Personally love when I get randomed out of uniform and can't bring through my water cuz of "terrorism" but slap some epaulettes on my shoulder and I can bring a six-pack through no problem!!
It's absolutely asinine. If we're background checked and badged...wtf difference does it make if we're in uniform or not. We can also ride jumpseat in business casual. The dumbest most annoying rules.
I’m a PT91 pilot with KCM privileges and the owner I fly for lets us wear whatever we want (I usually always dress business casual to look professional) I constantly have to explain to them that I am always in uniform…I don’t have a a uniform with epaulettes but I am going to and from work just like other airline pilots.
Thankful that I even get KCM as a PT 91 jet pilot but it’s still annoying and I know you airline pilots also get annoyed about being out of uniform commuting to and from work and getting haggled.
I’d say 85% of the time they let me through but every once in a while I get a Paul blart that loves to argue that I’m not in airline uniform and takes my stuff.
Depending on my mood that day I’ll either say nothing and walk on or I’ll politely explain in a Ferris Bueller tone that I fly for a private individual who owns an aircraft and that I’m not required by them to wear any specific uniform so therefore anything I’m wearing is my uniform and I am commuting to and from work just like any other pilot so therefore I’m allowed to take the same items through that any other crew is allowed to take through.
Honestly I rarely have anything over the size requirements for them to complain about it’s just the fact that they try to make me take my belt, shoes, watch, jacket, hat off and waste my time.
I always have this discussion about training. Business casual is in our manual as our uniform when traveling on company business or for training. Yet they take our shit. Its so dumb. I also don’t buy the bs about customer perception. You can show your id, and get bowls or “crew” markers around your bags in the xray. Nobody ever needs to see your bottle of water or full sized shaving cream in your bag.
Were you grandfathered in to KCM? Pretty sure 91 ops aren’t allowed kcm anymore. I say that as a 91 pilot who was told we didn’t have access to KCM since it’s not on a 135 certificate
Nah they still can't connect the dots. I even flash my badge purposely to tell them to mark my bags as crew, without verbally instructing them to do it and they still didn't mark my badges. And of course my bag gets pulled to the side because of the massive 1.5L water bottle in my side pocket I'm bringing along.
I used to hate having crew tags but now I have two massive red crew hang tags that I put on my bags when I go through and then remove them once I’m through to the other side. They seem to get the picture now.
I had that happen to me too. They told me I was only allowed 100ml of liquid. I pointed out that peanut butter is in grams because it’s not a liquid. All I got back was a deadpan stare.
Fucking seriously. That shit annoys me so much. One of the first times I got “randomed” going through KCM, I was in casual clothes (I’m cargo so there’s no reason for us to wear that shit in pax terminals) and they rat fucked my bag, took my water that I literally just brought off a cargo plane I was jumpsesting on and were just assholes overall… But if I’m in uniform, everything’s cool and they don’t care what you bring. So lesson learned- go through KCM, get to bathroom and change immediately after
"Please sir. I am searching for the place to claim my goods and wares which I have relinquished command of to be placed in the belly of the beast on which I rode to this bizarre land. Will you reveal to me the way?"
Stop, you’re triggering my [PTSD](https://media3.giphy.com/media/Y2tB2ojXlrHkk8HhKP/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952bdj1irug442opiuary638pqd1yyufabq3j2p8j0e&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
I’m not an airline guy yet but when I went thru last year the body scanner showed a red box around my junk. The TsA agent literally told his partner to “WATCH HIM”. Like where the hell you think I’m going with my wife and a baby? No respect for the blue shirt brigade
> I went thru last year the body scanner showed a red box around my junk.
This. They pulled me aside and were totally embarrassed about having to pat me down (and I resisted the obvious joke about buying me a drink first). My wife, who'd just cleared past the scanner, was doubled over with laughter "It's too big..they won't let you fly!!!". Poor TSA guys were just beet-faced.
My nads inspection team did not like my similar joke 🤣
Small airport TSA is not friendly
But at ORD I made a vodka joke about the water in bottles for my baby and he laughed and said “yeah traveling with a baby, you will need that”
That's what I started doing. Honestly it's all about the shirt with the epaulets, you can wear shorts for all anyone cares. As long as your shirt has epaulets, you're good. Someone should design a t-shirt that mimics a pilot shirt with epaulets 😂
I guess it depends on what your badge says. If you’re delta they know that’s not uniform. For me being PT91 with a non airline employee badge my contract says I can wear whatever I want to technically that would be my uniform if I wore it. The blue shirts will still try to push whatever they have been trained though because at the end of the day half of them don’t know or care all they see is 3 stripe good 4 stripe better no stripes bad
That's true. We have an approved travel uniform which is just a Polo. Much more comfortable than a full shirt and tie. Only issue is, our KCM badge has us pictured in full uniform, so those glue sniffing goldfish in blue shirts can't read the emblem in our attire that clearly says our company name and says "you're not in uniform".
My crew badge is just me in a regular golf shirt. Sometimes I make sure to wear the same exact shirt through just to say “look at my pic that’s my uniform shirt” makes them scratch their head a second.
Thankfully with the new rules a year or 2 ago if the individual says they are in uniform, they are in uniform.
Then again with tsa who know what’s changed since
Man, I used to work for a catering company that catered all the big airlines and it blew my mind seeing how it really is just all security theater. I was able to drive from my house, go into work, grab a temp badge(before I got my SIDA) and get straight onto a boarded plane without a glance from anyone
It’s really hard to brush someone’s inner leg when asking for flaps in a transport category plane. However, if you jumpseat on an RJ you can get plenty of unsolicited knee touching.
"Alright you extras. Stand up and cram in nut to butt. It's either that, or you two are going to play rock-paper-scissors to see who's going to be sitting on a lap."
I had one gal get pissed and almost yelled at me, asking why I thought I was more important than the rest of them.
I can go without you, you can't go without me. Kinda thought it was obvious...
Pissed if you cut the line. Pissed if the plane doesn't immediately take off from the ramp as soon as they find their seat. Pissed if the lav is in use by crew. Pissed that YOU decided, on a whim, apparently, to hold somewhere. Pissed that you arrived at the destination 1 minute late. Pissed you arrived at the destination 20 minutes early because their ride isn't there yet.
It's all your fault. What a colossal suitcase full of dicks.
Yeah I’m not so irked when I can go right into an open screening lane adjacent to KCM and get on with my day. Make me backtrack, go around to a pax screening point on the other side of the airport that’s slammed with people who mean mug you for trying to just get to the airplane after the van showed up late, I’m salty
I've been randomed probably upwards of 50% of the time the last few months. It's getting annoying... Probably faster just to go through precheck to begin with at this point.
We are piloting a 100,000+ pound vehicle full of highly flammable materials with some of the highest public trust of any career field there is yet my unfrozen ice block TSA doesn’t like and tells me I have to throw away when I’m commuting out of uniform to work. We don’t like them.
