most online travel agency booking sites airfares most often come down to the lowest fare, while Routehappy allows airlines to promote their in-flight experience to capture travelers.

Routehappy is not just breaking the mold of online travel agencies when comes to how it displays flights, the booking site also allows travelers to rate flights and provide their comments from each flight.    Through the Routehappy is building a community with route experts and linking customer’s flight experience with those looking to book flights.

On a long flight, wouldn’t you rather pay $50 more for a better flight experience?  Routehappy is betting you would.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

It recently happened to me again, just as it has before … and just as it has happened to many other photographers before.  I was stopped while shooting photos with my “pro gear” while people stood around me snapping photos with point and shoot cameras and their mobile phones without anyone giving them a second glance.

Last week I was photographing an Amtrak train nearing the station, from a public area, as I do from time to time, and was approached by an Amtrak Police Officer who stood between myself and the train I was seeking to shoot.  Why was I approached?  My two cameras, two Canon EOS 5D bodies, with BG-E4 grips, a Canon 16-35f2.8L and 35-350f3.5-5.6L, they “looked suspicions” and “warranted a conversation.”   Behind me, on the platform I watched 3 or 4 other people shooting photos of the train with their mobile phones while I was being spoken to. My interaction with the Amtrak Police Officer was courteous, lasted less than a minute and nothing came of it. This situation is far from my worst interaction with law enforcement or security while shooting photos, but this is merely my latest interaction where my cameras were called into question in relation to security.

Two of the oddest included …

1) Photographing a fuel storage farm from a public area, that is seen by hundreds of thousands of people daily driving along Interstate 95 in New Haven, Connecticut, where my car ended up surrounded by New Haven Police, State Troopers and the Department of Defense Police, with a US Coast Guard Zodiac hovering at the end of the dock, while I was shooting a business story. The approaching officer had his weapon out and was shouting at me asking me why I was trying to hide my activities of shooting photographs.  It is hard to accuse someone of hiding when they are out shooting in a public space wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a big lens (70-200f2.8) and very big lens (400f2.8) wrapped in brightly colored tape, after having placed a courtesy call to the New Haven Police Department’s public affairs officer to let them know I’d be loitering on the end of the dock with long lenses shooting a business story on the sale of one of the oil companies.

2) Entering Terminal 5 at New York’s JFK International Airport from the AirTrain, last year, with a camera on each shoulder, again, two Canon EOS 5D bodies, with a 16-35f2.8L and 70-200f2.8L, to shoot some photos accompanying a story on JetBlue I was met by two New York-New Jersey Port Authority Police Officers who stopped me and told me multiple people in the terminal thought I looked suspicious with my cameras out.  At the time they stopped me I was just at the bottom of the escalator, on the phone with JetBlue’s corporate communications, and no virtually one in the main part of the terminal could have seen me, unless they were watching surveillance cameras. Secondly, Jetblue’s corporate security was waiting for me at the terminal to escort me as I shot my photos.   The rationale from the Port Authority Police was that big cameras scare people and required the police to find out my intentions.

So, what is it about ‘big cameras,’ or ‘professional looking cameras,’ that pose a security threat?

Realistically, a threat to transportation security, or a person casing out a building or location to carry out an attack, is not going to want to stand out.  If you’re planning an act of terrorism the last thing you want is to be on law enforcement’s radar. You’d never want to draw attention to yourself.

If a person is shooting photos to build a model of a criminal act they plan to execute they’ll use their mobile phone or a “tourist” looking camera. They will want to blend in, not stand in one place to long to draw attention to their surveillance.  Loitering, especially with ‘big cameras’ is something someone does when they don’t care if they are spotted or draw someone’s attention.

For security to think ‘big cameras’ are a better tool for gathering data for an illegal action, at least out in the open, they should take a look at the capabilities of some of the current ultra compact point and shoot cameras … and they even come in blue, red, yellow, pink and green.

Yes, photographers, pro and amateur, with “big cameras” are easy targets to interview and follow up on as they look for their photos. Photographers tend to have a spaced out glaze on their face as they intently seek out their photos and keep an eye on the moment they are waiting for, but somewhere along the way logic needs to take hold as credible threats are sought out and investigated.

