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Outdated infrastructure, overcrowding, chronic delays, and demoralized staff: That’s what you’ll find in some of America’s worst airports, according to readers of Travel + Leisure. In our first-ever airport survey, we asked readers to rate America’s 22 major airports in seven categories: flight delays; design; amenities; food and drink; check-in and security; service; and transportation and location. The best-scoring airports have tackled these issues head-on, refurbishing terminals and adding amenities that make the worst airports look evermore outdated by comparison.

TSA collected $400,000 in spare change left by passengers in airports in 2011By Keith Laing - 01/12/12 02:59 PM ET Airline passengers left more than $400,000 at airport security checkpoints operated by the Transportation Security Administration in 2011. TSA found $409,085.56 in spare change last year that was unclaimed by passengers, according to figures released by the agency. Historically, if no one comes back to get the leftover money, it stays with the TSA. A Florida lawmaker is trying to change that, however: Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) filed a bill in April of 2009 that would require TSA to transfer...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2012 – President Barack Obama signed a bill into law yesterday to streamline airport screening procedures for service members and their families traveling on official orders. The Risk-based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act gives the Transportation Security Administration six months to develop and implement a plan to expedite screening services for service members on orders and in uniform and, “to the extent possible, any accompanying family member.” The act, in part, calls for the agency to establish standard guidelines for the screening of military uniform items, such as combat boots. In a statement...

Only Eight Pilots Are Qualified to Land on This ‘Terrifying’ Runway There is a small airport in the Himalayan mountains with a 6,500-foot runway and picturesque surroundings. When flying into Paro Airport in Bhutan passengers may be staring in terrified awe of the 18,000-foot mountainous peaks or have their eyes squeezed tightly shut as the pilot weaves through the range. But only eight pilots are qualified to fly into Paro. And up until earlier this year, only one airline serviced the airport. The Daily Mail reports that take off and landing can only take place in daylight hours: The runway...

Reporting from Charlotte, N.C.— Rick Vetter was rushing to board the Amtrak train in Charlotte, N.C., on a recent Sunday afternoon when a canine officer suddenly blocked the way. Three federal air marshals in bulletproof vests and two officers trained to spot suspicious behavior watched closely as Seiko, a German shepherd, nosed Vetter's trousers for chemical traces of a bomb. Radiation detectors carried by the marshals scanned the 57-year-old lawyer for concealed nuclear materials. When Seiko indicated a scent, his handler, Julian Swaringen, asked Vetter whether he had pets at home in Garner, N.C. Two mutts, Vetter replied. "You can...

EU bans full-body X-ray scanners due to health concerns Nov 16, 2011 1:30 PM Full-body scanners that use X-ray technology for security screening purposes will be banned at Europe's airports because of radiation risks and concerns, said the European Union (EU) on Monday. The scanners screen airline passengers for hidden explosive devices, hundreds of which were installed at airports across the United States after the failed Christmas Day attack in 2009 by the so-called "underwear bomber." Soon after the new full-body X-ray machines were unveiled, concerns were raised over the possible levels of radiation exposure during airport security checks. Instead...

Janet Napolitano heard the cries of an anguished nation this week and said that maybe … just maybe .. you might be able to keep your shoes on when going through TSA screening in the near future. Of course, you’ll still have to buy all your drinks on the plane because the liquids ban will be “the last thing to go,� but I suppose it’s better than nothing. Air travelers will eventually be able to keep their shoes on to pass through security, but the restrictions on carrying liquids on board are likely to remain in place for some time,...

Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced two grants totaling $7.5 million to reduce noise and improve safety at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. “I’m pleased that Nevadans will be back on the job increasing the safety of travelers and improving the quality of life for Nevadans as a result of these grants,” Reid said. “These upgrades will ensure the airport can support the many visitors who contribute to our economy by spending money in Northern Nevada."The two Department of Transportation grants consist of a $4.6 million grant that will allow for measures mitigating noise pollution for nearby residents...

On some days, the pilots with Great Lakes Airlines fire up a twin-engine Beechcraft 1900 at the Ely, Nev., airport and depart for Las Vegas without a single passenger on board. And the federal government pays them to do it. Federal statistics reviewed by The Associated Press show that in 2010, just 227 passengers flew out of Ely while the airline got $1.8 million in subsidies. The travelers paid $70 to $90 for a one-way ticket. The cost to taxpayers for each ticket: $4,107. Ely is one of 153 rural communities where airlines get subsidies through the $200 million Essential...

