Tag: security

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Loaded gun found in passenger’s luggage during X-ray screening at Detroit Metro Airport

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ROMULUS, Mich. – A loaded gun was found in a passenger’s luggage during X-ray screening at Detroit Metro Airport security.

TSA officials said the discovery was made Thursday (Jan. 26). An agent spotted a handgun on the X-ray screen while checking carry-on luggage. It was determined that the gun was loaded.

Wayne County Airport Police were called, and the traveler was cited, they said.

“Our TSA officers continue to do an outstanding job detecting these weapons, but any time dangerous items are presented in the checkpoint, we have serious safety concerns for all in the area, and the resolution disrupts the screening process for the passengers waiting behind the offender,” said Michigan TSA Federal Security Director Steve Lorincz. “Individuals who own firearms should familiarize themselves with regulations regarding where their weapons can and cannot be carried.”

This is the seventh gun found at DTW so far this year. There were 100 guns detected at DTW security checkpoints in 2022, and 94 in 2021.

TSA announced last month that the penalty for bringing weapons to the airport has been heightened. Fines can reach as high as $14,950, with the final amount being determined by TSA, based on the circumstances.

PreCheck eligibility is revoked for at least five years when passengers are caught in possession of a gun, officials said.

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Will TSA PreCheck and Global Entry be merged?

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There’s already considerable overlap between membership in the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program and Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry. So does it make sense to keep operating the programs separately? precheck–global–entry-merged/”[FULL STORY & COMMENTS]

That’s what the federal government is starting to wonder.

According to recent press reports, TSA chief David Pekoske said in an appearance before airport executives that he and CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan are taking a “good hard look” at merging the two trusted traveler programs.


Pekoske said that the two agencies could make passenger processing much more efficient by combining their separate enrollment infrastructures, which currently represent ”a big duplication of efforts.”

Currently, members of CBP’s Global Entry program are afforded expedited security inspections for domestic trips as automatic participants in TSA PreCheck, but PreCheck members do not have reciprocal Global Entry privileges.

Together, the two programs have about 12 million current members. A combined trusted traveler program could also save money for participants: The five-year fee to join CBP’s Global Entry – which speeds up the arrivals process for international travelers – is $100, while PreCheck costs $85 for a five-year membership.

The TSA chief said that combining the two programs would also make sense in adopting new security-related biometric technologies like the facial recognition effort that CBP is testing for Global Entry.

Chris McGinnis is a travel blogger and editor of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission.  You can reach Chris at [email protected] or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.

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Never Use This TikTok Travel ‘Hack’

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A “travel hack” is currently going viral on TikTok, promising to reliably get you to the front of the line when you’re boarding a flight and/or let you pass to the front of customs security lines. I’m not going to share the videos, because they’re trash, but it works like this: You pretend you’re injured, even going as far as saying you need a wheelchair. The airline isn’t going to call you a liar; they’re going to load you in a wheelchair and push you to the front of the line so you can pre-board and use up all the carry-on space. Sometimes they’ll hustle you past that long line at security, too. This is what is known as an arsehole move.

Pretending to need disability accommodations is great for you, but not for the people who actually need the wheelchair you’re sitting in, and not for the people you just hopped in front of. If you take advantage of others like this, you’re being a bad person.

Yet apparently there are a lot of bad people out there. Feigning injury has become so popular that Heathrow Airport’s CEO John Holland-Kaye named it as one of the reasons Heathrow has been such a nightmare for travellers lately.

“For passengers requiring wheelchair support, we have had more demand than we’ve had before the pandemic. Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to get fast tracked through the airport,” airport-chaos/”Holland-Kaye told London Broadcast Company. “That’s absolutely the wrong thing to be doing. We need to protect that for the people who most need help,” he added.

I don’t usually agree with CEOs who blame their company’s problems on consumers, but in this case, I’m making an exception, even if part of the problem is undoubtedly

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Heathrow boss says TikTok wheelchair ‘travel hack’ to blame for additional airport delays: Reports

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The chief of Heathrow Airport has blamed a popular TikTok “travel hack” for additional delays, due to passengers pretending to be disabled or injured in order to skip queues.

Speaking to LBC Radio on Monday (Jul 25), Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said there has been more demand for wheelchair support at the airport compared to pre-pandemic times.

“Some of this is because people are using the wheelchair support to try to get fast-tracked through the airport. That is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing.”

When asked if some people were abusing the rules by pretending they needed wheelchair assistance, Mr Holland-Kaye confirmed it and pointed to supposed “travel hacks” that were being recommended on TikTok. 

“Please don’t do that, we need to protect the service for the people who need it most.”

In a TikTok video posted in June, user WolfJenko said that he pretended to be injured in order to get through airport security faster.

“Faked hurting my leg to get through security faster and onto the plane back from Ibiza,” he wrote in a video caption. 

The video also showed him being pushed on a wheelchair through airport security, bypassing snaking lines of other passengers. He also said he had an entire row of seats on the flight to himself.

According to the Telegraph, the man was a 28-year-old student who had travelled from Turkey to Bristol.

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