Chances are the person standing in plain sight, cameras out in the open, a scanner in their pocket, is not the credible threat.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

The headline of “Lone Gunman Opens Fire & Commits Suicide” is becoming all to frequent. Major headlines have most notably occurred in the past few months in movie theaters and schools. Today another headline appears in the same manner, but inside an airport terminal and the only victim was the gunman.

While details are still sketchy we know this. This afternoon a 30 year old man walked into Terminal B at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Just outside the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger screening checkpoint in Terminal B, the man displayed a firearm and fired multiple shots toward the ceiling.  As people began to react a U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigator (HSI) fired at least once at the gunman.  The shot was originally believed to have missed the gunman, but later reports from within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicate the ICE HSI Federal Agent’s round struck the gunman, who then reportedly took their own life with their own firearm. It is possible the ICE Agent’s round may have delivered the fatal shot, but that cannot be confirmed at this time.

The total number of rounds fired inside Terminal B, at Houston Intercontinental Airport, has not yet been confirmed, but no one was injured other than the gunman. The gunman was pronounced dead at in the airport.   The ICE HSI Agent was transported to an area hospital, which is a standard precautionary measure following an officer involved shooting.

While the public was lucky today in that the shooting at Houston Intercontinental Airport yielded only one victim, the gunman, this will lead to new questions in airport security.   Primarily within an airport, security separates the public side from the “sterile side,” but can we intercept people with firearms from entering airports without creating a security system similar to Israel’s layers of airport security?

Aviation security is complex, and airports will always be targets. Technologies in the works, such as Q-Tel’s Genia Photonics laser scanner, which could create significant mission creep for the TSA, may be within the boundaries of other airport security agencies, and provide a non-threatening layer invisible in-depth security.

While Q-Tel’s Genia Photonics scanner posses some significant legal issues, which need to be addressed, the molecular scanner technology is capable of detecting traces of explosives and adrenaline levels, as well as other biological data, processing the information 10,000,000 times faster and with 1,000,000 times more sensitivity than any other threat detection system on the market today. The best part in crowded airports is that this technology can do all this at a range of 50 meters from the target. Putting aside the potential legal and deployment issues with the Q-Tel Genia Photonics scanner, the technology has the benefit of potentially detecting and intercepting a threat before it is a live threat.

Gun control is not a topic I wish to explore, but keeping weapons and legitimate threats out of airports is a topic that we must continually explore.

As the Houston Police Department investigates today’s incident, the national aviation security community should be brainstorming on this problem …

… how do we improve security within airports without increasing the mission creep of national aviation security agencies?

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

Over the years I have come to believe that you don’t deal with Southwest Airlines, you encounter Southwest Airlines. The airline is not so much an airline, or even a company, as it is a culture.  While Southwest Airlines is a company, that is also an airline, the very people that make up the airline embody a culture … and these very people will go out of their way to not “tow the line” but to meet the needs of their customers.

This story starts in Denver on the 24th of February, with my puppy Zero, a blizzard and a cancelled flight.  The ‘mother of my kids’ flew Southwest Airlines to Denver to pick up our baby Weimaraner puppy Zero only to be stranger at Denver International Airport due to a blizzard. With all the cancellations, she was rescheduled for a flight home a few days later, which was problematic with an 8 week old puppy.   This is the first time Southwest Airlines’ Verity Kugelmann showed the Puppy LUV.

I reached out to Southwest Airlines’ social media team trying to find a better option to bring little Zero home, as all my efforts were met with oversold flights between Denver and both Providence and Hartford. Verity managed to get Zero, and the mother of my kids, rescheduled the next morning on a direct flight to Providence.

Less than 10 days after Zero came home to Connecticut one of his littermates, who had moved to Dallas, needed to return to Denver. The owner, who has two dogs, including another Weimaraner, was seemingly not able to handle a baby puppy.   The breeder whom we got Zero from asked if there was any way to help shuttle the puppy in Dallas home.   I figured I should be able to find someone and I started asking around if anyone in Dallas was flying to Denver, and if so could they shuttle the puppy home to the breeder and its Mommy.

