Should Non-Travelers Be Allowed Past Airport Security Again?

0:00Well, a lot changed after 9.11, our security changed the way that we look at protecting the homeland change and things certainly changed in our airports. And now gate side by TSA pre check is allowing non travelers to pass their airport security and enter the security side of airports, even if they don't have a plane ticket. There's 13 airports nationwide as part of this pilot program and Detroit Metro is one of them. Let's talk about it with Dan Vales, the regional spokesperson and public affairs media relations with the TSA. Dan, good morning to you. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Sure. Let's talk a little bit about why roll this program out now. Why was it the time to start allowing those non ticket holders to go through TSA, to go through security and escort their guests to the gate? Well, a lot of it has to do with the technology that we have now.

1:01We can, and as far as like our programs that we have like our vetted programs like TSA pre check. An important thing to remember is to be able to use this program. You have to be a TSA pre check member. That means you're already vetted. So you also have to make sure that you have an acceptable ID, like a real ID or a passport. And you have to go through regular screening as well. So what the administration has been trying to do, DHS and President Trump's administration is make sure that we're going into what we call the golden age of travel. And this is just another added benefit that they've added over the past year. And I understand that TSA says that an approved pass can later become invalid. Why might that happen? And when should visitors kind of recheck their status? Well, it'll become invalid after a certain amount of time. You can't hang out in the secure side forever. When you go ahead and sign up, you're going to put in who you're meeting,

2:05when you're meeting them. And once that plane lands, you only have a certain amount of time. We're also only letting a certain amount of individual access the secure area through this program. So you're not going to see tens of thousands or 5,000 people signing up for this and clogging up the lanes. Dan, let me just check in with you from social media. I saw this all over a couple of days ago, people saying, boy, the last thing we need is a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing or don't need to be there at busy airports. How would you respond to those posts? Well, I think those people who are going beyond the gate to say hello or say goodbye to their loved ones, know exactly what they're doing. So I would push back on that a little bit. This is a program where it's a fine line for TSA every single day to make sure that everybody who gets onto an aircraft is safe. And at the same time, we want to make sure that we are trying to make the experience of going

3:07through screening the best that we can. So there's a fine line there. So we're able to offer programs like this and offer military lanes and family lanes, things that we started last year, as well as keeping your shoes down now. You don't have to take your shoes off anymore. So these are just added benefits that we can now implement because of our technology. So the technology has advanced so far that those changes that were made post 9-11, post the attacks, now we feel like the security apparatuses are there to prevent somebody from getting to these security areas that are allowed to be. Yeah, exactly. As I mentioned earlier, you know, this to be a part of this program, you have to be a TSA pre-check member or a global entry member. That means you're already vetted. You've gone through a process to be vetted. You have to submit an acceptable ID. You have to have a real ID or a passport.

4:09And you're going to go through regular screening just like everybody else. Dan Velas, thank you so much. We appreciate your time on this and Detroit Metro one of 13 of the pilot airports here in the country. But thank you. We'll talk soon. Yeah, thanks a lot. Yeah, you got it. Well, you know, we talk about technology all the time and how technology is improving day by day and it seems like technology has gotten to a point where it helps them so we can have this gate side program. I was wondering, I actually have one more question, but that's okay. About the TSA people themselves, we were talking a lot about them when there was a shutdown, and they weren't getting paid, and maybe some were leaving the job. I was wondering about retention. Do they have enough agents? Well, it sounds like they got the technology. He made that very clear that they feel like now the technology is at the point where they can, you know, if you're pre-approved, if you've been cleared, then then a way you go. But again, like it's so odd now.

5:12It's one of those things that it's like somebody brought a VCR player in here and popped a cassette and you're like, what are we doing? Like it's one of those things that has been essentially gone for so long. Yeah. That I've been five years. I don't even think of what that was even like anymore. Yeah. I mean, I remember the days when you could, you know, but then after 9-11, I understood why you couldn't. So, you know, Right, you do your goodbyes at TSA. Like check in. Yeah, right. Well, yeah, check in on TSA. We talked to Mary Skiavo earlier and if you missed that interview, you can go to wjr.com and check that out. But one of the things that she says should, you know, is when you've got kids that are traveling by themselves, they should have an escort. They should have somebody that feels comfortable, that they're comfortable with, the guardian apparent, loved one, whatever, to make sure that they can go back and get them to their gate. If you're disabled, disabled, if you're in a wheelchair, if you're a lot of equipment, stuff like that.

6:12Yeah, yeah, having that extra person there is really good. I mean, I remember the first time I flew by myself, I was young. It was actually 2001. It was the summer before the attacks. I flew to Florida by myself to... How old are you? I was going into seventh grade. So in between six and seventh grade, so I don't know, how old are you? 11, 12, something like that. I had family down in Florida. So I was somehow I finagled everybody and letting me go down to Florida by myself. And they were great. My parents walked me to the gate. I got on and had a nice time on the flight. People were ready for you when you got off. People, my aunt was there at the gate picking me up. I never really was alone. My mom and then aunt. So it was everybody was there. Yeah. But it just feels odd now. Like that feels almost impossible because it's been gone for so long.

7:15Yeah. And you would prevent like the Kevin McAllister heading to New York thing. I did not have that. Right. Thankfully, I didn't end up in Albuquerque. So that's good news there. You guys give up. Oh, yes, thirsty for more. Coming up on the other side, I was at Cosm Detroit yesterday. And I'll tell you a little bit about it as best I can. Okay. It is really something that you have to experience. To believe it. Right. Yeah. And then the president and CEO, a jeb Terry, we talked, we'll play a little bit of that audio. But he said, good luck going back and telling, you know, your listeners about this. And I was like, yeah, it's going to be difficult. So we'll hear from him coming up on the other side. It's chair morning. But first at 744, time for automotive views with Mike Martinez. It's brought to you by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Learn more at Michiganbusiness.org. While some tech leaders are debating whether or not artificial intelligence will lead to humanity's extinction, Ford is using it in a unique way to improve vehicle quality. The auto maker is using AI sound detection to find potential issues

8:16in engines and transmissions that most other tests miss. How? The company has created a sound library of all its engines and other components that it uses to train an AI model on what they should sound like. Next, we'll pick a random engine, test it, and compare their sound with the ideal version. The AI can detect if something isn't quite right and signal for Ford's engineers to take a deeper look. In some instances where an engine's vibration is just a tiny bit off, the vehicle might pass all other tests and be fine initially, but break down within a few years. The AI can stop that from happening. Ford still struggles with a high number of recalls, but is using AI in a unique way to help cut down future warranty expenses. That sounds like a good idea to me. With this week's automotive view on Mike Martinez with automotive news.