It doesn’t take much to get an airport security badge these days, even if you are a dog. In an examination of a database of more than 1.1 million security badges for roughly 900,000 airport workers at 359 US airports, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General found omissions or inaccuracies in 96,000 records, such as missing security status, birthdates and birthplaces. In one instance, a security badge was issued to a dog. The badges are issued to airport workers and give clearance to secure areas. Applicants must pass a criminal background check and a security threat assessment from the...

A House version of the bill includes labor provisions that remove union powers, and removes funding for some rural airports in states led by Democratic senators like Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.). Rockefeller said last week the Senate will not pass the House bill.

Hundreds of anti-Israel activists arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday as part of a “fly in flotilla.” Border officials refused to grant 124 of them entrance, and they were brought to Givon and Ela prisons to await deportation. Those refused entrance – citizens of Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Holland, and the United States – were on a list sent out to airports in advance of the planned fly-in. Another 200 of those whose names were on the list were prevented from boarding planes to Israel. Many others successfully entered Israel. From there, some continued to a Palestinian Authority-controlled...

Texas lawmakers may reconsider a bill to outlaw controversial airport pat-downs, the sponsor of legislation that was shelved recently said this week. Texas state Rep. David Simpson (R) said that Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst asked Gov. Rick Perry to include the measure in a special session of the Texas legislature. Dewhurst reported asked lawmakers to withdraw the bill when federal officials threatened to cancel flights to Texas if it passed. But he has since had a change of heart, Simpson told fans on his Facebook page. "The Lt. Gov. sent a letter to Gov. Perry asking him to include...

One year later, former Congressman Bart Stupak is still feeling the effects of the critical role he played in healthcare reform. In an interview with ‘The Atlantic,’ Stupak said he still gets “accosted” by angry citizens. Stupak, a pro-life Democrat from Michigan who led early opposition to the Healthcare Reform Bill based on its abortion language, eventually reached a compromise with the White House that garnered pro-life support and led to the bill’s passage. “Someone will come out and just bitch me out,” said Stupak, who received a death threat the day after Obama signed the bill into law. “It’s...

In the week of March 7, the House will take up bills addressing the U.S. housing crisis, while the Senate will resume debate on reforming U.S. procedures for awarding patents. HOUSE HIGHWAY, MASS-TRANSIT PROJECTS: Voting 421-4, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 662) to provide billions of dollars in funding for road and bridge construction, mass transit, and highway safety from March 4 through Sept. 30. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Judy Biggert: Yes Randy Hultgren: Yes “BRIDGE TO NOWHERE”: Voting 181-246, the House defeated a Democratic bid to strip HR 662 (above) of funds...

Well this is living! Marvin Gaye who sung about intercity Blues had no idea that we’d all be receiving sexual healing inside our near-the-city airports. Who among us wakes up every morning and after the morning rituals of hygiene and breakfast bolts out of the door to work where hundreds of women are lined up before you? And your job is either to scan anatomically correct female images all day or to glide your lecherous fingers up and down the nether and frontal regions of the female body? Not your job description? Well one might think it is the job...

Bárdarbunga dwarves the Eyjafjallajökull volcano,  which shut-down most of Europe's airspace in May 2010 Local experts have observed all the signs that another -much larger- Icelandic volcano is ready to blow, an event that could dwarf last year's series of eruptions that shut down air travel throughout Europe and changed weather patterns for months... Geologists detected the high risk of a new eruption after evaluating an increased swarm of earthquakes around the island's second largest volcano.  Pall Einarsson, a professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, says the area around Bárdarbunga is showing signs of increased activity, which provides...

Springfield, MO Airport Wants to Opt Out of TSA Reported by: Jennifer Denman Wednesday, January 26 2011 watch video (Springfield, MO) -- Flying these days comes with a lot more than just getting to your destination. There are security and bag fees, but what about customer service? The Springfield-Branson National Airport wants to improve just that by getting rid of the TSA. The airport wants to opt out of TSA security and go to a private company. This could affect jobs and those working for TSA, but the airport says it wants to refocus on customers and making flying more...

