Photo courtesy of Matt McGee, Flickr Creative Commons

This post previously appeared on Frommers.com

“TSA bans holiday cheer,” read a tweet issued from a Transportation Security Administration (www.tsa.gov) spoof account at the beginning of December. And that’s not so hard to believe, as passengers struggle to endure the busy travel season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

What maddens people most? Long lines at security checkpoints clogged with infrequent travelers going to airports for the first time in a year. While the TSA reported that 99% of the 12 million travelers over Thanksgiving weekend took less than 20 minutes to clear security, it doesn’t feel that way when you’re the one pulled aside for special screening.

Part of what holds people up is not knowing exactly what they can or can’t bring on board — which is admittedly confusing when you hear about passengers like the pregnant Florida teen who was stopped because her purse had a gun design on it. She ended up missing her flight, turning her fashion crime into a huge hassle for herself — and the people behind her in line.

This holiday season, there are a few new rules for people to ponder. Kids under 12 no longer have to remove their shoes, a time-saver that should speed up the family line. If you’re a frequent flier, more airports have now set aside special security lines for business- or first-class passengers or for those who hold elite status with the airline.

Here are a few more tips about what you can and can’t bring through airport security during the holidays:

When in doubt, check. The well-written (and often humorous) TSA blog (http://blog.tsa.gov) regularly reports what has been confiscated from passengers — and the list is enlightening. Stun guns can apparently be disguised as smartphones. Grenades, both fake and real, are more popular than you think. And who knew how many people owned canes with hidden swords in them? (Two were confiscated in a single week in November.)

And please, all you people with loaded handguns: You may have a permit, but you still need to declare them to the airline and put them in checked luggage, without the bullets in them and in a locked hard-sided container. Seriously, what were you thinking?

Peruse your picnic basket. With prices of airline snacks starting at $3 and concessions charging sky-high prices, it’s no wonder that more people pack food to eat on board. But some items that seem innocuous in the kitchen can raise red flags at the security gate. Think twice before packing peanut butter, mustard, salsa, and yogurt.

Don’t cook until you get there. Speaking of food, the TSA specifically warns that creamy foods (such as cheese spreads, gravy, and sauces) could be confiscated. If your family expects your homemade cranberry sauce to grace the table, check it in a cooler. Pies, cakes, and baked goods are usually OK, although the desserts may undergo extra screening.

Ship gifts to your destination. The TSA will force you to unwrap gifts if they see something suspicious through the scanner. If you want your presents to arrive untouched, it’s better to ship them or wrap them when you get there. And don’t buy anyone a snow globe outside security; the TSA will confiscate any that appear in your carry-on luggage.

There’s an app for that. The TSA now has an iPhone/mobile app called My TSA (http://apps.usa.gov/tsa-app) that allows you to ask if you can bring a particular item on board. It also has a crowd-sourced waiting time feature. And the app will tell you if an airport is suffering delays, which could come in handy when that first snowstorm paralyzes the East Coast.

© 2011 by Wiley Publishing Inc

TSA Regulations: Airport Security Reminders for the Holidays is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Watching the blizzards overcome the East Coast this holiday season reminds me of last year’s winter, when my husband spent more than 2 hours on the phone with US Air trying to rebook his flight from Florida back to Washington DC after snow ruined his travel.

So I feel for reader Dan, who wrote: “Blizzard in the New England area and I have been on hold with US Air for 217 minutes so far. I have had 2 rebookings and 2 canceled flights and still on the ground.. Fortunately I am at my home on hold so that is a bonus.”

A few quick tips for those in the same boat:

1. Stay calm. Yes, the delays are frustrating. But yelling at the reservation agent will get you nowhere. Being rational and nice during a time when everyone else is losing their cool will definitely make the agents more likely to go the extra mile on your behalf.

2. Don’t try to go to the airport. Dan has the right idea. With lines at the airport at all-time highs, you are just as likely to get rebooking help from an agent over the phone than in person – and you’ll be a lot more comfortable too.

3. If you have airline status, invoke it. As unfair as it seems, not all passengers are created equal. If you’ve earned preferred status on an airline or alliance, this is the time to ask for special treatment – nicely, of course.

4. Ask for a refund. If you can figure out another way to get to your destination, call the airline and ask for a refund. Blizzards and other weather-related Acts of God are usually one of the few times that an airline will issue you a refund (check your contract of carriage to make sure, as different airlines’ policies vary).

