So, here I am, finally well rested and with jet lag taken care of. I just this weekend past got back from a long round trip to Houston, Texas to meet a new client. Going into this trip, I spent a lot of time doing research and reading the various articles around the TSA and the body scanners, as well as other things, since this was my first trip to the US (I’m a Canadian).

Getting to the airport (YQM) last Thursday, I walked in expecting to go through security and have a lot of hassle to get in (since I was ultimately connecting to the US). Our version of the TSA is CATSA (Canadian Air Transport Security Authority), and I expected that they would have to follow similar policies as the TSA.

So, already familiar to the drill because of the reading, I made sure that everything I had except my passport and wallet were in the bin to be X-ray’d, and walked though the metal detector in my shoes (not out of them). The next step I thought was going to be the body-scanner (though I did not know there were scanners here initially), and my refusal to enter it. However, no such fuss. “Pat down,” the supervisor said to the security agent, “the scanner’s not turned on.” So, I assumed the pose I was directed, and had a simple pat down. I was impressed with the professionalism of the pat down, and was not groped at all (I know that the TSA policy almost demands that these days). I was directed to lean against a machine so that the officer could check the bottoms of my shoes, and then I collected my stuff and was on my way.

So far so good. No conflict, no groping, no problems. On to the plane a bit later, then off to Toronto International Airport (YYZ). On arrival, I wandered around a while to find my departure area, and through US Customs. In line for about 10 minutes, I chatted with another traveler who talked about missing a fair number of connections due to security and how close they were scheduled. He also commented on having to toss a $100 bottle of cologne, because it was labeled in ounces, and when security did the conversion on it, it was just over the 100mL of liquids you are allowed.

US Customs, I handed over my declaration card to a bored looking agent, who asked me a few routine questions (Purpose of trip, what I did as a job, where was I going), and passed me through in about two minutes. On through the line to security I went, where I got pulled aside as the random person who got the sniffer test. I was instructed to place my hands in my pockets for about a half-minute, then the security officer rubbed a swab across them and put it into the machine. Once cleared, he removed the line barrier, and let me pass on ahead of about ten people waiting in line for security.

Here, I was asked to remove my shoes for the first time, and did the same walk through the metal detector as before, sans shoes. This time there was no pat down or body scanner at all. I cleared, and collected my things, and went on my merry way.

Cut to Sunday, after running around Houston, then to Austin for a Codeworks (http://codeworks.phparch.com/) day on Saturday, then back down to Houston after some authentic Texas barbecue (a restaurant attached to a gas station, which seems to be the Texas way). I get to the airport (IAH) a while before my departure, and find my gate location, then get to the security checkpoint. Again, shoes off, and this time I know they have body scanners here, because this airport is listed on the TSA website. I get to the metal detector stage, and as usual, walk through sans shoes. Once again, I’m done and collect my things, with no scan or pat down.

There was one thing that I did notice about the airport and the general atmosphere. In the Canadian airports, you would hear the announcements about unattended luggage being taken by security, but in addition to this, in the American airports, I caught the tail end of one announcement and the full of another that made me a little more … conscious of the paranoia or fear. The one that I tuned into just near the end ended with the threat of arrest for whatever violation it was talking about. The second announcement that was actually repeated about every ten minutes or so was about the threat level (“The current threat level is orange.”), and something related to that. It was an interesting contrast, because in Canada, I knew that I could be arrested for certain things (shouting “Bomb” or the like), and I know that terrorism might be a possibility. In the US though, the announcements really seemed to serve the purpose of reminding you that you have something to be afraid of.

Overall, I can say that the trip was a good one. I had good experiences through all of security, with some agents being quite friendly (although most were rather dour). Air travel itself is awesome, and takeoff and landing really serve as a reminder that it is amazing that we are in the air in something so heavy with so many lives on it. I really expected from some of the news stories I heard that I would have to go through a higher level of screening than I did, but at the same time, I am glad I did not have to be subject to that. It made me more comfortable to not have to be patted and prodded every single time I went through a checkpoint, and at the same point, security seems to be doing a good job. On that token, I did see the person next to me having a conversion about one of those little key-chain swiss army tools that are fairly common, and it underscored some of the ridiculousness of the rules. I can not even in my wildest imagination think that anyone would be able to take over a plane with the knife on that, which is less than three inches long. It is more plausible that a passenger try to club someone to death with a laptop, than that.

On that note, I would like to thank my client for their hospitality, and I recommend going to see some Texas and eat some real barbecue. This trip was a great experience, and I enjoyed talking to everyone both on and off the plane. Most everyone I met seemed to be friendly, and I can certainly say that if this is a good representation of American people, then I would be glad to call them friends.