As I reached out to travelers I also began asking friends at Southwest Airlines …which lead me back to Verity once again. After a few quick Direct Message tweets to @SouthwestAir, and its social media team, I received a Direct Message tweet from @SouthwestAir telling me that Verity would take the puppy home. I cannot tell you how happy I was that once again Southwest Airline was not only willing to help, but that one its employees was volunteering to fly the puppy home themselves.

Verity and I exchanged a few messages and shortly there after she picked the puppy up from its owner (now former owner), brought him home, and then taking time out of her own personal schedule, flew him back home to Denver in what ended up being named “Operation Boomerang.”

The puppy Verity brought home now has a new name … Jett because of his travels.

Many companies talk about culture, but few seem to live it, breath it, embody it.  I am well aware of Southwest Airlines culture, and their culture of empowering their employees to be genuinely helpful, caring and assist those who need assistance.

So … with this in mind … I’d like to suggest Southwest Airlines create a new award, that of “SWA Saint.“   I’d also like to suggest the upper management bestow the first “SWA Saint” title to Verity Kugelmann for showing the LUV for puppies in need repeatedly.

You can read Verity’s take on Operation Boomerang on Nuts About Southwest, HERE. I knew she was planning to write about it, so I held my post so she would have the opportunity to take credit for her amazingness first.

Thank You Verity!

Below is a photo of Jett flying home  with Verity  and a photo of my puppy Zero first arriving in Providence on SWA.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

*DISCLAIMER * IF YOU HAVE A FEAR OF FLYING I URGE YOU TO SKIP THIS POST*

Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 3:30pm (UTC +0430),  National Air Cargo flight NCR 102 lifted off from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan to Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, on a routine cargo flight. Flight NCR 102, a Boeing 747-428BCF (N949CA), operating with a crew of seven, was ferrying general cargo and five military vehicles in support of the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command, when it literally fell out of the sky.

The Boeing 747 freighter reached an altitude of approximately 1,200 feet when its nose quickly rose up, stalled, then suddenly pitched downward and slammed into the ground. (original wording of this sentence has been edited)

The initial theories, based on aircraft radio transmissions,  indicate a sudden shift in the aircraft’s cargo causing the aircraft’s balance to be thrown off.   This incident is being investigated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transportation and Commercial Aviation

The catastrophic crash of National Air Cargo’s Boeing 747 falling from the sky was amazingly captured on a dashboard camera passing in front of the aircraft as it lifted off from Bagram Airfield.

Below is the video of the aircraft crash. This video is not for the squeamish and certainly should not be watched by those with a fear of flying.     Accidents happen, and statistically air travel remains far safer than driving in your car.

Ending this post with “Happy Flying” seems a tad inappropriate for the four pilots, the load master and two mechanics who lost their lives, so I’ll end with this …

… G-d Speed To You Seven On Board NCR 102.

@flyingwithfish

Last year Chris Sloan, television producer, aviation geek, founder of archive.com and 2C Media, brought viewers of the Travel Channel into the world of Miami International Airport (MIA) with season one of Airport 24/7 Miami.  While Airport 24/7 Miami is billed as a reality show the reality is that it is more a documentary look into the world of what goes on within the complex environment of a major international airport. Miami International Airport is the 12th busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic and the fourth busiest in terms of cargo traffic, with more airlines operating out of it than any other airport in the U.S., making it an incredible setting for an all access look at the life of an airport and everything that occurs in front of passengers and hidden from passengers.

This past Friday I had the pleasure of viewing a special premier of the show at Miami International Airport, with Chris Sloan, his crew, and the “cast” with the unusual twist of watching the show in the very place it is filmed (including the occasional interruptions from overhead paging), in the terminal at MIA.  I do not want to give to anything away, but all I can say is this … if you liked Season One of Airport 24/7 Miami just a little … you’ll love Season Two!

The Travel Channel brings back Airport 24/7 Miami Season Two tonight, starting at 9:00pm EST / 8:00pm CST, with back-to-back episodes.    These episodes are a roller coaster ride of vehicular homicides, ill patients, aircraft collisions and … beagles.   The best part, there are twice as many episodes in Season Two than in Season One.

