Are these security procedures unique?

skyflyer8

skyflyer8

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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?
 
I assume this is not at Brennand :D No badges required at the places I fly, and now im even happier that those are not the places that I fly...
 
I learned to fly at an uncontrolled Class E airport in Monroe (EQY), North Carolina. The flying club also had aircraft at Concord (JQF) NC, a Class D airport.

When flying out of JQF, we had to have a picture badge (which took 5 minutes to get), and were admonished to have it in view at all times on the ramp, but I can't remember a time when anyone checked it. I just kept it clipped to my flight bag.

I haven't flown to many Class C or B FBOs, but I'm surprised that TSA is messing around with GA issues. Don't they know there are 90-year old grandmothers to search in the main terminal?:rolleyes:
 
If the GA ramp is in the SIDA (SIDE?) where ID's are required, the fact that they let you escort folks in the past may have been the exception to the rule, and they may have been instructed to cut it out.
 
Certainly sounds like TSA is on a power-trip at that airport.

I'd personally be on the phone to AOPA and the airport manager - both will have a lot more influence over the out-of-control agency.
 
If it's an air carrier (Part 139) airport, the security rules tighten up considerably, especially if there's direct access to the "SIDA" (the airline security area). However, it seems odd that instructors cannot escort students -- I would be most surprised if pilots with badges could not escort their passengers. I would suggest trying to get a meeting with the airport manager, flight school management, local TSA chief, and Public Safety's airport rep to identify problems and come up with workable solutions.

FWIW, at other airports where there are badging requirements (e.g., BWI in Baltimore, and most airports in Massachussetts), transient pilots have to register at the FBO desk and get some sort of paper to wear/carry out on the ramp.
 
Weird. I keep reading these stories, but I've never come across a requirement like that.

Not at any of the class B or C airports I've been at. Then again, I haven't landed in MA. Sure seems strange that these requirements are restricted to only a few airports.

I still remember walking around right next to the runway at PHL, watching 737s take off....

-Felix
 
I'm not sure the policies at the flight school on the field, but I have a SIDA security badge for Hobby Airport through my work at the museum. The rule is that we can have up to 10 non-badged guests for every badged person we have on the ramp. We do a special event on the third Saturday of every month (which falls on next Saturday, if anyone wants to fly down), and this arrangement works fine. Ric, you have a badge there too, what's been your experience?
 
This happens because we let it.

I wonder....will AOPA be on this one? I'll bet not anymore than they were in Boston fighting Massport.

edit: Despite my attitude on this...this actually makes no sense though. I can escort my friend to a plane, why can't a CFI escort a student, and what's to say he isn't escorting a friend?
 
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William's Gateway in Mesa (KIWA) required badges as the entire airport was a SIDA Badge area, but escorting was fine...didn't matter if it was a CFI escorting a student or just a person with a badge escorting someone without. And if our planes were parked out in front of the terminal instead of on the North Ramp, a badge wasn't required at all (the same rule applies for transient pilots who are just walking straight out to their plane). For GA pilots, the badges weren't aplicable in the AOA (airline operating area) but they were valid everywhere else. I've NEVER heard of requiring badges for EVERYONE...that's pretty much absurd. I'd be b!tching to someone about that.
 
Kate,
You might want to contact the Airport Support Network Volunteer for Green Bay, Ernest Johnson. To email him, go to http://www.aopa.org/asn, search for the GRB, and click E-Mail this Volunteer.
 
Thank you for the replies and the good ideas on who to contact for this. I will definitely contact some people and let you know what I find out.

Also, yes it is a SIDA (security identification display area) issue since the airline area is just down the ramp from us.

But yeah... if you are going to disallow students being escorted to a plane, how can you allow miscellaneous pilots and passengers to go unescorted?
 
skyflyer8 said:
... if you are going to disallow students being escorted to a plane, how can you allow miscellaneous pilots and passengers to go unescorted?
Click to expand...

Bite your tongue, Kate!!:hairraise: You're giving "them" ideas:eek:! Just kidding, of course...;)

Jim
 
Today I called the same TSA representative whom I met in September when she reviewed my records.

It turns out there was apparently a misunderstanding between the TSA, the airport's Public Safety department, and others on the airport. The new requirement I mentioned in my first post is not a requirement anymore.

New students don't need to obtain an I.D. badge immediately as long as they are escorted by someone who has a badge. Students based in GRB are encouraged to get an I.D. as soon as possible, though.

Whew. This makes much more sense. Now I don't have to contact AOPA.
 
That makes more sense. Like I said, at HOU we can escort up to 10 non-badged people per badged person. It makes sense for students to get one, that way they don't have to be escorted when doing a preflight or going for a solo flight.
 
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