What's the status of the TSA's new body scanners? They're not at every airport and they're not always in use. If you want to avoid the backscatter-radiation security theater or simply don't want your junk touched, use this list, and let us know any updates or additions. If you have time to kill at an airport, feel free to wander around and check out different checkpoints, and make sure to catch the status on your way out, too.

Hairspray, not a bomb, explodes on a plane at Miami International AirportHair spray has just been added to the "No Fly" list at Miami International Airport. An aerosol can is believed to have caused a piece of luggage being unloaded from a plane to explode Tuesday, causing a mass panic for airport and fire rescue officials. The Miami-Dade bomb squad was called to the airport around 11:30 a.m. after a baggage handler said he was unloading bags from an American Airlines flight arriving from Boston and a bag exploded, sending pieces of metal flying. One of the splinters got lodged...

An Austin Texas Rape victim was handcuffed and drug from the Airport for refusing to be sexually assaulted by TSA.

An airline pilot is being disciplined by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for posting video on YouTube pointing out what he believes are serious flaws in airport security.

Mexican citizens will soon be eligible to apply for a "trusted traveler" status that will allow them to bypass some elements of airport security when they fly into the United States — a U.S. government-approved program that critics say could be exploited by violent drug cartels. Under the program, Mexicans who have undergone background checks and are deemed low security risks will be able to fly into major U.S. cities and breeze through customs without being questioned by U.S. Customs agents. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and her Mexican counterparts announced their intent to roll out the program two weeks...

The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.-Thomas Jefferson

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Nipplitaliano announced a “trusted traveler” program to “help speed Mexican air travelers through airport security.” Under the program, Mexicans that are certified by their government as trustworthy will be allowed to bypass x-ray screening and pat downs on flights destined for the United States. “This will save Mexican travelers untold hours of time and the humiliation and inconvenience of routine air port security checks,” Nipplitaliano boasted. “At the same time, by handing off the security clearance to the Mexican government we spare the expense of screening them on the TSA’s dime. It’s a win-win situation.”...

As violent drug cartels take over Mexico and expand their criminal enterprises north, the United States has signed a “trusted traveler” agreement that allows pre-screened Mexican airline passengers to bypass lengthy airport security checkpoints. The foreigners will get “trusted traveler cards” with fingerprints and other biometric data and they must answer customs declarations questions on touch-screen kiosks before leaving airport inspection areas. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claims it’s a way to enhance information sharing and mutual security in the face of “ever-evolving, multinational threats.” About 84 million Mexicans are expected to qualify for the trusted traveler program, according to...

A 47 year old gay man was arrested at San Francisco International Airport after ejaculating while being patted down by a male TSA agent. Percy Cummings, an interior designer from San Francisco, is being held without bail after the alleged incident, charged with sexually assaulting a Federal agent.

In the George Orwell classic Animal Farm, there lived a horse named Boxer. He was strong, willing, and dependable. In fact, Boxer was so dedicated to his assignments and his leader that he often said, "Napoleon is always right," followed by his personal pledge to "work harder" toward accomplishing the state's goals. Boxer was a good, faithful horse. But his fault was his blind devotion to his leader and his willingness to sacrifice himself for Napoleon's grand schemes. Boxer never benefited from his loyalty or from Napoleon's phony promise of an easy future. When he was no longer useful, he...

Let's acknowledge that when it comes to flying, we're all willing to make a few compromises in the interests of safety. We're willing to subject ourselves to some minor inconvenience if other passengers do the same. To be honest, we'd prefer that every stranger who gets on a plane with us go through the most stringent of tests - body scans, pat downs, strip searches and waterboarding, topped off by an interview with Jack Bauer. But unfortunately, these strangers have the right to expect the same of us. Therein lies the dilemma. How do we fashion a security system that...

Yeah, there are no problems today because backscatter machines are TURNED OFF at many airports and they are doing normal security procedures. Interesting that they'd rather risk people's safety than endure a PR disaster. By not giving people the chance to opt-out, they effectively take control of the story. Of course, by their logic, if there was such a heightened risk, then these machines should be used all the time (especially on a day when so many people are going to be flying). A move like this demonstrates that safety isn't their foremost concern; they just don't want to lose...

