Tsa-dca-has This Happened To You?

[Walmartgreeter]

Sorry that you incurred problems and missed your flight. However TSA is correct:: Crew = working Crew members in uniforms. Yes, you would need a boarding pass prior to entering the TSA checkpoint as you were not "working the flight".

[post="279081"][/post]​

Uhhhh. Pilots ONLY wear their uniforms when performing ACTUAL flying. They are just as much ON duty going to training as they are checking their manual revisions. Would a doctor wear full scrubs to a meeting with the hospital administator? Would a lawyer wear a full suit to go to his own office to check his E-mail? A little tongue in cheek here, with questionable spelling..but this is a joke. Surely this is true of F/As or anybody..perhaps...showing up to pick up a paycheck. Best. Greeter.

 

[Veronica Taylor]

Ok, thanks for feedback. I would like to keep this on a professional level, and ask valid questions while receiving ANSWERS to the original question-HAS "THIS" HAPPENED TO YOU?

A couple of valid questions come to mind.

I am a flight attendant who is scheduled to assist in the crew rooms for a few days to help crewmembers with a new technology. I have my ID. I am not boarding a flight, nor do I have necessity for a uniform.

How do I get to my job?

Scenario Two: I am a flight attendant who will be taking "jumpseat" on a flight. I do not GET a boarding pass for jumpseat. As far as I know, there is NO SUCH THING. How do I go through TSA?

Scenario 3

It is 3 pm on the 20th. Schedule sheets for next month are located only in the crew room. Bids for schedules must be placed by 6 pm that evening. The computers and paperwork to do so is located on the other side of TSA, in the crew room.
How do I get there?

Scenario 4

My supervisor needs to see me.

I am not boarding a flight, nor do I have a need to be in uniform.

How do I access my supervisor and keep our appointment?

Any answers to these questions as well as any similar confrontations with TSA as an airline crewmember would be appreciated.

In addition-the media has taken an interest in this issue and desperately needs "stories of this happening", so it doesn't exist as an isolated incident, and can be resolved.

All responses will ABSOLUTELY be held in confidence, if you wish. We just need voices and experiences to document this ONE ISSUE and resolve it.

 

[jimntx]

Ok, thanks for feedback. I would like to keep this on a professional level, and ask valid questions while receiving ANSWERS to the original question-HAS "THIS" HAPPENED TO YOU?

A couple of valid questions come to mind.

I am a flight attendant who is scheduled to assist in the crew rooms for a few days to help crewmembers with a new technology. I have my ID. I am not boarding a flight, nor do I have necessity for a uniform.

How do I get to my job?

I can only tell you what we do at STL with AA. People who are doing admin work are issued a temporary badge which allows them to go to the head of the line.

Scenario Two: I am a flight attendant who will be taking "jumpseat" on a flight. I do not GET a boarding pass for jumpseat. As far as I know, there is NO SUCH THING. How do I go through TSA?

At AA, you have to be on the standby list. You go to a kiosk and it issues a Priority Verification slip--looks like a boarding pass, but does not have a seat assignment on it. This is sufficient to get through security. (By the way, at AA once you get to the gate, you are issued a jumpseat boarding pass--it has a seat assignment of 4X, 5X, etc. for cabin jumpseat(s) or 1W or 2W for cockpit jumpseat(s). It is printed on "old-fashioned" card stock, and it must be run through the electronic gate reader before you can board. It's how "souls on-board" are accounted for. For cabin jumpseats, if a flight has minimum crew--say 3 on an MD80, then there are 2 jumpseats available to non-revvers, 4X and 5X. There is such a thing as a jumpseat boarding pass. And, I believe that US Airways uses Sabre, doesn't it?)

Scenario 3
It is 3 pm on the 20th. Schedule sheets for next month are located only in the crew room. Bids for schedules must be placed by 6 pm that evening. The computers and paperwork to do so is located on the other side of TSA, in the crew room.
How do I get there?

Scenario 4
My supervisor needs to see me. I am not boarding a flight, nor do I have a need to be in uniform. How do I access my supervisor and keep our appointment?

At STL, your airline id is sufficient to get you through security, but you have to take your turn in line, no cutting.

All responses will ABSOLUTELY be held in confidence, if you wish. We just need voices and experiences to document this ONE ISSUE and resolve it.

[post="279438"][/post]​

The "adjustment" is NOT going to be made by TSA. It is their security checkpoint and their rules. No amount of complaining, media attention, or petitions is going to change that. Here at AA it has been made clear to all employees, the company will NOT take your side in a dispute with TSA.

It is frustrating that the rules are not consistently applied or even consistent from one airport to the next. But, that's the way it is. TSA's explanation is that the rules are different at different airports because the situations are different. DCA is a special case in all things aviation. You know that as well as anyone.

Points to consider...
1.If you know that an hour in line may not be enough, you have to show up 1.5 or 2 hours prior to departure.
2. If TSA demands a boarding pass or some other type of "permission slip" in addition to your airline id, it is up to your airline to provide whatever the TSA requires. TSA does not have to change it's rules to accommodate your airline and its employees.
3. If you are grounded now, it sounds to me as if you waited until the last possible recurrent training class of your grace month--the month after you were supposed to go to recurrent. And, you were booked on the last possible flight that would get you to training on time. Why is this all of sudden TSA's fault?

 

[eolesen]

You have to remember that the crew/employee line is intended to get people responsible for a flight out to their work area. When I'm traveling to DCA on company business, I still have to go thru the customer lines, because my not being at the gate in a timely manner doesn't impact the ability of a flight to depart. If I miss the flight, it's because I didn't plan enough time to get thru security.

Other airports don't seem to be as bad as DCA, but DCA does have some exception processing as far as security goes.

 

[lpbrian]

Most airports I fly out of I only show my ID and they let me in the security line, even though I'm in street clothes and am not a flight crew member. One exception I have encountered is LAX. They require a boarding pass, or priority verification, which can be quickly obtained from a check-in kiosk. Give the often lenghty lines at LAX this is handy to know. I was told this was airport policy. Some airports have employee portals such as ORD and DFW, which have no lines at all.

 

[jimntx]

Some airports have employee portals such as ORD and DFW, which have no lines at all.

[post="279517"][/post]​

True, but access is not universal. Only employees with SIDA badges can use the employee portals. AA Flight attendants do not have SIDA badges. We used to, but they took them away after 9/11 for some reason. There is talk of us getting them back, but nothing so far.