5. Next time, plan ahead. If you see a monster storm bearing down on your region, try to get out a few days early. It may suck to cut your holiday short, but people who left the East Coast on Christmas Day are already home.

For those of you visiting family or friends over the holidays, how did you cope with travels during the blizzard?

Blizzard nightmare: Rebooking Travels in Winter Weather is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Last night marked the first time that I had flown since the TSA instituted the X-ray scanners and enhanced pat-downs. As I drove to the airport, I worried about my choices. Among my many concerns, I think the scanners violate privacy – yet who wants to be subject to a patdown that feels more like a grope?

Turns out I didn’t have to choose, as SEA-TAC’s airport security had the new backscatter machines turned off (I went through a regular metal detector instead). But the whole thing made me think about whether the TSA could institute a “trusted traveler” program that allows vetted frequent flyers easier access through security.

It’s an idea supported by the U.S. Travel Association. The organization, which promotes the interests of the travel industry, has called upon the government to consider such a measure, especially because the Department of Homeland Security is already working with airlines and online reservation systems on Secure Flight, where manifests of  domestic and inbound passengers are checked against ’s announcement government watch lists.

As the USTA envisions it, a Trusted Traveler program would allow those flyers who voluntarily share biometric and biographical information, pass robust background checks and are verified by TSA at the time of travel to pass through an alternative security process. If the TSA did that, they could “”enable the shift of security resources from a large pool of “low-risk” travelers to allow a more sustained focus on a smaller pool of travelers who are not pre-screened.” the group said in a release.

This vision of a Trusted Traveler system sounds like an enhanced version of the CLEAR program, which charged a fee (and only allowed members to go to the front of the security line, not undergo an alternative screening). I’ve seen other countries implement eye scans at passport control when traveling internationally and it seems quick and easy. The U.K.’s IRIS program earns high marks; passengers are often cleared in 20 seconds or less.

Sounds smart to me.

What do you think – would you sign up for a biometric security program if it meant skipping current TSA procedures?

TSA Airport Security: Is it time for a Trusted Traveler biometric program? is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

I am so glad I am not flying this week.

And that’s not just because of the typical Thanksgiving airport traffic that gives these particular seven days the nickname “amateur week.”

No, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with airport security and the Epic Fail of the TSA’s new body scanners and “enhanced” patdown policies.

Generally, I’ve been a cautious supporter of government security policies. Yes, the directives seemed to come without rhyme or reason. Yes, it seemed like they were always chasing the latest thwarted plot instead of being pro-active with developing new tools to isolate suspected terrorists before they even reached the security line. And yes, it seemed more like theater than actual prevention, particularly when you’d see grandmothers with pacemakers or small children given unnecessary extra treatment.  But I fly often enough that adding a few steps to my traveling routine didn’t seem like too much of a big deal.

 Until now. Here’s a few reasons why I’ve gone from rolling my eyes at the latest TSA announcement to outright anger at how the agency has overstepped its bounds:

Safety of the scanning devices: As most people have read by now, there are two types of full-body scanning devices, the millimeter wave scanner and the backscatter X-ray. The millimeter scan uses EHF radio frequency bands to produce a 3D image while the backscatter X-ray employs iodizing radiation for a front and back . Proponents of the machines say that the radiation dose that you receive from going through one of these machines is minimal, no more than the naturally occuring radiation that you are exposed to during a typical flight. Those who warn about the machines’ health hazards point out that even lower doses of radiation can affect certain at-risk populations differently and that the concentration of radiation that you’re receiving from the machines is higher than the TSA says it is.

My skepticism with the machines lies with the trust factor of those using them. I’ve had CAT scans, MRIs and other radiation-emitting medical procedures. Yet those were being operated by doctors and technicians who had specifically been trained in using machines and understand the correct dose of radiation. I’ll probably be dubbed a snob, but I don’t have confidence that the average TSA worker has the experience or the technical know-how to make sure that the machine is constantly working the way that it should.  

Cost and roll-out of the devices: Remember the puffers? (also known as explosive trace portal device, which shot air on people to dislodge traces of drugs and explosives). Chances are, you don’t. That’s because the machines were only rolled out at a few airports to undergo testing. As this Detroit Free Press article points out, the machines were ultimately dumped by the TSA because “they were prone to false-positives and broke down after an average of 551 hours of use.”  And that didn’t justify the  $29.6 million price tag (for 207 machines). Oh yeah, and the TSA didn’t believe their front-line personnel had the skills to calibrate the machines properly.