BOOK LINK HERE A John Jacob H Commentary A dinnertime question arose: Any thoughts on the TSA Clusterfoxtrot? My answer: None I have not enumerated ad vomitus for most of my life. To wit: Americans have been figuratively groped and raped by Government for decades. Remember the pop culture question: “Do you see the glass half empty or half full?” It is a first order trick question of the type Government Bureaucrats love to ask. Read More…

The terminology contained within the reported memo is indeed troubling. It labels any person who “interferes” with TSA airport security screening procedure protocol and operations by actively objecting to the established screening process, “including but not limited to the anticipated national opt-out day” as a “domestic extremist.” The label is then broadened to include “any person, group or alternative media source” that actively objects to, causes others to object to, supports and/or elicits support for anyone who engages in such travel disruptions at U.S. airports in response to the enhanced security procedures.

The latest controversy over Transportation Security Administration body scans and enhanced body pat-downs leaves no doubt: America truly is a nation of whiners. A CBS News poll found that 81 percent of Americans support full-body airport scanning. That reasonable view is being drowned out by elements on the left and the right who love nothing better than to proclaim that they are victims. First exhibit: Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who introduced the "American Traveler Dignity Act" to "protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse." Abuse? Have Americans become such babies that a pat-down designed to prevent another 9/11 causes adults...

Canadian airport security personnel do not ask veiled Muslims women to lift their veils, show and ID, and prove their identity; the veiled women do not even interact with security personnel: rather, a man traveling with the women typically hands in all the passports and is the only one to communicate with airline staff while the veiled women simply walk through, unchecked and unidentified; a video showing two veiled women walking unchecked through security at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport causes outrage in Canada. Frequent flyers know the drill well: take off your shoes, surrender your tweezers, and pack your shampoo...

It's the solution that millions of American airline passengers have been searching for - how to avoid bodyscanners and intrusive pat-downs when they fly. Now one patient traveller has proved it is possible to bypass the high-level security measures in place at all airports, but only if you have time on your hands. Blogger Matt Kernan recorded his epic experience as he returned to North Kentucky International Airport in Cincinnati from Paris on Sunday.

Epic El Rushbo riff...

From the Examiner via Gateway Pundit, another TSA outrage from this weekend: the defendant, Sam Wolanyk says he was asked to pass through the 3-D x-ray machine. When Wolanyk refused, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel told him he would have to be patted down before he could pass through and board his airplane. Wolanyk said he knew what was coming and took off his pants and shirt, leaving him in Calvin Klein bike undergarments. “It was obvious that my underwear left nothing to the imagination,” he explained. “But that wasn’t enough for the TSA supervisor who was called to the...

New TSA Screening Procedures The stories are now legion: A cancer survivor forced to remove her prosthetic breast.A man with a urostomy bad left covered in urine.A 12 year old girl forced to submit to being naked in a scanner.A rough search into her crotch leaves a woman in tears.Pants pulled down because of artificial knees, nipple rings removed, TSA agents screaming "I have power!" I have had enough. Barack Obama should be impeached and removed from office. He appointed the most inept and ignorant Attorney General in the history of this country. Both Holder and Obama have nothing but...

Here's one I don't get.If you opt out of the TSA backsplatter x-ray for whatever reason, and are directed into the aggressive (genital pat included) physical examination, it would seem you are automatically governed to a TSA screener of the same sex. First, someone correct if this is an incorrect understanding. As far as I have been able to research, the TSA states in its "Head-to-Toe Screening Policies": "It is TSA's policy that passengers should be screened by an officer of the same gender in a professional, respectful manner." Now, there can be only one plausible and logical explanation for...

...Japanese postal regulations conveys the latest security announcement. Items weighing more than 1 pound can no longer be shipped to the U.S. by any means involving flight. The announcement, in Japanese, is here; reader's interpretation is this: Apparently the conditions for shipping packages via air to the United States have now become so restrictive that the Japanese Post Office has announced that, effective Nov. 17, it will no longer accept any packages weighing over a pound for shipment to the US by any method that involves air transport (including EMS, airmail, and SAL). Except for large corporate mailers, everything over...

As the U.S. government retaliates against an American for refusing to allow airport security to grope his genitals, the nation's Homeland Security secretary considers waving the intrusive "pat-downs" for Muslim women. The demand came last week from the politically-connected Muslim rights organization (CAIR) that serves as the U.S. front for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. While Americans are forced to deal with the degrading searches, Janet Napolitano is actually considering exempting Muslims as per CAIR's demands.

