Tag: air travel

CHANGE: Trump’s TSA Reportedly Ending Stupid Shoe Removal Policy at Airports With a Catch

One of the most notorious elements of security theater is going away from our nation’s airports for at least some passengers.

The New York Times reported on Monday that for the first time since 2006, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is actually letting people keep their shoes on during airport screenings. Precheck passengers had enjoyed this perk at most U.S. airports.

A source told the outlet the TSA began dropping the requirement over the past few days.

There is a catch, however. As Yahoo notes, individuals must have a pre-approved, mandatory Real ID document to qualify.

People who do not possess a Real ID may still have to take their shoes off in the nasty airports and get subjected to further screening by TSA agents.

So, people will essentially have a choice between what type of invasion of privacy they prefer. Does this really enhance our Constitutional liberties?

The TSA responded to this reported change with neither a confirmation nor a denial.

“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a spokesman for the agency told The New York Times. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”

As CBS notes, the no-shoes rule was implemented by TSA nationwide five years after British citizen Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber,” tried to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoe in December 2001.

Thankfully, his plan failed, and the plane landed safely in Boston after passengers helped take him down. Massachusetts State Police officers took him into custody.

Reid is currently serving a life sentence.

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FBI Warns That Hacking Group is Expanding Cyberattacks to Target Airlines

The FBI has issued a warning that the hacker group Scattered Spider is expanding its cyberattacks to target airlines.

The alert was released on Friday, with federal officials emphasizing the group’s growing focus on the airline industry.

Scattered Spider is known for its use of social engineering tactics, often impersonating employees or contractors to trick IT help desks.

These tactics frequently include methods to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as persuading help desk personnel to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts.

The FBI stated the group targets large corporations and their third-party IT providers, putting the entire airline ecosystem—including vendors and contractors—at risk.

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Trump Signs Orders On Deregulating Flying Cars, Supersonic Flight

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on June 6 to deregulate and open research and development into flying cars and supersonic aviation technology.

Trump signed the two orders alongside others on Friday that target American drone capabilities, technology, and regulations.

One order instructs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin testing flying cars, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), according to a senior White House official.

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the order will establish a pilot program working in conjunction with both public and private stakeholders.

“Flying cars are not just for the Jetsons, they are also for the American people in the near term,” he said during a White House press call.

Kratsios said, “eVTOL promises to revolutionize transportation as well as cargo delivery and logistics … blazing a trail to new frontiers as part of the golden age of American innovation.”

Regarding supersonic flight, Trump’s order repeals regulations that hindered the technology’s development while instructing the FAA to create a standard for supersonic aircraft noise certification, a senior White House official said.

The order also advances research coordination between the FAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and promotes international engagement through the FAA and other agencies to “align global supersonic regulations and bilateral agreements for international operations.”

“Together, these executive orders will accelerate American innovation in drones, flying cars, and supersonic aircraft, and chart the future of America’s skies for years to come,” Kratsios said.

He said Trump is looking to revolutionize supersonic aviation in the United States after years of regulations that have prevented airlines from using the technology for commercial air travel.

“The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,” Kratsios said, adding that recent advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction have made domestic supersonic flight safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.

“But for the last 50 years, outdated and overly restricted regulations grounded supersonic passenger flight and weakened our global competitiveness in aviation,” he added.

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Biometric Surveillance Expands: American Airlines Rolls Out Facial Recognition at Four Major Airports

American Airlines has begun using facial recognition to verify passenger identities at airport security, further embedding biometric technology into the air travel experience. The airline’s new Touchless ID program, now live at several major airports, allows select travelers to move through TSA PreCheck without showing ID or boarding passes.

As of May 29, travelers passing through Ronald Reagan Washington National, LaGuardia, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, and Salt Lake City International can now confirm who they are simply by standing in front of a camera. That image is instantly compared against official federal photo databases such as passports or Global Entry records. If there’s a match, the traveler proceeds; no physical documents required.

This identity-verification option is available only to American Airlines AAdvantage members who are 18 or older, have a valid passport, and have an active TSA PreCheck membership with a Known Traveler Number. Users can enroll through the airline’s website or app, and participation lasts for a year, with the freedom to opt-out and revert to standard ID screening at any time.

The integration of facial recognition at TSA checkpoints may seem like a convenience upgrade, but it introduces concrete privacy risks that go far beyond the airport.

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Boeing Deal With DOJ Proves That ‘Justice’ Is a Slippery Concept

Some seven years after Lion Air flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea in Indonesia shortly after take off, Boeing has made a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that will mean that the aircraft manufacturer will not face criminal prosecution for the crash that killed 189 people.

