The speculation surrounding the FAA possible loosen restrictions on the use of electronics on aircraft hit a new high on Wednesday when the administrator of the FAA was grilled by a Senate Committee.
Senators have their own personal stake in the issue as they are as much of a group of road warriors as some business folks. They constantly are traveling from their home states to Washington and that often means flights on every Tuesday and Thursday night like clockwork. Their staff knows the schedule of every flight combination going out of DCA on Thursday evenings. So it's fair to say they spend lots of time up in the air and are just as frustrated as the rest of us that you can't use electronics on certain portions of the flight.
One of the Senators that has been a leading force in grilling the FAA on this is Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) who asked FAA Administrator Michael Huerta why the ban was still in place when passengers use gadgets on planes all the time with no harm done. It's widely known in DC the ultimate first class flight, on Air Force One, features staffers tapping away at their blackberries for all of the flight.
This led to my favorite quote from the USA Today article on the hearing, "If it's safe enough for the president of the United States, it's safe enough for the flying public," McCaskill said.
Administrator Huerta indicated that an FAA Advisory Committee that was convened to study the issue is expected to issue their recommendations to him in July. Until then...it's all electronics off and put away below 10,000 feet.
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Showing posts with label Travel Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel Safety. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Coalition of Flight Attendants: No Knives on Planes
The recent policy change announced by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) that would allow small knives and many items of sports equipment starting April 25 is stirring up quite the controversy. The Coalition on Flight Attendant Unions which represents over 90,000 flight attendants across the country have come out publicly against the ban and are actively campaigning for it's end.
On March 21 flight attendants across the country handed out leaflets to passengers at the airport urging their support to contact TSA and say they do not support the rule changes. Today the head of the Coalition, a flight attendant for United, went on MSNBC's Morning Joe program and indicated that the Coalition doesn't see where the TSA is coming from on this rule change and their members and the passengers they serve and protect don't either. She indicated that it seems like the TSA believes that "security stops at the cockpit door" and now flight attendants are not only expected to do their duty and keep the cabin safe, but also be prepared to take care of anyone who is acting out on the plane...now possibly with a knife.I'll post the video of the whole interview once it is available. EDIT: Here is the video from MSNBC.
The Coalition has started a petition on the White House's website to ask the Obama administration to rescind the policy. The petition currently has almost 40,000 signatures and if it can cross the 100,000 signature mark it will require an administration response. It will be interesting to see if all of the resistance from the flying professionals will cause any change from the TSA, or if this will just make them dig in their heels even more.
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On March 21 flight attendants across the country handed out leaflets to passengers at the airport urging their support to contact TSA and say they do not support the rule changes. Today the head of the Coalition, a flight attendant for United, went on MSNBC's Morning Joe program and indicated that the Coalition doesn't see where the TSA is coming from on this rule change and their members and the passengers they serve and protect don't either. She indicated that it seems like the TSA believes that "security stops at the cockpit door" and now flight attendants are not only expected to do their duty and keep the cabin safe, but also be prepared to take care of anyone who is acting out on the plane...now possibly with a knife.
The Coalition has started a petition on the White House's website to ask the Obama administration to rescind the policy. The petition currently has almost 40,000 signatures and if it can cross the 100,000 signature mark it will require an administration response. It will be interesting to see if all of the resistance from the flying professionals will cause any change from the TSA, or if this will just make them dig in their heels even more.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com
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