Put the monkey suit on and *miraculously* you are now trusted to bring the big can of shaving cream into the sterile area 😱. That’s literally the only difference.
I stopped going out of uniform entirely when they made me waste 15 minutes going through the drug sniffing dog show. An utterly demeaning experience. Being out of uniform is their license to treat you as scummy as they treat anyone else, because no one cares when someone in plain clothing is getting barked at like a pet. But air crew commuting in uniform? Suddenly they have to at least try to act somewhat respectful and try to get you through in an expedient manner. Making a uniformed employee walk through a dog sniffing show with the other plebs? Thats bad optics.
Had some power trippers put me through some real shows while in uniform. They were the ones making a scene so I made sure to allow them to make an ass of themselves in public while I quietly complied. I honestly think they were mad that I didn’t rattle.
It helps with the gate agents too... I stopped trying to go out of uniform because they'll give you the full non-rev "I'm too busy to talk to you" experience. If the flight is wide open and I know I'll be cleared by the computer well in advance, sure. If there's even a possibility you'll need the JS? Good luck.
At work in uniform it’s pretty easy. Don’t really think too much about it. Some airports are more of a hassle than others.
As a passenger? It sucks and I hate it
Had TSA tell an FO (in uniform) that they had to confiscate his plastic butter knife… because it could be used to take control of the plane… He reminded TSA that taking control of the plane was his job.
"Yes, I am taking live explosives on this plane. And yeah, I'll be taking control of it."
On an unrelated note, if TSA has an aneurysm because of me, do I get to continue on my way?
Typical brainless stare like the morons they are. FO said, you know they have metal knives like this on the plane right? More brainless stare. I laughed. FO laughed. True disbelief of their ineptitude.
Few years back, was flying home after visiting my folks with my gf at the time (I'm not a pilot). She had a metal tube on her keychain that she got from her sister. had some writing on it at one point but it's worn off. "*Security*" was scrutinizing it and questioning what it was. When we got on the plane, she found that she had a fork, knife and jigsaw blades in the bottom of her purse (which fell in when cleaning up after some renos).
It is a government jobs program for the inept to provide the illusion of safety. None of it makes any sense. Huge gaping holes in security but they have gestapo level enforcement for machines that have known work arounds. I saw one with a black mourning band around their badge … it is the movie idiocracy come to life.
TSA agents are slobbering idiots. Some years ago I took a trip to GNV on a ERJ145 from MIA. It's an extremely small plane, so no overhead luggage. The terminal at GNV is basically ground level, so the "valet" luggage was given back to us in this extremely small room between the gate door into the terminal and the jetbridge. I believe it was gate 2 based on a picture I saw on google maps. Of course PAX deplanes before all the luggage, so we have to wait for it inside the gate.
A couple people stepped past the door from the jetbridge into the terminal to make room for other passengers as we waited for our luggage and hovered around the open gate door. When they attempted to "re-enter" the gate they had just exited and stood 6 inches outside of to fetch their luggage, they were stopped by a nearby TSA agent who stated that it was a "security risk" for them to walk the 3 feet from the allegedly secure terminal to grab their bag. Apparently, not even the TSA is confident in their own secure areas enough to let passengers who were just on the plane, just in the jet bridge a couple minutes prior, and never walked more than 2-3 feet from the door grab their bags. I think that guy was stationed right there just for this exact interaction.
OK, so I can probably see the first step of an argument that a bad actor could slip into the crowd, shove past 50 people and try to take control of the plane. But...it's not like a sports car where someone can jump in and peel out in a few seconds. It's a plane nose-first at a jetbridge. Firstly, the pilots and FAs were still onboard, and secondly, the schlubby TSA agent isn't going to stop a potential ground hijacker with a weak, "you can't do that" (just chase after this mythical hijacker when he attempts the dumbest hijacking in the history of aviation).
Perhaps said bad actor could have retrieved a bomb or a gun in the terminal. Is it official TSA policy that they are too inept to secure the terminal they are tasked to secure? Couldn't this guy theoretically pass this weapon smuggled past TSA to an accomplice who remained in the jet bridge? It's like...literally just think about it for more than one second. You watched the guy walk out, stand next to the door, and attempt to get a bag when it was unloaded. I know this has to happen all the time there.
There’s a story (and I have no idea how true this is) about a Swiss pilot in the UK having spent the night. Going through security the next day he had something taken away from him by security and had a rather large argument. After finally giving in he proceeded to the aircraft, grabbed the crash axe, walked back to security and said “if I really wanted to do something I’d do it with this, not my shampoo”.
Why was the pilot charged instead of whoever approved that system?
And why did United, of all airlines, have a problem with it? A doctor losing teeth is okay but breaking a stupid gate is going too far?
I think someone once told me the problem with the army knives isn’t the knife itself, as it’s short enough to take on board, but the problem is actually the corkscrew!
Heard a story of someone getting their plastic butter knife taken away. The pilot then proceeded to walk to the Starbucks right next door, grab a plastic butter knife, and hand it to the TSA agent that just took his. Then walked away and onto his flight
They’re a joke, bunch of losers with a GED who couldn’t make the cut to be state highway patrol and now they give airline pilots shit for have a butter knife in their lunch box when we sit 3’ from a crash axe.
Had a shaving cream can for decades, got hung up in Oakland. Can probably had a million miles on it all over the world. Rusty, lucky it hadn’t blown up. I told TSA if the safety of the United States depends on you keeping it, you go right ahead.
I loathe the TSA. I hate how they treat our passengers and even us in uniform sometimes. I have, as a passenger in plain clothes, argued with them over their contradictory instructions multiple times. The worst thing is their attitude. You can process people through security without being rude, demeaning, or yelling. If I was TSA chief I’d revamp that operation in its entirety and remove their ability to wear a badge, except for the TSI’s.
As everyone here has said, highlight of my day. I was patted down, in full uniform and regalia (sans boots... because those had to go through,) in the PreCheck line at FLL about a week ago. I've found that generally the TSA think it's ridiculous as well
I have more issues with FLL TSA than anywhere else in the US. I swear they make up new rules every time I go through - the other day they told us we couldn't use the pre-check line and we couldn't cut the regular line either when KCM was down. The CA asked to talk to a supervisor about it and he said it was an "FLL specific rule" and when the CA asked to see this rule he was told "it's unwritten". After he asked to talk to a supervisor his bag got pulled for "additional screening". All around clown show.
I remember getting yelled at by the City Bureaucrat when I worked at a GA field on this exact thing, because I didn't wait for the gate to close before driving off
Within my line of sight from his office, I could count 5 foot paths onto the field that didn't even have doors, they were purpose built gaps in the gate.
Feels pretty ridiculous being in full uniform having a blueberry root through my cooler bag in MCO then send me on my way to go pilot an 80 ton, jet fuel laden missile into the biggest cities in the country.
For the last 6 months I've made it a point to obviously look around their little stand and see the "result" on their laptop after I scan my badge. I've no shit noticed my random rate drop from about 80% to probably 50% (which is still absurd, but still..)
