A New York woman has filed a $10 million lawsuit after being arrested and, in her view, “roughed up” by TSA agents at Washington’s Reagan airport last year.

The video is a bit of a “wild card” in a he said/she said situation.

The tape shows the woman being grabbed and pushed; but there is no audio so we cannot hear anything the woman says prior to this and the airport police (who were called to the scene) say the woman was uncooperative and the tape doesn’t tell the whole story.

I certainly don’t know the whole story, but put me down as being pro-security and anti-rough stuff.

Think you can avoid new baggage fees by squishing the contents of a huge suitcase into a carry-on? Think again: the baggage police are looking for you.

A colleague flying American recently noticed that at the beginning of the security line, agents were forcing the carry-on brigade to place their bags in one of those metal frames to determine if they were the “proper” size. Most were not (”way over-stuffed,” according to colleague).

Did this slow the security line? Not in this case; alleged transgressors were pulled to the side, while non-bag-toting folks sailed on through.

Meanwhile, the baggage police showed no mercy; traveler after traveler was sent back to ticketing to check (and pay for) their bag.

Attention U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) traveling abroad this year: now you can skip the federal agents and zip through customs.

That is, if you’ll be flying out of JFK, Dulles, or Houston. And, if you don’t mind paying for this service. And, if you don’t mind letting the government get a little personal.

Keep reading for the details.

It’s been all over the news, so I suppose I ought to make mention of it.

I’m talking about the woman who went through security with body piercings, and…and…if it hadn’t been on network news last night, I probably wouldn’t even mention it…

Know what? I’m getting a little bit squeamish. Better check out the post on our sister blog, Standard Upright Position.

According to an exclusive investigation by CNN, “of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals.”

The Transportation Security Administration denies this, calling CNN’s figures a “myth” but they won’t release the number of marshals or what percentage of flights are covered.

And there’s more scary stuff in the report. This, you will want to read…

You see air travel stories in the darnedest places; I saw this one in the New York Post’s famed “Page Six” gossip column:

Here’s the scene: comedian Chuck Nice was at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport over the weekend, when it was announced his flight to New York was delayed.

That’s when Nice started spouting Shakespeare; and that’s when airline personnel gave his act a very, VERY bad review.

Saw an interesting item about entering Canada with a DUI conviction, from the always interesting Los Angeles Times Travel Editor Catharine Hamm.

You can see her story here; essentially, someone wrote in asking if having a DUI on his record would make it difficult for him to cross the border into Canada.

Difficult?

Short answer: yes.

More about this, and what you might be able to do to change your record, coming up.

Put me down as a fan of this idea: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has got two “experiments” going to try and ease long security lines.

And cut down on air travel frustration.

The TSA is trying something akin to the way ski trails are marked (makes sense: the experiments are being conducted in Salt Lake and Denver).

It’s a simple idea: 3-different security lanes, for 3-different kinds of travelers.

Keep reading, I think you’ll like this.

Is travel security working for us? Or, against us? Read this, and tell me what YOU think.

According to this story on CNN, a U.S. citizen and business traveler named Amir Khan has had federal agents search his computers 5-times in the past 5-years.

He says, at times U.S. Customs and Border agents have “forced him to give them access to password-protected, confidential information from his company and his banking records.”

Are we going too far? Please, keep reading.

You probably know something about identity theft, but were you aware that more than 8-million people have been victims of this crime?

And did you know, travel is the perfect breeding ground? Identity theft expert Mike Prusinski says, “Just think of how many times you’re asked to produce ID at the airport.” And it’s so easy for ID to be dropped or left in a security bin, or it’s always possible to fall victim to a pickpocket.

The biggest danger? According to Prusinski, that’s when you give someone “the keys to the kingdom.” What’s he talking about? Just click “more” to continue.

You’re all set for your trip: everything’s packed properly, there are no bottles bigger than 3-oz on your person, you’ve got your boarding pass and ID out, and…

“Not so fast, sir!”

That’s when you learn, you’re on the fabled “No Fly List”.

Whether you’re on it or not, keep reading; there are surprises ahead.

I thought I’d turn tables a bit, and instead of presenting you with some good advice, I’d tell you about some of the bad advice I see floating around the internet.

So, I’ve come up with this: 6-Pieces of Air Travel Advice to Ignore…and what you should pay attention to.

I talk about cell phones, passports, First Class and plenty of other things.

Just click “more” for…THE LIST.

Air travel security could be poised to take a step in a very different direction than we’ve seen in the past: we’re about to see tests conducted on technology designed to protect commercial airplanes from shoulder-fired missile (or MANPADS) attacks.

“The Department of Homeland Security signed a $29 million contract with BAE Systems on December 21. BAE said Thursday it is working with American Airlines to put laser systems on the planes, which will be flying between New York and California.” (From CNN)

Keep reading (click “more”) for the reasoning behind the tests and American Airlines’ perhaps surprising response…

Liked this story? Then check out Airport Security: Is it (Past) Time for a Change?

I just read a truly fascinating article by the New York Times’ Patrick Smith about airport security, and his point is a lot of it is meaningless.

Not all of it; he’s very much in favor explosives scanning for checked luggage. But Smith believes it’s sheer lunacy to make flight crews undergo the same screening as passengers, while some airport workers are subject to just the occasional random screening.

And he’s not crazy about passengers undergoing such extensive screening either: “In the end, I’m not sure which is more troubling, the inanity of the existing regulations, or the average American’s acceptance of them and willingness to be humiliated.” Smith maintains that the Sept. 11^th attacks had less to do with terrorists armed with box-cutters, than armed with the element of surprise.

In a recent Newsweek story on airports around the world, what country’s airports were described this way?

“Citizens queue in interminable lines and suffer humiliating treatment at the hands of surly authorities”

The answer may surprise you!

As promised, we are revisiting the subject of the “slowest single security line in the busiest airports”.

Once again, the information on “wait times” comes from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Other data and criteria we used:

• Airports: We selected our airports from a “Top 40″ list of U.S. airports, the “busiest” ones, based on passenger enplanement statistics from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• Days/Times: We selected as our “target” Fridays from 2pm to 6pm (local times) during the weeks from Nov. 2 through Nov. 30 (in order to show a “busier” time than emerged from our earlier list)
• Maximum “waits”: We purposefully chose to highlight the single slowest line, at a single security-check point, per airport. We did NOT choose to highlight multiple long lines at an airport or terminal; such a list might show only JFK in the Top 10. By highlighting a single “slowest line” per airport, we hope to show you a variety of “waiting in line” experiences.

And the airport with the longest “wait time” at a security-checkpoint? Top honors go to…JFK. Keep reading for the rest.