skyflyer8
Line Up and Wait
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2006
- Messages
- 967
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skyflyr
Our flight school has two branches, one at a tiny country airport where I mostly instruct, and the other at an international Class C airport with airline service - Green Bay, KGRB.
Until recently, our students needed a security badge to access the ramp unsupervised, so they would all need to go through the training over at Public Safety, which involved a video and submitting a form with your work history. There is a $25 fee for the badge. Our students have been pretty good at getting this taken care of in time for solo. In the meantime, they could access the ramp with a CFI who has a badge.
Fine, but now the TSA has suddenly decided to crack down and says our students may not access the ramp, period, unless they have a badge. There is often a two-week processing time involved in getting the badge, besides the need to get schedules to align in order to receive the training. What this means is that any student will need to go through this process before they can take their second lesson. (Discovery flights don't count, we're told.)
Meanwhile, anyone including students from other places can still land, visit the FBO, and go back out onto the ramp with no badge whatsoever, after the person at the desk allows them to go out the door.
What gives? I thought it was OK to be escorted by someone?
Anyone else experience something like this?
Until recently, our students needed a security badge to access the ramp unsupervised, so they would all need to go through the training over at Public Safety, which involved a video and submitting a form with your work history. There is a $25 fee for the badge. Our students have been pretty good at getting this taken care of in time for solo. In the meantime, they could access the ramp with a CFI who has a badge.
Fine, but now the TSA has suddenly decided to crack down and says our students may not access the ramp, period, unless they have a badge. There is often a two-week processing time involved in getting the badge, besides the need to get schedules to align in order to receive the training. What this means is that any student will need to go through this process before they can take their second lesson. (Discovery flights don't count, we're told.)
Meanwhile, anyone including students from other places can still land, visit the FBO, and go back out onto the ramp with no badge whatsoever, after the person at the desk allows them to go out the door.
What gives? I thought it was OK to be escorted by someone?
Anyone else experience something like this?