Below is am Instagram photo of Chris Sloan introducing Season Two of Airport 24/7 Miami at the premier event in Miami and a photo of airline journalist Jason Rabinowitz, who writes for NYC Aviation, APEX and Airport Reporter playing with one of the stars of the show, “Speedy.”

You can follow the shows creator on Twitter at @airchive.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

Later this week, on the 25th of April, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was all set to adjust its list of prohibited items allowed to be carried into an aircraft cabin, including small pocket knives, golf clubs and certain types of bats, however these changes have now been delayed.

In an e-mail from TSA Administrator John Pistole to the 50,000+ employees of the Transportation Security Administration, Pistole states he met with the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) earlier in the day and as a result has “decided to temporarily delay implementing the Prohibited Items List changes originally scheduled to take effect on April 25th.”

While the TSA has taken a lot of flack from certain industry groups regarding the changes to the Prohibited Items List, the rationale for the delay is one that makes little sense.  Pistole’s internal memo to TSA employees states, “Last week’s events in Boston underscore our continued focus on explosive devices and Transportation Security Officer training will continue to emphasize the detection of these and other evolving threats that pose danger to aircraft.”

While the domestic terrorist act this past week in Boston was a blow to the safety and security of the United States, nothing involved in that incident involved a pocketknife, miniature baseball bat or golf club.   The TSA’s continued focus on explosive devices is great, it should be a primary concern … but there is not a threat advisory from anyone warning of exploding non-locking non-molded pocketknives, incendiary golf clubs or detonating baseball bats (although Wiffle Ball Bats are hollow …)

As I have said many times before, the TSA has a challenging job. The TSA’s Mission Statement, “Protect the Nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce,” is a complex job. That said, the TSA’s job should be on security, not making public relations driven and politically motivated statements and adjustments.  Nothing in the past week impacts the TSA; nothing in the past week indicates any new threat is on the horizon for the TSA regarding items allowed in the cabin, including the ones that would be allowed as of the 25th of April.

If Administrator Pistole and the ASAC want to delay the changes in prohibited items, that is their prerogative, however they should not blame a completely unrelated incident that not only involved none of the items being adjusted on the prohibited list, but none of the items being adjusted on the prohibited list could have played a role in the make shift bombs that blew up near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The vast majority of travelers have a confidence problem when it comes to the TSA. These types of comments from the top of the TSA’s food chain do nothing to strengthen the confidence that the agency and its leadership are in touch with reality.

I think the TSA should consider banning tighty-whitie underwear since that is what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was wearing when he attempted to carry out a terrorist plot to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas Day in 2009 … it actually makes more sense than this sudden reversal to a planned change in policy.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has long since done away with the redundant process of requiring passengers to present their boarding pass to a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) before passenger screening, after they have already presented their identification and travel documents to the TSO acting as a travel document checker.

The process of double checking already verified travel documents just a few feet from where they had already been checked was proven to not enhance security, slow down the passenger screening process, and tie up a TSO’s attention in the screening area.   Now, following the domestic act of terrorism in Boston this past Monday, on the 15th of April, certain airports have adjusted their own security procedures in what the TSA refers to as “random security” to “throw off the routine of potential threats.”

This morning while on my way to catch a flight from Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) I was caught off guard after I had presented my identification and boarding pass and proceeded towards to passenger screening. I was approached by a TSO who informed me that she needed to inspect my boarding pass. I enquired as to why and was told “this is a new procedure,” and that she knew nothing more. I handed the TSO my boarding pass then after clearing security approached a Supervisor Transportation Security Officer (STSO) and enquired about the reinstitution of checking of checking boarding passes, as I did not encounter this while flying yesterday from Providence’s T.F. Green Airport, and was informed “The FSD [Federal Security Director] has ordered the double checking of all boarding passes following the events in Boston this week, ensuring better security for passengers.”   I was also told that these changes to passenger screening procedures are occurring on an airport by airport basis, it was not a policy change from the upper management at the TSA.

I understand the theory behind random security changes to break up a person’s routine as an immediate threat deterrent, however I am once again stumped as to how this security procedure would ever deter a threat.

If we use the two brothers who set off bombs in Boston as an example, no one knew who they were, no one knew their names, and TSOs do not have a ‘watch list,’ so if they were planning an attack on an aircraft, how would double checking their boarding prevent their actions?  The second check of travel documents is not to check identification, just travel documents.