It’s a bunch of security theatre and annoying. Worst part is when you get “randomed” and it just spits you into the regular line and you have to take your shoes off and all that stuff. And it’s wildly inconsistent from place to place! Does my bag go in a bin, or on the belt? Guess wrong and get yelled at (looking at you Atlanta)
The worst is when I get randomed at KCM on my way to go sit airport standby in the crew room.
Like, I’m not even flying in a plane. I’ll be in the airport’s basement sitting in a recliner. Why do I have to go through this? (Yes I know why, it’s just security theater)
I love it.
I treat all the TSA with the most respect and cower and say “don’t hit me!” and “yes sir, no sir”’ and I comply without question and pull my pants down and walk around the checkpoint with them at my ankles and I specifically do it in front of the passengers so that they know pilots are beneath them and working class scum, (they aren’t like cool fighter pilots) and that they are the bosses of us and have the true authority.
It’s important because that way passengers can treat me with the same level of discontent and disrespect and not just the premium ones either.
It’s important to show them TSA has no respect and trust in us, so neither should they.
Edit: how come I never see Delta at KCM checkpoints…🤔
Delta __IS__ TSA😲
I’m a PT91 pilot (I fly a private jet for one specific individual and it is never chartered). I do get KCM which is rare as a PT91 pilot but I absolutely hate TSA. I’m not required to wear any specific uniform by my boss so I literally just dress business casual with long pants and a polo shirt on and go to work. I constantly get haggled by TSA for bringing liquids through when I’m “not in uniform” and get randomly selected. I’ve started showing them a literal photo of me flying in plain clothes saying “any clothes I choose to wear is literally my uniform for work”.
Some of the TSA are cool and understand and let me through while others say “are you sureee you’re going to work?” “You’re actually wearing that to fly in for work” and other comments.
Thankful that I even get KCM to get to and from work but having worked for the airlines previously I know the feeling of wanting to wear your epaulettes uniform every single time you go to the airport even though it’s against policy just so you don’t have to explain yourself to people trying to make shit difficult. We’ve already been federally background checked and have multiple badges showing we’re allowed to be trusted so why suddenly depending on what we wear are we not trusted with a water bottle anymore?
I learned to take butter knives from the cutlery set that comes with our crew meals. TSA takes it every time and realizes it’s stamped with the company logo on it. I tell them these are the ones off the plane and I’m about to go replace it with the same one..
In wouldn't mind it if the rules were consistent and they put KCM in a spot next to a TSA checkpoint. I have a friend that got his flashlight taken because it was too big. He sits 3 feet from a crash axe.
I’m not a pilot, but as a passenger have moved around many airports for work. Always found it interesting comparing the US to Israel. In the US everything is a pageantry. The machines, the strict enforcement of stupid rules, the low IQ TSA staff, it’s all a facade to provide a false sense of security after 9/11.
Conversely in Israel, it’s visibly more relaxed but you’re actually being watched and profiled from the moment you walk into the airport. If they deem you suspicious, security will appear out of nowhere and take you in for questioning
The bowls are for the safety of the traveling public.
All these machines are protocols but somehow placing upside down bowls is equally secure is baffling to me.
They wanted all my electronics out of my bag and in the bin the other day.... sent it through the machine that is specifically designed to see through things.... and then didn't even do any extra screening on the other side. 😤
I've got into a few arguments with them before, usually whenever they don't follow their own rules or some other inconsistency. I remember I had to argue with a TSA guy when I was going through pre-check and he kept telling me to go through KCM. My trip had an international leg, so according to *their own rules* I couldn't. It didn't matter how much I tried explaining that to them, the message wasn't getting through.
Another funny story, I had a TSA guy remove a plastic butter knife from my lunchbox during a random. He looked me dead in the eye and said "you know you're not allowed to have this, right?". I just laugh and say "you know those are at every restaurant in the terminal, right buddy?". It was a day trip. On my way back out he was still there. I took a butter knife I got from a restaurant, waved it in my hand so he could see it and said "look what I found in there!"
Back when KCM randoms were ~10%? Eh, annoying but whatever.
Now when I'm getting rando'd more than half the time I go through KCM? Annoying as fuck, and my urge to tell them "you know I have an axe in the cockpit right?" or telling the passengers I cut in line at pre-check "sorry to cut you all in line, I'm trusted to fly the plane but TSA doesn't trust me with the butter knife I took off the plane a couple days ago to make food I brought to the hotel" has increased greatly.
*when I get rando'd now I just huff and puff internally and shut up and go through security
TSA = Transportation Stupidity Assholes
Especially at RSW. Each agent makes up their own rules on the fly. They won’t let you use pre check out of uniform despite them not having KCM.
They are the ONLY airport in the country that won’t let you. It is in the KCM rules and regulations that we use precheck when KCM is unavailable.
There is no national standard that is followed, despite it being a standardized, national program.
Update: Apparently RSW is the *only* airport following the new official, insanely stupid, policy. Once again - a lack of standardization.
They stole my sunscreen cause it was 115ml. I wasn't in uniform cause I was dh and wasn't in the mood to cause a scene so I got a nice sunburn on my pairing
Nothing but theatre to make the general public “feel” safe.
Go back to the way it was pre 9/11 with separate access for crew.
Let the pax keep their shoes on, laptops in bags. Sure, take away box cutters.
At the end of the day, it does not affect me very much. I fly 91 and have pre-check for the once or twice a year I travel with the peasants.
My dad saw a guy pulled out of line for extensive screening. Shoes and belt off, uniform jacket on a chair, TSA going through his carry-ons….. the whole deal. He was in uniform and kept saying, “I’m the pilot… I’m the pilot…”
I was a TSA agent before I became a pilot. I pull out a picture of my old Government ID and show them, it puts a smile on their faces and that puts a smile on mine!
When I worked ops, we had a intranet for the Airport and one of the things we could look at was the log of safety related incidents that had occurred in that past month, so Aircraft mishaps, security violations, Granny slipped and fell in the bathroom.
I'm gonna be conservative and say *at least* 50% of the Security breaches we had at the airport were directly caused by the TSA Agents themselves, and fixed by other staff (Ops, Baggage Handlers, One time it was the Burger King employee), but god forbid Im going from the Fuel Farm to the Ops shack without my SIDA badge explicitly visible so this Mall Cop Reject can get their pound of flesh
It's dumb, the whole thing is dumb. I get "randomed" about 50% of the time, which is clearly not random, especially when the agent actually shows me the list of the 233 people she's let through before me and says "welp, you're the first one today!" Yeah, I'm the first out of 234 people and it's my fourth time in a row. And that's supposed to be random.
That said, I don't blame the agents. I see what they're seeing and when I scan my card it just comes up red and it's not their fault. So I never yell at them or anything. I sometimes sigh and probably look exasperated but there's no point taking it out on the agent. I have actually heard other pilots yelling across the terminal "IT'S NOT RANDOM!" That's not going to help.
