Tagged: airports

TSA Lowers PreCheck Renewal Fee (but Here's How to Get It for Free)

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has decided it's time to lower the charge passengers pay to renew PreCheck memberships. TSA PreCheck is one of the federal…

Apple Users in 8 States Can Soon Use Their Phones as ID at Airports

A lot of Apple customers will soon be able to leave their IDs in their bags when going through airport security. Earlier this month, the company announced that eight U.S. states have…

The Penalty for U.S. Airline Mask Scofflaws Doubles Overnight and Is Now As High as $3,000

As of September 10, the penalty will double if you refuse to wear a mask at airports, on airplanes, and on other forms of transportation, according to the Department of Homeland…

Wanna See the Future of Airport Security? Go to Vegas.

Las Vegas is famous for being a place to try out stuff you don't do elsewhere, whether that means playing blackjack at four in the morning or consuming your weight in jumbo shrimp at…

Airport Express Lanes for Vaccinated Travelers Are Coming

As the door to pandemic-era international travel slowly creaks open, border control agents are facing a new procedural problem: If their governments enact differing entry rules for…

A Taxi and Uber Shortage Is Making Airport Transfers Hard: Here's What to Do

In many American cities this summer, the line for taxis is making the TSA queue look short by comparison. The wait for rideshare services like Uber and Lyft isn't much better—and their…

This Summer, Travel Isn't Working Like It Used To, So Bring Your Patience

As a society, we're still coping with a once-in-a-century trauma—and several of us aren't handling the stress well. Some travelers are snapping, losing their marbles in the worst…

Pandemic Forces a 19-Month Delay in Real ID Enforcement at Airports

Many notorious fibs have been told to modern travelers: High-speed rail is coming soon. Competition will make airline service better. Mergers will give travelers more choice. But among…

Southwest Gives Up on Social Distancing During Boarding, Blaming Crowds

This post, originally published March 24, has been updated below with news of another operational change at Southwest Airlines. We were kind of hoping airlines would keep the…

Going Maskless on Planes, Buses, or Trains Could Now Cost $1,500 or More

For most of 2020, airlines and other travel suppliers urgently told customers to wear masks. But if passengers were unwilling to comply, there wasn't much that could be done. The major…

Four Men Eat Crate of Oranges at Chinese Airport to Avoid Excess Baggage Fee

How far would you go to get out of paying an extra fee at the airport? Whatever your answer, we're guessing it doesn't involve gobbling up nearly 70 pounds of produce in less than 30…

This Year, You Finally, Really, Truly Need Real ID to Fly

Update, April 27, 2021: Guess what? The government delayed Real ID yet again. Click here to read about the new deadline.We really mean it this time: Real ID becomes mandatory at U.S.…

TSA Rolling Out Self-Scan I.D. Checkpoints That Don't Need Boarding Passes

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has converted 100% of its security checkpoints at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to accept self-scanned identification…

Bad Tourists Are Faking Covid Test Results. Here’s How to Stop Them.

The advent of pandemic travel restrictions has given rise to a whole new subset of bad tourists. We're talking about the quarantine flouters, mask refuseniks, and other coronavirus…

On Day One, President Biden Makes Masks Mandatory on Planes, At National Parks, and Elsewhere

Over the last 10 months, common sense sat on the back burner. Even though 33 transportation unions, most airline CEOs, the good folks at Consumer Reports, and hundreds of thousands of…

What's the Airport Experience Without CNN? We'll Soon Know

As if the travel experience hadn't changed enough recently, the background drone of cable pundits pontificating will soon be gone from U.S. airports. On January 12, CNN media reporter…

Download TSA’s Free 2021 Calendar of Airport Security Dogs

We've learned from experience that if you wait until January to select your annual wall calendar from whatever's left in the clearance bin, anything featuring the cutest animals will…

Berlin's Long-Delayed Airport Is Finally About to Open—for Real This Time

Germany may still hold its reputation for punctuality and efficiency, but it's no thanks to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. That seemingly endless construction project began in 2006, when…

Tampa Bay to Be First U.S. Airport to Offer All Passengers Covid-19 Test

Starting Thursday, October 1, Tampa Bay International Airport (TPA) will become the first airport in the United States to offer onsite Covid-19 testing for all passengers. "As a…

The World's Most Scenic Airports: A Ranking to Send Your Wanderlust Soaring

At this point, we'd probably feel awe gazing upon strip malls and empty parking lots as long as we got to see them from an airplane window again. So we might just burst looking at the…

SFO Airport Opens Rapid Covid Testing Facility, but We Need More

Covid-19 has been with us for the whole year, and back in the spring, countries around the world began requiring negative test results from visitors, but the world's airports still…

Airport Will Be Renamed to Honor Frederick Douglass

Greater Rochester International Airport in Rochester, New York, is getting a name change to pay tribute to one of the city's most important past residents. Pretty soon, visitors to…

Does This Look Fun to You? Vloggers Show What Travel Is Like Now

What's travel like these days? Now that things are reopening elsewhere in the world, are you missing out on the fun? You don't have to wonder. YouTube has the answer. The first…

Miss Broadway? You Can Still Perform Safety Theater at the Airport

On Sunday, a family emergency required me to fly from Nantucket, Massachusetts, to New York City. As I was heading out of the secure passenger area toward baggage claim at JFK…

German Airports Open Covid Testing Labs That Could Serve as Models

We'd rather have a Cinnabon, but in a move that could serve as a model for air travel around the world, airports in Frankfurt and Munich have opened onsite Covid-19 testing labs. The…