Does the TSA not trust their initial travel document checkers?  What intelligence are these second document checkers looking for?  These TSOs are not Behavior Detection Officers  (BDO) looking for microfacial tell-tall-signs … a technique that has never been proven to work or be effective in a real world airport environment with TSA trained agents.

Aviation security must be proactive, not reactive. The Transportation Security Administration’s front line Transportation Security Officers are not law enforcement nor are they charged with any law enforcement investigative tasks. Transportation Security Officers are not airline revenue protection agents.   Transportation Security Officers and their immediate superiors are not able to change Standard Operating Procedure on a whim. So in the wake of the terrible acts of terrorism Boston the TSA should be more focused on their task at hand.

The task at hand for the TSA is to look for threats to aviation security using what is available to them. Security is enhanced when the agency stays on mission and sticks to procedures that are effective, rather than reviving older procedures that are proven wholly ineffective.

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish

Today marks the tenth time I have used my United States Passport Card as identification while flying a domestic flight rather than my drivers’ license since I received it this past February. Today also marks the fourth time a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Transportation Security Officer (TSO) checking identification and board documents has looked up at me and told me they needed a valid form of government issued identification, such as a drivers license or … wait for it … a passport.

The U.S. Passport Card, like a conventional passport, is issued by the United States Department of State for international travel, although it has limitations.  The U.S. Passport card is “Valid only for international land and sea travel between United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda,” however it is a valid U.S. government issued piece of identification for all domestic purposes … after all it proves my identity and citizenship as a United States Passport.

The TSA TSO who first refused my U.S. Passport Card was at Los Angeles International Airport, who told me he could not accept it, as U.S. Passport Cards are valid for land and sea travel only.  That said, I was traveling from Los Angeles to New York, a domestic flight where a passport is not required and proof of citizenship isn’t required. After a brief back and forth the TSO asked his supervisor to look at the Passport Card and it was accepted as valid identification.

The second time my passport card was refused was at Honolulu International Airport, and I’d almost give the TSO a pass on this. The TSO told me she had never seen one before, which is understandable due to Hawaii’s geographic location. The statistical number of Passport Card issued in Hawaii is probably lower than anywhere else in the United States.

The third issue with a TSO no initially accepting my U.S. Passport Card was at New York’s JFK Airport Terminal 3, where I have used it more than anywhere else. The TSO informed me that the identification looked fake. He’d never heard of a Passport Card or seen one. This TSO summoned over his supervisor because he wanted to have the police get involved over the use of a fake Federally issued identification.  Obviously that never happened, the Supervisor informed him that U.S. Passport Cards were valid and a legitimate form of identification.

This leads to this morning at Providence’s T.F. Green Airport.  I handed the TSA TSO my U.S. Passport Card and was told, “We can only accept a drivers license, passport, military ID for identification.”  I informed the TSO he was looking at my U.S. State Department issued Passport Card and the reply I received was “What I meant is we can only accept a valid Passport Book for identification.” As there was no line at all, I asked him to check their sheet, which not only lists acceptable identification, but also displays an image of each valid form of identification. After a moment of looking, at an angle I could not see the sheet, I was informed “I will accept this ID today, but in general we will not accept it in the future.”

The reason I began using my U.S. Passport Card at TSA checkpoints was not to see if it would be accepted.  It just happens that where I keep it in my wallet is easier quickly pull it out than my driver’s license.  After the second time I used it resulted it in begin rebuffed by a TSA TSO I decided to keep track for a little while and see if it was a common occurrence to have a Passport Card refused.

I had heard from a few people that had problems using a U.S. Passport Card flying out of Philadelphia International Airport, but now having experienced having my U.S. Passport Card refused in four out of ten uses for identification with the Transportation Security Administration I have to wonder this … why are federal security employees working under the banner of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so quick to refuse a piece of valid federally issued identification when it only takes a moment to verify that it is completely valid for domestic air travel?

If you’re unfamiliar with the U.S. Passport Card, a photo of mine is below (with portions of the identification numbers removed or blurred).

Happy Flying!

@flyingwithfish