Friday, November 7, 2014

Thanksgiving air travel expands, or why we'll never get rid of the TSA


I know I sound like a broken record. That's why, as the years have gone by, I'm writing less and less about the TSA. Because I increasingly see it as pointless. And judging by the activity of our other writers here at TSA News, I'm not alone. 

We've demonstrated countless times that no matter how much abuse the TSA dishes out, Americans keep swallowing it. And now, with a new report that air travel is expected to increase this Thanksgiving, that premise is borne out once again.

Never mind that I've always thought it was insane to travel, by any means, on Thanksgiving weekend, long before the TSA existed. Americans are bound and determined to do it, no matter how many obstacles get in their way.

Stephanus Surjaputra at Consumer Traveler has this to say, quoting from a Jaunted article:
Were you planning to fly this Thanksgiving? Don’t. 
If you plan on flying this Thanksgiving (this blogger is going to), you may want to reconsider.
24.6 million people are going to try to make their way through airports in the week and a half around Thanksgiving. That’s one and a half percent more than last year. Analysts predict that 2.6 million of those people will try to board U.S. airlines just on the Sunday immediately after Thanksgiving. 
We say they’ll “try” because — between weather delays, boarding delays, and bad luck — the number of passengers who actually board planes that Sunday sometimes falls short of predictions. So you’ve also got that to look forward to.
Oh, well. Hope y'all have fun.

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)