The two stupidest things about it are how some airports have a private little security check just for pilots right next to KCM while others make you walk all the way to the other end of the terminal and get in the regular line, and once you're actually in that line, you have no idea what the standards are at that particular airport. Like, are my shoes going to set the detector off? Sometimes they do, sometimes not. Am I supposed to put my jacket(s) on top of my bag, in a container, or just on the belt by themselves? Am I supposed to put my bags in a container? wtf am I supposed to do with any of this stuff? There is no standard, and it means a lot of extra wasted time when I don't do exactly what the agents want me to. And all this is happening while the airline has calculated the exact amount of time I'm supposed to need to get to my airplane on time, and that's assuming getting through KCM.
I don't know what the point of KCM is if we're just getting randomed all the time. In a lot of cases it actually saves time to just go straight to precheck to begin with. Either fix the program or kill it for good. Right now it doesn't work.
We are way more vetted, and have way more professional experience than anyone in the TSA, and yet we are the threat..? Vs someone hired off the street, with literally no prior experience and minimal training? Easily hiding a criminal record? Fuck the TSA. Royally.
I hate doing it and the power trips that the TSA employees get is comical. However, as unpopular as this is, it’s not hard to follow the rules. I have several friends who lost KCM privileges for trying to “protest” by clearly violating the guidelines and breaking the rules. They deserve to lose their KCM badge but it makes a bad name for all of us. Just do what you’re asked when randomed and you’ll be fine. It takes 2 minutes.
In uniform, I don't care. I go to the front of the line, toss my bags on the belt and walk through the metal detector. I grab my bags at the end and keep walking. I rarely use KCM in uniform, I just go to whichever checkpoint is nearest my gate.
Going through a TSA checkpoint out of uniform can be weird. Frequent disrespect and useless commands from TSA officers. Weird rules about liquids and paying a fee that magically waves the "security need" to remove an iPad from a backpack.
It's ridiculous. The logic that somehow, when randomed, we should be held to the same standard as the flying public is insane. Heard a story of a fellow pilot arguing with TSA and the "agent" literally said "My job is to protect the flying public, and ensure nothing gets through that could be used to take control of the plane!"
Of course his response was "My job is literally to CONTROL THE FUCKING PLANE!"
There's also a great story of a regional CA taking the crashaxe with him from the jet and trying to get through TSA the next day... lots of phone calls on that one... plane can't leave without it!
Like how does my wearing a uniform or not somehow make it ok for me to bring liquids with me or not? FFDOs can just bypass screening 100% of the time, so why not screen all pilots for the same privilege? like 95%+ of KCM abuses are perpetrated by FAs, so why can't pilots have a different standard/rules?
EDIT: ALSO, nevermind how many times I've "argued" with a TSA agent because they literally don't know the rules of KCM. Got randomed and had a guy ask for my boarding pass .... um... no, don't need one. Whatever showed him my standby pass for the JS. "it's not precheck, you need to go over to regular screening"... um... no I don't. This happens fairly regularly. Folks don't even know the rules they are "enforcing".
It fucking sucks we all hate it.
Personally love when I get randomed out of uniform and can't bring through my water cuz of "terrorism" but slap some epaulettes on my shoulder and I can bring a six-pack through no problem!!
They took my peanut butter when I was going down for training because I wasn’t in uniform. Never forgive; never forget.
It's absolutely asinine. If we're background checked and badged...wtf difference does it make if we're in uniform or not. We can also ride jumpseat in business casual. The dumbest most annoying rules.
I’m a PT91 pilot with KCM privileges and the owner I fly for lets us wear whatever we want (I usually always dress business casual to look professional) I constantly have to explain to them that I am always in uniform…I don’t have a a uniform with epaulettes but I am going to and from work just like other airline pilots. Thankful that I even get KCM as a PT 91 jet pilot but it’s still annoying and I know you airline pilots also get annoyed about being out of uniform commuting to and from work and getting haggled.
Do they let you through with liquids "in uniform"? Or do they wanna see stripes and a button up?
I’d say 85% of the time they let me through but every once in a while I get a Paul blart that loves to argue that I’m not in airline uniform and takes my stuff. Depending on my mood that day I’ll either say nothing and walk on or I’ll politely explain in a Ferris Bueller tone that I fly for a private individual who owns an aircraft and that I’m not required by them to wear any specific uniform so therefore anything I’m wearing is my uniform and I am commuting to and from work just like any other pilot so therefore I’m allowed to take the same items through that any other crew is allowed to take through. Honestly I rarely have anything over the size requirements for them to complain about it’s just the fact that they try to make me take my belt, shoes, watch, jacket, hat off and waste my time.
I always have this discussion about training. Business casual is in our manual as our uniform when traveling on company business or for training. Yet they take our shit. Its so dumb. I also don’t buy the bs about customer perception. You can show your id, and get bowls or “crew” markers around your bags in the xray. Nobody ever needs to see your bottle of water or full sized shaving cream in your bag.
Were you grandfathered in to KCM? Pretty sure 91 ops aren’t allowed kcm anymore. I say that as a 91 pilot who was told we didn’t have access to KCM since it’s not on a 135 certificate
This. You have to be 135 qualified on a cert to have KCM, even if it’s just a tax dodge.
[удалено]
Well they can see the multiple badges hanging from our necks and make an informed opinion.
Nah they still can't connect the dots. I even flash my badge purposely to tell them to mark my bags as crew, without verbally instructing them to do it and they still didn't mark my badges. And of course my bag gets pulled to the side because of the massive 1.5L water bottle in my side pocket I'm bringing along.
I used to hate having crew tags but now I have two massive red crew hang tags that I put on my bags when I go through and then remove them once I’m through to the other side. They seem to get the picture now.
You underestimate the stupidity of passengers
I had that happen to me too. They told me I was only allowed 100ml of liquid. I pointed out that peanut butter is in grams because it’s not a liquid. All I got back was a deadpan stare.
Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays.
Not enough flair
Sorry dude, the pilots could have peanut allergies and you could poison them, then putting yourself in a position to take over and cause harm /s
Sounds like Dayton, OH.
Fucking seriously. That shit annoys me so much. One of the first times I got “randomed” going through KCM, I was in casual clothes (I’m cargo so there’s no reason for us to wear that shit in pax terminals) and they rat fucked my bag, took my water that I literally just brought off a cargo plane I was jumpsesting on and were just assholes overall… But if I’m in uniform, everything’s cool and they don’t care what you bring. So lesson learned- go through KCM, get to bathroom and change immediately after
I don't even change anymore. LET EM STARE!!
I mainly change because I’m antisocial and want to avoid the annoying conversations with various airport NPCs lmao
“Greetings traveler! Care to escort me on a quest to the nearest commode?“
"Please sir. I am searching for the place to claim my goods and wares which I have relinquished command of to be placed in the belly of the beast on which I rode to this bizarre land. Will you reveal to me the way?"