In court documents filed last Friday, Boeing agreed to a settlement of investment and compensation totaling $1.1 billion, some $445 million of which is to be paid to the families of the victims of both the Lion Air crash and the Ethiopian Airlines crash that occurred just five months later.

Both planes were 737 Max aircraft manufactured by Boeing, and had been fitted with a new flight maneuvering system known as MCAS. The rationale was that the MCAS system would make flying safer by detecting if planes were about to stall and forcing the nose of the aircraft down. However, Boeing had not informed either pilots or airlines about the new system, nor its potentially deadly faults.

In both crashes, sensors mounted on the exterior of the aircraft malfunctioned, incorrectly identifying a stall and forcing the planes towards the ground, as pilots desperately tried to override the MCAS system that they had not been trained to operate.

The Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes killed 346 people in total, and led to a series of “deals” with Boeing under which it paid various fines and compensation to victims’ families, including a $2.5 billion settlement in 2021.

However, after it was found that Boeing had misled the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) about the safety of its aircraft, possible criminal charges were discussed, with Boeing entering a plea deal in which it would plead guilty to federal fraud charges in 2024 – although the deal was subsequently rejected.

Now, the new deal has been announced that will allow Boeing to essentially pay its way out of any criminal sanctions, prompting the question of whether justice has been served.

What constitutes “justice” is highly subjective, depending on who is defining the term.

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British Airways Extends Suspension Of Israel Flights As More Houthi Missiles Target Airport

Another ballistic missile fired from Yemen has targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel on Friday, in reportedly the third such attack on Israel within 24 hours.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced the fresh attack in a televised statement, saying “The Houthi forces targeted Ben Gurion Airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile” and that the attack “successfully achieved its goal.”

While the Houthis have repeatedly claimed “hypersonic” missile attacks over several weeks, there’s as yet no evidence that they possess this advanced technology. Still, it has become clear that Israel’s advanced air defense systems at time have trouble intercepting the inbound projectiles, as a May 4th attack demonstrated.

The Houthis spokesman claimed of this new Friday attack that it caused “millions of Zionist settlers to flee to shelters and halted airport operations.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged an inbound missile, which set off warning sirens in central Israel, but did not indicate any ground strikes or damage:

Early on Friday morning, sirens blared across Tel Aviv as a result of the Yemeni missile. The Israeli army said in a statement that it intercepted the missile. 

A Yemeni missile was also intercepted by Israeli air defenses on Thursday afternoon, following an earlier missile attack, which Tel Aviv also said it intercepted.

The Houthis have been stepping up attacks on Israel in recent weeks, and after a few major waves of Israeli strikes on Yemen, which destroyed the international airport in Sanaa. 

While such Israeli retaliation has clearly caused much damage and death inside Yemen, the constant Houthi fire is also impacting Israel – at least on an economic and logistical level. 

Times of Israel reports Friday on more foreign carriers suspending operations at Israeli airports:

British Airways joins the growing list of companies extending their cancellation of flights to and from Israel following the Houthi missile strike near Ben Gurion Airport at the beginning of the month.

Hebrew media reports that British Airways has extended its suspension until the end of July.

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As crisis grows at U.S. airports, feds are buying replacement parts on eBay or 3D printing them

America’s air traffic control system is blinking red with warning after a midair collision, several harrowing outages, and a staffing shortage. Now Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is adding to the worries by revealing the Federal Aviation Administration is resorting to using eBay and 3D printers to replace parts for antiquated computer systems. 

The secretary told the the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday that the technology holding together American airports is so outdated, the federal government does not have reliable suppliers that can replace vital components.

“We do try to buy replacement parts on eBay for this really old equipment,” Duffy told the senators. “Sometimes, we can’t even buy it on eBay, so we’re trying to use 3D printing to craft replacement parts for the system that we use.”

Duffy first drew attention to this ongoing issue last week in an interview with CBS News. He noted the FAA turned to eBay because “we can’t buy parts for new” for the aging equipment. 

Because of the worrying state of the nation’s airports, Duffy announced earlier this month an ambitious three-year plan to revamp air traffic control systems with a focus on modernizing communications technology, surveillance systems, and digitization. To do this, the administration will seek “upfront appropriations” from Congress to fund the much-needed updates. 

You can read the Transportation Department’s three-year plan below: 

Brand New Air Traffic Control System Plan.pdf

The plan emphasizes fast-paced modernization was necessary because risks increased the longer the U.S. remained reliant on the aging systems, especially at a time when air traffic is increasing and spaceflight is making a comeback. 

