Founder, FlyersRights.org
Founder of the FlyersRights.org, formerly the Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights
PROFILE
Kate Hanni
Guest
FROM Kate Hanni
Which Way, L.A.?
Aviation Security: Must TSA Touch My Junk to Keep Me Safe? New threats to air travel have produced new strategies and technologies against explosives in shoes and carry-on liquids--even in underwear. But some passengers resent the new body-scanners in 68 American airports, and the pat-down hand search is also provoking a backlash. It’s invasive; it’s embarrassing Does it violate the 4th Amendment? Will it really work? Has the Transportation Security Administration gone too far? Is the real key to security the intelligence gathered before anyone gets to the airport?
To the Point
Aviation Security: Must TSA Touch My Junk to Keep Me Safe? New threats to air travel have produced new strategies and technologies against explosives in shoes and carry-on liquids--even in underwear. But some passengers resent the new body-scanners in 68 American airports, and the pat-down hand search is also provoking a backlash. It’s invasive; it’s embarrassing Does it violate the 4th Amendment? Will it really work? Has the Transportation Security Administration gone too far? Is the real key to security the intelligence gathered before anyone gets to the airport?
Which Way, L.A.?
Plotting a Flight Plan for the 21st Century Last week, The New York Times reported that "planeloads of passengers heard pilots blame the air traffic control system as they sat on the tarmac." The problem itself was confined to the Northeast, but it caused problems all over the country.
To the Point
Plotting a Flight Plan for the 21st Century Last week a computer glitch required air traffic controllers to get flight plans by fax and type them into computers by hand. No lives were at risk and the problem itself was confined to the Northeast, but a lot of passengers were delayed and the incident dramatized how a 21st century system operates on 1960's technology. When cars and cell phones connect to global positioning satellites, why does air traffic control still depend on ground-based radar and radio? When $35 billion has already been spent, why is the Next Generation system so far behind? And, what's in store for this week of heavy holiday travel?
To the Point
Turbulent Times for America's Airlines Since deregulation, America's airlines have expanded by a factor of ten and there has not been a major crash since 2001. But the recent grounding of thousands of flights, which stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers, and evidence that the Federal Aviation Administration is too cozy with the companies it regulates have raised concerns about safety. Whistle-blowing FAA inspectors told Congress that Southwest Airlines had been allowed to skip inspections for fuselage cracks for as long as nine months. Southwest was fined $10 million, and the FAA began an "industry-wide audit." Meantime, smaller airlines have gone under or filed for bankruptcy, and big ones are talking about mergers. Is the agency trying to reassert itself and reassure the flying public that all is well? Were passengers really at risk? With airlines folding, going bankrupt and looking at mergers, are the industry and its passengers in for a troubled future?
To the Point
Air Travel in the United States: Is Anybody in Charge? In a study of America's airline industry, the General Accountability Office of Congress—the GAO—reports no collisions on airport runways since 1990. But in Los Angeles last August, two planes came within 37 feet of each other. There were 369 other near misses—"incursions" they're called--during last year alone. The GAO concludes there's "a high risk of a catastrophic runway collision." Meantime, air controllers are tired and flight delays are at their highest level in history; more and more luggage is just getting lost. After 13 hours and 17 minutes on a plane from San Francisco to Dallas, one unhappy business woman wants a " Passengers' Bill of Rights ." But a veteran writer calls this "the Golden Age of Travel," "as comfortable and reasonable today as it's ever been."
Recommended
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?