TSA Unveils Pilot Programs...For Pilots

No matter what your feelings are on whether or not flight deck crew members should have to be screened before they get to their aircraft, the TSA is still going to require it. So just get used to it. At least the TSA is now starting to come around with some innovative new approaches to getting pilots through the security checkpoints quickly and with little hassle. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is teaming up with the TSA for a pilot screening program for pilots called CrewPass at Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) in South Carolina. CrewPass is a dedicated line at the checkpoint for flight deck crewmembers with a kiosk where pilots enter their badge number. The kiosk then displays the pilot's photo (as seen below) which a TSA agent can use to match with the face of the pilot trying to pass.


Another system being used at BWI was developed by Southwest Airlines and uses special lane for pilots only as well but introduces biometrics to the equation. The pilots present a "clear key", which looks like a USB drive with a fingerprint scanner on it. After inserting the device and scanning their fingerprint, the pilot's photo is displayed for matching like in the device mentioned earlier for screener comparison. High tech, yet simple. While I'm sure the debate on whether or not pilots need to be checked will continue forever, at least in the mean time it's getting a little easier for pilots to avoid the pain and agony of the long and invasive checkpoint procedures.


[Evolution of Security]

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United flight cancelled over upset pilot and his hat

A United flight from Salt Lake City to Denver was cancelled yesterday after one of the pilots announced to the passengers that he was too upset to fly. One of the passengers told USA Today that the pilot may have been involved in a labor-related dispute at the gate area just moments before passenger boarding. Apparently the pilot was confronted by other United pilots about him wearing his hat in public. It turns out the pilots of United that belong to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)have been not wearing their uniform hats recently in a protest to management over their labor agreement. The hat-wearing pilot was later overheard in a heated cellphone conversation where he said "he was going to complain to the union." Not too long after the passengers took their seats aboard flight 416 the pilot made an announcement over the aircraft's PA that was paraphrased by the witness as this:

"some of you may have witnessed an incident I was involved in at the gate. I'm not going to go into the details, but it was an interpersonal confrontation that upset me significantly to the point where I'm not focused enough to fly you to Denver. I feel like I may not be calmed and focused enough to fly to Denver for another hour."

Of course a collective groan went up from the cabin after that word. United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski told USA Today that the flight was indeed cancelled due to "internal company procedures designed to ensure flight crews are prepared to fly." All of the passengers were accommodated by the airline in some form. No word on whether or not he's still wearing his hat.

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