In a toxic left-libertarian culture, bureaucrats know best, and protecting one tribe is more important than history’s lessons. The Islam-first expert is emotionally invested in creating paper walls around practical lessons for appearance’s sake, so forget passengers. And for many thousands of men who’ve lost college places under America’s “affirmative action” culture the question is bound to pop up: Why does the Left like to profile Americans from Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh backgrounds? Jews also lose places to less qualified Africans, because they’re “rich” of course. Gifted Asian applicants suffer because they’re not undocumented Latinos. Indeed, when one examines...

In watching the news stories, one has to wonder if the TSA is doing Security Theater or do they really believe they are protecting our nation. The basic flaw I see with today’s screening system is that we are looking for bad things instead of bad people. Our focus is on many inanimate objects, which in and of themselves are not likely to pose a threat to airliners. The terrorists of 9/11 did not carry any banned items onto their flights. In fact, the only illegal thing they carried was the intent to do grave bodily harm.

At the heart of the controversy over “body scanners” is a promise: The images of our naked bodies will never be public. U.S. Marshals in a Florida Federal courthouse saved 35,000 images on their scanner. These are those images. A Gizmodo investigation has revealed 100 of the photographs saved by the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., obtained by a FOIA request after it was recently revealed that U.S. Marshals operating the machine in the Orlando, Florida courthouse had improperly-perhaps illegally-saved images of the scans of public servants and private citizens. So much for not being...

With all the bad press the TSA has received recently, we can't be sure if the acronym stands for Transportation Security Administration, Touches Sensitive Areas, or Truly Scandalous Attention. But, for sure, its pat-downs and sci-fi radiation screeners give many of us another good reason to avoid the increasingly unfriendly skies. Yet while the TSA right now has supplanted the IRS as the bureaucracy we most love to hate, its policies are merely part of a longstanding cultural trend: the failure to recognize that the good of the many outweighs the good of the few. It's the same reason why...

Transportation Safety Administration chief John Pistole and several senators from both parties defended the new, enhanced airport security screening procedures as necessary in the face of a persistent and evolving terrorist threat in a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Pistole, calm and confident in the face of an increasing public outcry against the procedures, talked extensively about the repercussions of last year's attempted Christmas Day bombing being the impetus for the enhanced screenings before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, TSA's oversight committee. "We know the terrorists' intent is still there," Pistole testified. "We are using technology and protocols...

With a week to go until the Thanksgiving travel peak and Americans' anger continuing to rise over heightened airport-security measures, a U.S. congressman launched legislation today to end what he calls Soviet-style searches by the American government. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, introduced the Air Traveler Dignity Act to protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal Transportation Security Administration employees conducting screenings at the nation's airports. "We have seen the videos of terrified children being grabbed and probed by airport screeners. We have read the stories of Americans being subjected to humiliating body imaging machines and/or forced to have...

Sometimes it’s the little things…… A few years ago, when TSA was implemented, all the baggage inspectors wore a simple uniform. It was an inexpensive white uniform shirt with a fabric representation of a badge embroidered sewn into the shirt over the left breast pocket. On the back of the shirt, about 8 inches below the collar line, the letters TSA were embroidered. TSA emblem patches adorned each shoulder From the front, back or side, there was no doubt you were dealing with a government-authorized baggage screener. But that wasn’t macho enough for our latest coven of government snoops. In...

We mentioned Rapiscan, one of the two companies manufacturing the full-body scanners the TSA has been using to stir up the ire of airline passengers of late, yesterday. It turns out that not only is Rapiscan CEO Deepak Chopra (not THAT Deepak Chopra) a maxed-out Obama donor and a member of the president’s retinue for last week’s India trip, but the company uses a lobbying firm run by former Department of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff. This isn’t likely to defuse the outrage over TSA as the holiday travel crush gets going.

Comments on this story Big Aussie Laddie of East Melbourne Posted at 11:18 AM Today Need one say any more than "ONLY IN AMERICA" My experiences with US airports makes me feel both scared and unsafe. In Transit at LAX, between terminals, it is a piece of cake to just keep on walking straight into the US unnoticed. Easy peasy to become an alien there. [Woops, Homeland Security are after me - give over, Blind Freddie can see that gaping hole in the non-existant fence]. Oh, and when there is a minute (as in tiny tiny) problem in the terminal,...