Airport Rules and Regulations - Articles - Zimbio

Airport Security

Tue, 7 May 2008 07:48:00 GMT

posted by livewyre
Security updates – with the stepping-up of airport security and changes to threat levels, travellers may not be entirely sure what security measures are now operating. For up-to-date information, the UK Department of Transport has a resource here…
In brief, the one bag hand-luggage restriction was lifted at many airports in January 2008. Since the revelation of a plot to use innocent looking liquids to create an explosion, there are still some recommendations in place namely:

Where possible, put all liquid items in your hold baggage. This includes water and other drinks, creams, sprays, pastes and gels.
Liquids, gels and aerosols are only allowed in individual containers of 100ml. All containers must fit comfortably in one, transparent, bag no larger than 20cm x 20cm.

Contact your airline for up to date information relevant to your travel plans.
Some interesting side-issues here are that if you take baby food onto a plane, you may be asked to taste it before you are allowed to take it with you (that's enough to put me off flying, or at least my in-flight meal!), similarly if you take nappy (daiper) cream with you, you can be asked to apply it to your own skin.
You can check alcohol into the hold baggage and any duty free you buy in the departure lounge can be taken with you on board. But do remember that the liquids restrictions apply at all EU airports and a growing number of other airports across the world, so you might need to pack duty free in the hold baggage for your return journey.
Happy traveling

Airport Noise

Sat, 4 May 2008 00:04:00 GMT

posted by meteorhunter

The Chesapeake Regional Airport is a small airport that operates in Chesapeake, Virginia. It was built in 1978 and has a rather nice 5500 foot runway. It is essential to the city, bringing in plenty of tourists and jobs to the area.

In 1990, a small sub-division called the West Landing Estates was built about a mile and a half from the end of the runway in the flight path of the incoming and outgoing flights. Can anyone see where this is going?

In 2004, the residents of the subdivision decided that the airport was responsible for "low flights they contend destroyed the tranquil, rural atmosphere of their community."

They of course sued the airport, who did not actually own any of the planes that allegedly caused the 'destruction'. This week a circuit judge has ruled that the property was damaged without just compensation by the airport.

Lets look at the time line. Airport was built in 1978. Homes were built in 1990 or later. Suit was filed in 2004 when the 'tranquil, rural atmosphere' was destroyed. Judge finds the airport is at fault. Does this seem right?

So, residents of West Landing Estates, exactly whose fault is it that you bought a home under a flight path?

A. The city for approving the housing development.
B. The developer who designed the subdivision.
C. The builder who built the house.
D. The realtor who didn't disclose the nearby airport.
E. The airport who had the GALL to build 12 years before you got there.
F. The airlines who fly their noisy jets.
G. It's your own damn fault for buying a house where you did.

Did you ever wonder why the price was so good in the first place? Did you happen to notice the numerous recent successful litigations against airports for their alleged noise pollution? Are you perhaps a little irritated by falling property values and maybe see a chance at a quick buck? Ever heard of 'personal responsibility'? I thought not.

Airport rules and regulations - flying with liquids

Tue, 26 Sep 2007 23:44:30 GMT

posted by The_Zimbio_Team
Here is the official line on liquids from TSA:

"All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag."

Sp basically you need to place sunscreen, hand creams, make-up and other liquids and gels into one of those big zip lock bags. If they don't fit in one bag and you're traveling with a friend, try to have the friend carry some of the stuff in a second bag. Otherwise pair it down to whatever can fit into one bag.

Blogger exposes security flaws on TSA site

Sat, 13 Jan 2008 11:17:00 GMT

posted by ted9925
Since 9-11, we've spent billions upgrading security. Here is a sad report about how the TSA (Transportation Security Agency) put up a NOT very secure site with some of the money earmarked for making the nation more secure.

Even worse, it seems it wasn't the TSA didn't even discover the problem themselves. The problem was brought to light by a blogger!

Here is some commentary from the government report that examines this problem:

In October 2006, the Transportation Security Administration launched a website to help travelers whose names were erroneously listed on airline watch lists. This redress website had multiple security vulnerabilities: it was not hosted on a government domain; its homepage was not encrypted; one of its data submission pages was not encrypted; and its encrypted pages were not properly certified. These deficiencies exposed thousands of American travelers to potential identity theft.

After an internet blogger identified these security vulnerabilities in February 2007, the website was taken offline and replaced by a website hosted on a Department of Homeland Security domain.

At the request of Chairman Henry Waxman, Committee staff have been investigating how TSA could have launched a website that violated basic operating standards of web security and failed to protect travelers’ sensitive personal information. As this report describes, these security breaches can be traced to TSA’s poor acquisition practices, conflicts of interest, and inadequate oversight.

The report reveals that the contract for the website was awarded without taking competitive bids to a company by a TSA employee, who was a former employee of the company designing the site. Even worse, it took months for the security flaws to be noticed and when they were, it was a blogger that brought them to everyone's attention!

The "hat tip" on this one belongs to a Chris Soghoian, who is a Ph.D. student at the University of Indiana’s School of Informatics. He used to write on the blog, "Slight Paranoia."

The first time Chris was considered "notorious" was when he put a fake boarding pass generator on the Internet. This attracted a lot of attention in the press, as well as that of the FBI.

Chris recently moved his blog to a CNet address, which can be seen, here.

Chris recently blogged about this report and added a comment about the lack of spell check being used on the TSA site, "Furthermore, the site was filled with typos and other errors, causing some to wonder whether TSA's site had been taken over by phishers."

The official government conclusion is:

There were multiple factors that contributed to security vulnerabilities in the TSA traveler redress website. They included poor procurement practices, conflicts of interest, and weak oversight. The result of these shortcomings was that an insecure website collected sensitive personal information from American travelers for months without detection by TSA.

This led me to wonder if the TSA employees involved still have their jobs?

Much to my chagrin, I found my answer on the Committee on Government Oversight and Reforms press release on this matter:

Neither Desyne nor the Technical Lead on the traveler redress website has been sanctioned by TSA for their roles in the deployment of an insecure website. TSA continues to pay Desyne to host and maintain two major web-based information systems: TSA’s claims management system and a governmentwide traveler redress program. TSA has taken no steps to discipline the Technical Lead, who still holds a senior program management position at TSA.

Full government report (PDF version, here.

Welcome to our wikizine called "Airport Rules and Regulations"

Mon, 25 Sep 2007 20:11:01 GMT

posted by The_Zimbio_Team
Wikizines are interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - and this one is called "Airport Rules and Regulations". Here you can find fresh voices and respond in real time. Some members write articles about recent news and trends related to the wikizine's topic, others recount relevant personal stories or share their favorite pictures and video clips. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this wikizine? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own article!