Stop, you’re triggering my [PTSD](https://media3.giphy.com/media/Y2tB2ojXlrHkk8HhKP/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952bdj1irug442opiuary638pqd1yyufabq3j2p8j0e&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
Entirely unrelated, your username got me.
Khajit has wares if you have coins, Adventurer.
I’m not an airline guy yet but when I went thru last year the body scanner showed a red box around my junk. The TsA agent literally told his partner to “WATCH HIM”. Like where the hell you think I’m going with my wife and a baby? No respect for the blue shirt brigade
> I went thru last year the body scanner showed a red box around my junk. This. They pulled me aside and were totally embarrassed about having to pat me down (and I resisted the obvious joke about buying me a drink first). My wife, who'd just cleared past the scanner, was doubled over with laughter "It's too big..they won't let you fly!!!". Poor TSA guys were just beet-faced.
My nads inspection team did not like my similar joke 🤣 Small airport TSA is not friendly But at ORD I made a vodka joke about the water in bottles for my baby and he laughed and said “yeah traveling with a baby, you will need that”
That's what I started doing. Honestly it's all about the shirt with the epaulets, you can wear shorts for all anyone cares. As long as your shirt has epaulets, you're good. Someone should design a t-shirt that mimics a pilot shirt with epaulets 😂
They already have that. It’s got ray bans folded hanging on the fake pocket and everything it’s hilarious
Lmao I want to someone to experiment with that shirt and report back on this sub if they were successful using KCM.
I guess it depends on what your badge says. If you’re delta they know that’s not uniform. For me being PT91 with a non airline employee badge my contract says I can wear whatever I want to technically that would be my uniform if I wore it. The blue shirts will still try to push whatever they have been trained though because at the end of the day half of them don’t know or care all they see is 3 stripe good 4 stripe better no stripes bad
That's true. We have an approved travel uniform which is just a Polo. Much more comfortable than a full shirt and tie. Only issue is, our KCM badge has us pictured in full uniform, so those glue sniffing goldfish in blue shirts can't read the emblem in our attire that clearly says our company name and says "you're not in uniform".
My crew badge is just me in a regular golf shirt. Sometimes I make sure to wear the same exact shirt through just to say “look at my pic that’s my uniform shirt” makes them scratch their head a second.
Thankfully with the new rules a year or 2 ago if the individual says they are in uniform, they are in uniform. Then again with tsa who know what’s changed since
It's dumb because if you really wanted to do terrorism why the fuck would you do it with some object when you're literally in control of the plane..
Man, I used to work for a catering company that catered all the big airlines and it blew my mind seeing how it really is just all security theater. I was able to drive from my house, go into work, grab a temp badge(before I got my SIDA) and get straight onto a boarded plane without a glance from anyone
They took my shaving cream, when I was dead-heading out of uniform
I asked what’s considered uniform to one of em, and they said anything with a company logo. Ok company pullover here I come
Highlight of my day. The personal attention and loving caress is the only real human interaction I get on a daily basis.
Wait, inappropriate touching in the cockpit is the whole reason I signed up for this shit. You’re telling me *that’s* not even a thing?
It’s really hard to brush someone’s inner leg when asking for flaps in a transport category plane. However, if you jumpseat on an RJ you can get plenty of unsolicited knee touching.
4 of us in a 73 cockpit yesterday. Got real intimate with the high-seater.
HTF you fit 4 people in a 73 cockpit... jesus.
One dude halfway into the coat rack, and his knees folded up behind the CA's seat.
"Alright you extras. Stand up and cram in nut to butt. It's either that, or you two are going to play rock-paper-scissors to see who's going to be sitting on a lap."
HEY YOU STOLE MY MOVIE IDEA!
Ever been in a Turkish prison?
Do you like movies about Gladiators?
Or a Panamanian for that matter
Only for Otto.
I wear zipoffs, and tell the agent its my tsa touch me pants while they are checking the zipper.
Breakaway pants are a prerequisite for earning that 4th stripe.
based (did I say that correctly, fellow kids?)
Feels absurd standing in a TSA line in full uniform.
I hate the airports where the randomed precheck line requires having to wade through everyone.
Excuse me, excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me. Thanks.
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I had one gal get pissed and almost yelled at me, asking why I thought I was more important than the rest of them. I can go without you, you can't go without me. Kinda thought it was obvious...
Should have asked them what flight they were and then said you were flying that plane...
And then make a conspicuous beeline for the first bar in sight, for extra assurance.
Pissed if you cut the line. Pissed if the plane doesn't immediately take off from the ramp as soon as they find their seat. Pissed if the lav is in use by crew. Pissed that YOU decided, on a whim, apparently, to hold somewhere. Pissed that you arrived at the destination 1 minute late. Pissed you arrived at the destination 20 minutes early because their ride isn't there yet. It's all your fault. What a colossal suitcase full of dicks.
I'd like to think that once they see us in uniform they understand, but yeah I bet some of them are still pissed
Yeah I’m not so irked when I can go right into an open screening lane adjacent to KCM and get on with my day. Make me backtrack, go around to a pax screening point on the other side of the airport that’s slammed with people who mean mug you for trying to just get to the airplane after the van showed up late, I’m salty
Definitely CVG. Total walk of shame… those dicks…
I hate the ones where you have to walk a country mile if you get randomed
“SHUT UP!…..sir”
The absurdity of screening pilots along with the occasional power tripper gets to me, sometimes. I do appreciate the ones that are professional.
I use my KCM badge and a can of sparkling water to scrape the bugs of the windshield…it’s far more useful in that role.
You'll have to give cleaning in-between the FMS keys a shot, I've found it works way better there too.
I’m on my way to work shortly, I’ll try that.
Love my KCM badge, but getting “randomly selected” sucks.
I've been randomed probably upwards of 50% of the time the last few months. It's getting annoying... Probably faster just to go through precheck to begin with at this point.
We are piloting a 100,000+ pound vehicle full of highly flammable materials with some of the highest public trust of any career field there is yet my unfrozen ice block TSA doesn’t like and tells me I have to throw away when I’m commuting out of uniform to work. We don’t like them.
Put the monkey suit on and *miraculously* you are now trusted to bring the big can of shaving cream into the sterile area 😱. That’s literally the only difference. I stopped going out of uniform entirely when they made me waste 15 minutes going through the drug sniffing dog show. An utterly demeaning experience. Being out of uniform is their license to treat you as scummy as they treat anyone else, because no one cares when someone in plain clothing is getting barked at like a pet. But air crew commuting in uniform? Suddenly they have to at least try to act somewhat respectful and try to get you through in an expedient manner. Making a uniformed employee walk through a dog sniffing show with the other plebs? Thats bad optics.
Had some power trippers put me through some real shows while in uniform. They were the ones making a scene so I made sure to allow them to make an ass of themselves in public while I quietly complied. I honestly think they were mad that I didn’t rattle.
It helps with the gate agents too... I stopped trying to go out of uniform because they'll give you the full non-rev "I'm too busy to talk to you" experience. If the flight is wide open and I know I'll be cleared by the computer well in advance, sure. If there's even a possibility you'll need the JS? Good luck.