At $150,000 to $200,000 per unit, the new body scanners are admittedly cheaper than the puffers. Yet they’ve been given a full-speed roll out without an adequate testing period. Every day, it seems, we hear of another instance where travelers are going through the machines and having to do a patdown anyway because the machine picked up something that wasn’t there. Why is the government investing so much in a technology that might have similar breakage and false-positive rates? Call me cynical, but I believe it has to do with the lobbying efforts of former Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff, whose company, The Chertoff Group, counts machine manufacturer Rapiscan Systems as a client.

Privacy concerns: Take a look at the images above. Does it make you uncomfortable to know that a picture like this is being taken of you? Of your kids and teen-agers? The images may be faceless, but it still amounts to a virtual strip search. You are showing your genitalia to strangers.  

The TSA has assured people that the screeners viewing the images can’t see who is going through the machine and that the images won’t be saved. That’s WON’T and not CAN”T; the machines are designed to capture images and earlier this month U.S. Marshals Service admitted that it had saved thousands of images captured from a Florida checkpoint.  Blurring of faces is a setting that can easily be undone. And while I can’t imagine someone being turned on by these pictures, screeners in other countries have already been caught using the images as porn.

Organizations that look out for our civil rights, such as Electronic Privacy Information Center and American Civil Liberties Union, have called for suspension of the machines because they say they violate the Fourth Amendment. The courts will decide that. All I know is that knowing that the government will have such a picture of me feels….icky and scary.

Fine, Chris, I can hear people saying. Don’t walk through the scanner. Exercise your right to opt out and request a pat-down. Because that’s better….why? Some thoughts on what the TSA’s new patdowns – which include touching breast and genitalia areas – are not only overkill, they are likely illegal:

Unfair treatment of people with disabilities: In the past week, we’ve read stories about a flight attendant who had to remove her prosthetic breast and a bladder cancer survivor who had his ostomy bag knocked off by a screener. Apparently the machines are only accurate enough to tell that someone has a device, and not what it is – which means nearly everyone with an artificial limb or medical aid will be singled out for aggressive patdowns. Speaking as someone with relatives who have artifical hips and such , I’m frankly outraged that they will be treated this way every time they fly. In the long run, there’s simply no way these machines are going to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

A Hobson’s choice for parents: Recognizing how sensitive “good touch, bad touch” is for kids, the TSA has said that children under 12 who opt-out won’t receive the enhanced pat downs. But what kind of lesson are we giving teen-agers? Touching “down there” is OK, as long as it’s done by a person in uniform? After covering sex scandals in the state police, I know that’s not a message I’d want to send.  

Even the agents know the patdowns are wrong: For an excellent piece of counter-reporting, read blogger Steven Frischling’s interviews with TSA screeners forced to implement these patdowns. Turns out that the agents don’t like the new procedures anymore than the passengers do – because they know that touching people in this manner is a violation of privacy and personal space. Says one screener (the agents who replied were anonymous):  “It is not comfortable to come to work knowing full well that my hands will be feeling another man’s private parts, their butt, their inner thigh.” 

So what can people do to protest the  TSA policies?

Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who has been doing a great job of reporting on the issue, has a list of options here. What I find most interesting is that some customers are asking airlines for refunds because they don’t want to participate in this TSA fiasco. They’d rather not fly than submit to policies that are allegedly designed to protect us.

Which really is the saddest commentary of all. The TSA formed after 9/11 to shield the skies from terrorists. Now, it seems, someone needs to protect us from the TSA.

I’m not expecting everyone to agree with me on this touchy (ha) issue. Will you go through the body scanners or do the patdown? Or have you decided that flying is not for you anymore? Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments section.

Note: I’ve noticed higher-than-average searches for information on how El Al conducts its security. Here’s an account of my first-hand experience with the Israeli airlines’ famed security tactics.

Rights vs Security: The new TSA pat downs and body scanners is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

My husband, falling asleep with the phone while on hold with US Airways. His noon flight into DCA was canceled because Terminal C at the airport was flooded, due to a burst pipe. Total time on hold: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Still, others may have endured longer – when we called on a second phone, the time estimate was 412 minutes – that’s nearly 7 hours!