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Mile High Marxist Bernie Sanders Proves There Is No Climate Emergency

Give the devil his due: Senator Bernie Sanders never misses an opportunity to remind Americans about our planet’s supposed peril. In a 2023 MSNBC op-ed, he whined: “The climate crisis is not just an environmental issue. It is a matter of justice, of health, of economics, and of national security.” According to Sanders, climate change is a moral and existential threat demanding sweeping government intervention and dramatic changes in personal behavior.

Except, of course, when it comes to how he lives his own life.

Sanders’ recent “Fighting Oligarchy” tour paints a very different picture. While crisscrossing the country decrying the evils of capitalism, Sanders traveled by—you guessed it—private jet. According to a new analysis from Power The Future, the senator’s 16-stop tour spewed an estimated 62.15 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

To put in context, that’s more than the average American produces in five years.

In fact, Sanders’ emissions from just one tour equal the annual emissions from 15 gasoline-powered cars. It’s the carbon equivalent to driving a gas-powered SUV 150,000 miles, or more than 6 times around the Earth at the equator. And this from a man who wants to regulate what kind of stove you use in your kitchen.

When questioned about the blatant hypocrisy, Sanders didn’t offer contrition. He doubled down. “You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United… while 30,000 people are waiting?” he snapped at Bret Baier.

This isn’t the first time Sanders’ climate preaching has clashed with his jet-setting lifestyle. During the 2020 Democratic primary, his campaign shelled out over $1.2 million on private jet travel. Then, as now, the justification was the same: it’s okay when Bernie does it because his cause is righteous.

Let’s call this what it is: Mile High Marxism. Sanders flies high above the rest of us, belching carbon into the atmosphere while demanding working families pay more for energy and drive electric vehicles. He insists there’s a climate emergency but behaves like there’s no emergency at all.

The green movement is filled with elites just like Sanders—people who use the language of crisis to amass power while living above the consequences of their policies. They want to ban gas cars, restrict domestic energy production, and ration electricity, but they’ll never give up their jets, SUVs, or lakefront mansions. It’s not about saving the planet. It’s about control.

Consider this: if the planet were truly teetering on the edge of climate catastrophe, would the loudest alarmists be the least willing to change their own behavior? If climate change were the existential threat they claim, wouldn’t they at least attempt to lead by example? Instead, we get moral lectures from the tarmac.

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After Blaming Trump, Pete Buttigieg Implicated in Washington National Air Traffic Control Scandal

As Pete Buttigieg attempts to stand up a 2028 presidential campaign by growing a patchy beard, he might want to consider that his record could be a major liability. 

On Wednesday, it was revealed that a key hotline between the Pentagon and the air traffic control at Washington National Airport has been inoperative since 2022. But what would have been a mundane failure turned deadly in January when a military helicopter collided with a regional airliner, killing 67 people. That phone line would have typically been used by the Department of Defense to report when its aircraft were in the vicinity and what their intentions were.

A hotline connecting air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport and their counterparts at the Pentagon has been “inoperable” since March 2022, a Federal Aviation Administration official confirmed Wednesday, further evidence of poor safety coordination between federal agencies responsible for the airspace where a midair collision in January killed 67 people.

The line is maintained by the Defense Department, and the aviation agency was not aware of the outage during the three years it was down, Franklin McIntosh, the FAA’s deputy head of air traffic control, testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday. Aviation officials discovered the hotline wasn’t working after May 1, when controllers at National ordered two passenger jets to abandon landings because an Army helicopter was circling nearby at the Pentagon.

Hotlines between adjoining air traffic control sectors and airport towers are common across the national airspace to help with coordination, and the line to the Pentagon would have served the same purpose. Who was in charge in 2022 when it went offline and then spent the next three years not being repaired? That would be Pete Buttigieg, whose most notable action as transportation secretary was taking a long “paternity leave” without letting the public know he was leaving his job as a cabinet official for several months.

Now, we know why Buttigieg rushed to blame the Trump administration after the January crash. 

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Bernie Sanders Exposes Himself As An Elitist Fraud

Bernie Sanders was called out during a Fox News interview about repeatedly traveling on private jets during a tour he’s called “Fight the Oligarcy,” and his answer exposed him for the completely fraud he is.

As we previously highlighted, Sanders spent (or used taxpayer funds, it isn’t clear yet) more than $220,000 in the first quarter of this year flying to the events on private jets, while complaining about Elon Musk.

When he was challenged on this behaviour by host Brett Bair, Sanders scoffed at the idea that he could possibly fly commercial.

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