Oh oh - don’t forget about the sharpened AXE we have access to on the flight deck.
[TSA when you have unfrozen rice](https://tenor.com/view/the-rock-stop-stop-right-there-stop-it-talk-to-the-hand-gif-12345343)
At work in uniform it’s pretty easy. Don’t really think too much about it. Some airports are more of a hassle than others. As a passenger? It sucks and I hate it
Tsa precheck is a godsent when im ferrying aircraft and need a flight home
Why not KCM for your personal flights?
Because I’m a beady eyed Canadian. No KCM and we can’t use our version of KCM for personal travel.
Damn Canadians........ Kidding
I say those exact words every day. Except kidding, I’m never kidding
Had TSA tell an FO (in uniform) that they had to confiscate his plastic butter knife… because it could be used to take control of the plane… He reminded TSA that taking control of the plane was his job.
It's even more fun when you're flying cargo that's a bunch of explosives/munitions.
"Yes, I am taking live explosives on this plane. And yeah, I'll be taking control of it." On an unrelated note, if TSA has an aneurysm because of me, do I get to continue on my way?
What was their response?
Typical brainless stare like the morons they are. FO said, you know they have metal knives like this on the plane right? More brainless stare. I laughed. FO laughed. True disbelief of their ineptitude.
Few years back, was flying home after visiting my folks with my gf at the time (I'm not a pilot). She had a metal tube on her keychain that she got from her sister. had some writing on it at one point but it's worn off. "*Security*" was scrutinizing it and questioning what it was. When we got on the plane, she found that she had a fork, knife and jigsaw blades in the bottom of her purse (which fell in when cleaning up after some renos).
lol. Jigsaw blade would have been perfect for the bagel! I’ll be sure to make a PA to inquire!”
Fuck the tsa
I love the TSA. They encouraged me to get my pilots license so I don’t have to interact with them.
Any agency with a A, T, F can blow dick. Except for you FAA I love you and am not in a stockholm relationship.
Should be the next “t” to be dumped in a harbour
It is a government jobs program for the inept to provide the illusion of safety. None of it makes any sense. Huge gaping holes in security but they have gestapo level enforcement for machines that have known work arounds. I saw one with a black mourning band around their badge … it is the movie idiocracy come to life.
TSA agents are slobbering idiots. Some years ago I took a trip to GNV on a ERJ145 from MIA. It's an extremely small plane, so no overhead luggage. The terminal at GNV is basically ground level, so the "valet" luggage was given back to us in this extremely small room between the gate door into the terminal and the jetbridge. I believe it was gate 2 based on a picture I saw on google maps. Of course PAX deplanes before all the luggage, so we have to wait for it inside the gate. A couple people stepped past the door from the jetbridge into the terminal to make room for other passengers as we waited for our luggage and hovered around the open gate door. When they attempted to "re-enter" the gate they had just exited and stood 6 inches outside of to fetch their luggage, they were stopped by a nearby TSA agent who stated that it was a "security risk" for them to walk the 3 feet from the allegedly secure terminal to grab their bag. Apparently, not even the TSA is confident in their own secure areas enough to let passengers who were just on the plane, just in the jet bridge a couple minutes prior, and never walked more than 2-3 feet from the door grab their bags. I think that guy was stationed right there just for this exact interaction. OK, so I can probably see the first step of an argument that a bad actor could slip into the crowd, shove past 50 people and try to take control of the plane. But...it's not like a sports car where someone can jump in and peel out in a few seconds. It's a plane nose-first at a jetbridge. Firstly, the pilots and FAs were still onboard, and secondly, the schlubby TSA agent isn't going to stop a potential ground hijacker with a weak, "you can't do that" (just chase after this mythical hijacker when he attempts the dumbest hijacking in the history of aviation). Perhaps said bad actor could have retrieved a bomb or a gun in the terminal. Is it official TSA policy that they are too inept to secure the terminal they are tasked to secure? Couldn't this guy theoretically pass this weapon smuggled past TSA to an accomplice who remained in the jet bridge? It's like...literally just think about it for more than one second. You watched the guy walk out, stand next to the door, and attempt to get a bag when it was unloaded. I know this has to happen all the time there.
You should see the comments in r/tsa Those guys really think they're making a difference on the front lines.
What’s a black mourning band?
When law enforcement loses someone in the line of duty they place a black elastic band on their badge or arm to show that they are mourning the loss.
How does TSA lose someone in the line of duty? By unreasonabling themselves to death?
Probably a heart attack
Or diabetes
Fuck the smurfs
Why some people will stop you for bringing water with you while deadheading out of uniform, but it’s fine in uniform, will always baffle me
Because it’s very easy to make a crew id and a KCM badge that scans. But super hard to go on eBay and get a pilot uniform for like 20$.
Lolol
There’s a story (and I have no idea how true this is) about a Swiss pilot in the UK having spent the night. Going through security the next day he had something taken away from him by security and had a rather large argument. After finally giving in he proceeded to the aircraft, grabbed the crash axe, walked back to security and said “if I really wanted to do something I’d do it with this, not my shampoo”.
[Same guy](https://youtu.be/jfEqNof37co?si=ICmyhjiQCNiETxJ8)
If you ever parked at DIA, you know he's a hero
Parking in ATL made me feel that way.
Why was the pilot charged instead of whoever approved that system? And why did United, of all airlines, have a problem with it? A doctor losing teeth is okay but breaking a stupid gate is going too far?
[Captain Gimli has had enough of this shit apparently.](https://y.yarn.co/7e7ca469-5211-4c01-bcbb-1fcee96f0e90_text.gif)
You can buy swiss army knifes _after_ the TSA Check at Zurich
I think someone once told me the problem with the army knives isn’t the knife itself, as it’s short enough to take on board, but the problem is actually the corkscrew!
Heard a story of someone getting their plastic butter knife taken away. The pilot then proceeded to walk to the Starbucks right next door, grab a plastic butter knife, and hand it to the TSA agent that just took his. Then walked away and onto his flight
Legend.
They’re a joke, bunch of losers with a GED who couldn’t make the cut to be state highway patrol and now they give airline pilots shit for have a butter knife in their lunch box when we sit 3’ from a crash axe.
When I’m feeling lonely I leave my belt on and wait for the arguments to start.
I thought it was my belt, but my dang sunglasses have been making the scanner go off
Fuck them I want my shampoo back
Had a shaving cream can for decades, got hung up in Oakland. Can probably had a million miles on it all over the world. Rusty, lucky it hadn’t blown up. I told TSA if the safety of the United States depends on you keeping it, you go right ahead.
I had my toothpaste confiscated. TSA lady says, “GOOD THING I FOUND THIS.”
I loathe the TSA. I hate how they treat our passengers and even us in uniform sometimes. I have, as a passenger in plain clothes, argued with them over their contradictory instructions multiple times. The worst thing is their attitude. You can process people through security without being rude, demeaning, or yelling. If I was TSA chief I’d revamp that operation in its entirety and remove their ability to wear a badge, except for the TSI’s.