Good luck to everyone traveling today!

On hold with US Airways is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

While I’m staying put this week, I’ll be joining my parents and sister in Florida for Christmas and going with friends to a yet-to-be-determined Bowl game for New Year’s (Go Cats!), so I have more than my share of transportation hassles ahead.

With that in mind, I’ve come up with a list of six things that I do to keep sane during holiday travel. Feel free to add your own!

1. Travel on the holiday itself. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, the airports are less crowded. The interstates are more managable (even the dreaded I-95 on the Eastern Seaboard). Sure, you might suffer some angst from family members who want you there (“You’re getting here when??”), but if you take the right flight, you can arrive well before the turkey comes out of the oven.

2. Or try “off” days. If family traditions insist you arrive before the holiday, try traveling on “off days” before and after. The Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving (although a little late for that, I guess!) are generally pretty easy, as are the Friday and Saturday after the holiday. 

With both Christmas and New Year’s on Fridays this year, the same logic applies. Try Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, or Dec. 28 and Dec. 29. Bonus: Some of these days fall outside the holiday surcharges that many legacy airlines have imposed this year.

2. Ship bulky packages ahead of time. Already a precious commodity, overhead bin space this season will be tough to come by. Do yourself – and other passengers - a favor and send your presents to your destination in advance (it’s not a good idea to carry wrapped gifts through the airport anyway – you never know if security will ask you to unwrap them). Or better yet, have your online orders sent directly to your holiday locale. Same goes with any loot you pick up - just hit a post office on your way to the airport.  

3. Figure out logistics in advance. In the hectic holiday buildup, it’s easy to forget the small stuff. Like where to park (Long term lots will be full – get a cab or grab a ride from a friend if you can). And what to do with pets (find a sitter or kennel – that weekend New Year’s invite didn’t really include Fido). Gas up the car. Charge your cell phone. Pack your camera batteries. Prone to forgetfulness? Lay out everything on the bed or table.

4. Keep essentials close. The forecasts may look good now, but it ain’t a holiday weekend without a winter squall somewhere, especially if you’re traveling through the Midwest. Pack a change of clothes, along with toiletries, in your carry on bag. And contact lens wearers - don’t forget your glasses! Nothing worse than dry contacts during a never-ending layover.  

5. Bring snacks for the airport. Traveling on peak holidays requires patience and endurance. So this not the time to get hopped up on Cinnabons and suffer a sugar crash (and wouldn’t you rather save your calories for homemade cookies instead of greasy fastfood?) I always stick a few Kashi bars and bananas in my purse to tide us over.   

6. Practice meditation – or take a Xanax. Realize that no matter how much you prepare, things will go wrong. Getting upset or throwing a fit isn’t going to work, as your fellow passengers will be in the same boat. Although hours spent in the airport seem twice as long as a normal hours, remember your final goal – an outstanding holiday with loved ones. Keep your eyes on that prize!

Now it’s your turn. How do you stay sane during holiday travel?

6 tips for surviving holiday travel is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Until today. An innocuous alert from Delta last week announced that there were “schedule changes.” Careful reading showed that our flight back from Arizona no longer took off at 12:10 p.m. – instead it was moved forward more than four hours to 7:50 a.m. Yet our evening flight back to DCA remained the same.

Sooo, seven hour layover in Memphis….I finished my work. I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (recommended). I watched six episodes of 30 Rock on Hulu. I spent the $10 in meal vouchers given to me by the sympathetic gate attendant. I composed cranky letters to Delta in my head.

Karma, officially broken.

Seven hour layover is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road

Old habits die hard and now I usually book the first flight out of town for North American trips. There’s a method to my madness: the planes for 6 a.m. flights are already at the airport, which means less chance of delays. You get to your destination early, allowing more time to sightsee or relax. There’s also a better chance you can score an extra row seat, increasing the likelihood of an in-flight nap.

Not to mention there’s something cool about an airport in the early hours. TSA workers seem more mellow, gate attendants more chipper as the first wave of caffeine flows through their veins. Fellow passengers tend to be sleepy, not angry. The anticipatory hum of traveling hasn’t been eradicated yet by the hassles of the day – and to me, that’s worth the 4:30 a.m. wakeup call.

Early Flights is a post from: Chris Around The World: A Journalist's Travels on the Road