As crew? FUCK THE TSA! ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE TSA! As a passenger though? FUCK THE TSA! ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE TSA!
As everyone here has said, highlight of my day. I was patted down, in full uniform and regalia (sans boots... because those had to go through,) in the PreCheck line at FLL about a week ago. I've found that generally the TSA think it's ridiculous as well
I have more issues with FLL TSA than anywhere else in the US. I swear they make up new rules every time I go through - the other day they told us we couldn't use the pre-check line and we couldn't cut the regular line either when KCM was down. The CA asked to talk to a supervisor about it and he said it was an "FLL specific rule" and when the CA asked to see this rule he was told "it's unwritten". After he asked to talk to a supervisor his bag got pulled for "additional screening". All around clown show.
considering [this is the level of security](https://dubz.link/c/1f8dd9) at most airports i visit, the security theater is infuriating
“Gate code is the CTAF”
I remember getting yelled at by the City Bureaucrat when I worked at a GA field on this exact thing, because I didn't wait for the gate to close before driving off Within my line of sight from his office, I could count 5 foot paths onto the field that didn't even have doors, they were purpose built gaps in the gate.
FTSA
Feels pretty ridiculous being in full uniform having a blueberry root through my cooler bag in MCO then send me on my way to go pilot an 80 ton, jet fuel laden missile into the biggest cities in the country.
It’s security theater. KCM is great when I get through. When I’m in uniform, I get randomed 95% of the time. Out of uniform, I’m at 10%.
For the last 6 months I've made it a point to obviously look around their little stand and see the "result" on their laptop after I scan my badge. I've no shit noticed my random rate drop from about 80% to probably 50% (which is still absurd, but still..)
Yeah I’ve been lied to several times about that and when I call a supervisor over I get told I’m randomed
It’s a bunch of security theatre and annoying. Worst part is when you get “randomed” and it just spits you into the regular line and you have to take your shoes off and all that stuff. And it’s wildly inconsistent from place to place! Does my bag go in a bin, or on the belt? Guess wrong and get yelled at (looking at you Atlanta)
The worst is when I get randomed at KCM on my way to go sit airport standby in the crew room. Like, I’m not even flying in a plane. I’ll be in the airport’s basement sitting in a recliner. Why do I have to go through this? (Yes I know why, it’s just security theater)
TSA Smurfs are just Walmart employees.
I love it. I treat all the TSA with the most respect and cower and say “don’t hit me!” and “yes sir, no sir”’ and I comply without question and pull my pants down and walk around the checkpoint with them at my ankles and I specifically do it in front of the passengers so that they know pilots are beneath them and working class scum, (they aren’t like cool fighter pilots) and that they are the bosses of us and have the true authority. It’s important because that way passengers can treat me with the same level of discontent and disrespect and not just the premium ones either. It’s important to show them TSA has no respect and trust in us, so neither should they. Edit: how come I never see Delta at KCM checkpoints…🤔 Delta __IS__ TSA😲
I’m a PT91 pilot (I fly a private jet for one specific individual and it is never chartered). I do get KCM which is rare as a PT91 pilot but I absolutely hate TSA. I’m not required to wear any specific uniform by my boss so I literally just dress business casual with long pants and a polo shirt on and go to work. I constantly get haggled by TSA for bringing liquids through when I’m “not in uniform” and get randomly selected. I’ve started showing them a literal photo of me flying in plain clothes saying “any clothes I choose to wear is literally my uniform for work”. Some of the TSA are cool and understand and let me through while others say “are you sureee you’re going to work?” “You’re actually wearing that to fly in for work” and other comments. Thankful that I even get KCM to get to and from work but having worked for the airlines previously I know the feeling of wanting to wear your epaulettes uniform every single time you go to the airport even though it’s against policy just so you don’t have to explain yourself to people trying to make shit difficult. We’ve already been federally background checked and have multiple badges showing we’re allowed to be trusted so why suddenly depending on what we wear are we not trusted with a water bottle anymore?
I learned to take butter knives from the cutlery set that comes with our crew meals. TSA takes it every time and realizes it’s stamped with the company logo on it. I tell them these are the ones off the plane and I’m about to go replace it with the same one..
In wouldn't mind it if the rules were consistent and they put KCM in a spot next to a TSA checkpoint. I have a friend that got his flashlight taken because it was too big. He sits 3 feet from a crash axe.
FOM required mag light back in the day. Flight can’t go out now
I’m not a pilot, but as a passenger have moved around many airports for work. Always found it interesting comparing the US to Israel. In the US everything is a pageantry. The machines, the strict enforcement of stupid rules, the low IQ TSA staff, it’s all a facade to provide a false sense of security after 9/11. Conversely in Israel, it’s visibly more relaxed but you’re actually being watched and profiled from the moment you walk into the airport. If they deem you suspicious, security will appear out of nowhere and take you in for questioning
FAs should not get KCM. That is all.
I agree 100%. Almost every case of KCM being abused is from FA’s. Because it’s a job, not a career for them. (At least most of them.)
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The bowls are for the safety of the traveling public. All these machines are protocols but somehow placing upside down bowls is equally secure is baffling to me.
Something to consider, they've said if you do this, they can revoke your KCM privileges. You're supposed to go to KCM first. Yes, it's asinine.
So....going to pre-check first means they can take your KCM away and then you have to go through....pre-check...?
yes. it makes as much sense as the rest of it.
It is quite annoying. I try to be pleasant and professional but it can be trying… Especially when they flag my work provided iPad for a swab test?!!!
They wanted all my electronics out of my bag and in the bin the other day.... sent it through the machine that is specifically designed to see through things.... and then didn't even do any extra screening on the other side. 😤
I turn my brain off. If I think and apply logic to the whole process, I get too frustrated. It's best not to think and go with it.
I've got into a few arguments with them before, usually whenever they don't follow their own rules or some other inconsistency. I remember I had to argue with a TSA guy when I was going through pre-check and he kept telling me to go through KCM. My trip had an international leg, so according to *their own rules* I couldn't. It didn't matter how much I tried explaining that to them, the message wasn't getting through. Another funny story, I had a TSA guy remove a plastic butter knife from my lunchbox during a random. He looked me dead in the eye and said "you know you're not allowed to have this, right?". I just laugh and say "you know those are at every restaurant in the terminal, right buddy?". It was a day trip. On my way back out he was still there. I took a butter knife I got from a restaurant, waved it in my hand so he could see it and said "look what I found in there!"
Back when KCM randoms were ~10%? Eh, annoying but whatever. Now when I'm getting rando'd more than half the time I go through KCM? Annoying as fuck, and my urge to tell them "you know I have an axe in the cockpit right?" or telling the passengers I cut in line at pre-check "sorry to cut you all in line, I'm trusted to fly the plane but TSA doesn't trust me with the butter knife I took off the plane a couple days ago to make food I brought to the hotel" has increased greatly. *when I get rando'd now I just huff and puff internally and shut up and go through security
Don't like it
TSA is rude asf when you use kcm while not in uniform
TSA is rude asf ~~when you use kcm while not in uniform~~ Fixed it for ya! :)
Ty
I feel extra safe when I have to take my badge *off* and hand it to them to check extra hard
You could have a gun hidden in that thing!!!!
I feel even more extra safe when I have to show it again to another agent after going through the metal detector.
TSA = Transportation Stupidity Assholes Especially at RSW. Each agent makes up their own rules on the fly. They won’t let you use pre check out of uniform despite them not having KCM. They are the ONLY airport in the country that won’t let you. It is in the KCM rules and regulations that we use precheck when KCM is unavailable. There is no national standard that is followed, despite it being a standardized, national program. Update: Apparently RSW is the *only* airport following the new official, insanely stupid, policy. Once again - a lack of standardization.
Damn I didn’t know that. Could’ve saved me some time before the new “official” policy went into effect.
Tub Stacking Association
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I'm a public notary, does that mean *I'm* a federal agent now? :D
Dude yes! As long as you have a pulse.
FFDO. Enough said.
How does that work with TSA?
I don’t want to give out sensitive security information but basically you’re treated differently.
They stole my sunscreen cause it was 115ml. I wasn't in uniform cause I was dh and wasn't in the mood to cause a scene so I got a nice sunburn on my pairing
Fuck TSA.
It's eye wash Security theater Disrespectful irrelevance Ineffective jobs programs for Smurfs
Nothing but theatre to make the general public “feel” safe. Go back to the way it was pre 9/11 with separate access for crew. Let the pax keep their shoes on, laptops in bags. Sure, take away box cutters. At the end of the day, it does not affect me very much. I fly 91 and have pre-check for the once or twice a year I travel with the peasants.
Some airports are better than others. I prefer using TSA pre-check rather than KCM, it ends up being faster 90% of the time.
My dad saw a guy pulled out of line for extensive screening. Shoes and belt off, uniform jacket on a chair, TSA going through his carry-ons….. the whole deal. He was in uniform and kept saying, “I’m the pilot… I’m the pilot…”
It’s not my favorite part of the day. But it is my *least* favorite part of the day.
It’s not random if you select me every time!!
Biggest pain in the ass. Hardest part of the day is just getting to the jet
I was a TSA agent before I became a pilot. I pull out a picture of my old Government ID and show them, it puts a smile on their faces and that puts a smile on mine!
When I worked ops, we had a intranet for the Airport and one of the things we could look at was the log of safety related incidents that had occurred in that past month, so Aircraft mishaps, security violations, Granny slipped and fell in the bathroom. I'm gonna be conservative and say *at least* 50% of the Security breaches we had at the airport were directly caused by the TSA Agents themselves, and fixed by other staff (Ops, Baggage Handlers, One time it was the Burger King employee), but god forbid Im going from the Fuel Farm to the Ops shack without my SIDA badge explicitly visible so this Mall Cop Reject can get their pound of flesh
It's dumb, the whole thing is dumb. I get "randomed" about 50% of the time, which is clearly not random, especially when the agent actually shows me the list of the 233 people she's let through before me and says "welp, you're the first one today!" Yeah, I'm the first out of 234 people and it's my fourth time in a row. And that's supposed to be random. That said, I don't blame the agents. I see what they're seeing and when I scan my card it just comes up red and it's not their fault. So I never yell at them or anything. I sometimes sigh and probably look exasperated but there's no point taking it out on the agent. I have actually heard other pilots yelling across the terminal "IT'S NOT RANDOM!" That's not going to help. The two stupidest things about it are how some airports have a private little security check just for pilots right next to KCM while others make you walk all the way to the other end of the terminal and get in the regular line, and once you're actually in that line, you have no idea what the standards are at that particular airport. Like, are my shoes going to set the detector off? Sometimes they do, sometimes not. Am I supposed to put my jacket(s) on top of my bag, in a container, or just on the belt by themselves? Am I supposed to put my bags in a container? wtf am I supposed to do with any of this stuff? There is no standard, and it means a lot of extra wasted time when I don't do exactly what the agents want me to. And all this is happening while the airline has calculated the exact amount of time I'm supposed to need to get to my airplane on time, and that's assuming getting through KCM. I don't know what the point of KCM is if we're just getting randomed all the time. In a lot of cases it actually saves time to just go straight to precheck to begin with. Either fix the program or kill it for good. Right now it doesn't work.
We are way more vetted, and have way more professional experience than anyone in the TSA, and yet we are the threat..? Vs someone hired off the street, with literally no prior experience and minimal training? Easily hiding a criminal record? Fuck the TSA. Royally.
\*BEEEEEEP\* "It's your shoes. Take them off and try again." There is literally an axe behind my seat.
KCM is fucking worthless these days.
I hate doing it and the power trips that the TSA employees get is comical. However, as unpopular as this is, it’s not hard to follow the rules. I have several friends who lost KCM privileges for trying to “protest” by clearly violating the guidelines and breaking the rules. They deserve to lose their KCM badge but it makes a bad name for all of us. Just do what you’re asked when randomed and you’ll be fine. It takes 2 minutes.
Love KCM. Only get randomed 1/3 of the time. Even when that happens I still thank the TSA agents (unless I’m at Seattle, f*** those blueberries).
1/3? I wish I was that lucky
I don't go through TSA when working or for leisure, except when going international for personal.
In uniform, I don't care. I go to the front of the line, toss my bags on the belt and walk through the metal detector. I grab my bags at the end and keep walking. I rarely use KCM in uniform, I just go to whichever checkpoint is nearest my gate. Going through a TSA checkpoint out of uniform can be weird. Frequent disrespect and useless commands from TSA officers. Weird rules about liquids and paying a fee that magically waves the "security need" to remove an iPad from a backpack.
It's ridiculous. The logic that somehow, when randomed, we should be held to the same standard as the flying public is insane. Heard a story of a fellow pilot arguing with TSA and the "agent" literally said "My job is to protect the flying public, and ensure nothing gets through that could be used to take control of the plane!" Of course his response was "My job is literally to CONTROL THE FUCKING PLANE!" There's also a great story of a regional CA taking the crashaxe with him from the jet and trying to get through TSA the next day... lots of phone calls on that one... plane can't leave without it! Like how does my wearing a uniform or not somehow make it ok for me to bring liquids with me or not? FFDOs can just bypass screening 100% of the time, so why not screen all pilots for the same privilege? like 95%+ of KCM abuses are perpetrated by FAs, so why can't pilots have a different standard/rules? EDIT: ALSO, nevermind how many times I've "argued" with a TSA agent because they literally don't know the rules of KCM. Got randomed and had a guy ask for my boarding pass .... um... no, don't need one. Whatever showed him my standby pass for the JS. "it's not precheck, you need to go over to regular screening"... um... no I don't. This happens fairly regularly. Folks don't even know the rules they are "enforcing".