[jtsuken]

To skip TSA nonsense you just need to skip TSA nonsense. Outside of the US airtravel is still relatively similar to rail. You have to be on time, you have to handle the baggage, but you can walk through xray and security within minutes and only need to show the ticket on your phone.

An electric wing-in-ground-effect aircraft still looks like an airplane and might still fall under the same regulations as any other airplane.

In any case TSA objectively does not add much security[1] and does cause issues e.g. for people who have names with similar spellings to those on a no-fly-list [2].

But that aside, the technology is great for short distance travel. Climbing to 2-5 thousand foot to travel some 50 miles is clearly insane.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Security_Admini...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Fly_List#False_positives

[freddie_mercury]

> Outside of the US airtravel is still relatively similar to rail.

I live outside the US and this is laughably wrong.

How can you collapse the entire world down to "outside the US".

Israeli airports are exactly the same as Zimbabwean airports in your worldview?

I live in SE Asia and no country around here has air travel "like rail". I cannot get through xray and security in minutes. I cannot just show a ticket on my phone.

[martyvis]

In Australia domestically,you can show your QR code on your phone or print the ticket at home (or even use the kiosks at the airport to print it out). You still need to pass through one set of security screening, but expect the queue (away from holidays and peaks ) to be around 15 minutes.

[andyjohnson0]

I assumed your parent commenter was referring to domestic air travel.

[eCa]

> Outside of the US airtravel is still relatively similar to rail.

I live in the EU. There is nothing similar. Two hours at the airport being put in several different queues, often in a high stress atmosphere.

Train travel: Five-ten minutes at the station, all done.

Yes, I’m partial to trains.

[arcticbull]

> Outside of the US airtravel is still relatively similar to rail. You have to be on time, you have to handle the baggage, but you can walk through xray and security within minutes and only need to show the ticket on your phone.

Same if you have Pre and Clear. I usually get to the airport 30-40m early.

That said I'm usually at the train station 10m before departure with bags.

[rwmj]

Why don't all the bad actors just apply for the same programme?

[gaoryrt]

> Outside of the US airtravel is still relatively similar to rail. Not China, I usually try to get to the airport 1 hour before take off. But for the train, 10 minutes is enough.

[tchaffee]

This is factually wrong. Being stuck in a long security line for a flight in Europe or S. America is not unusual.

[kenneth]

TSA is not required for intra-state travel in the USA. Many rural airports that don't have out of state connections (e.g. most of Alaska) lack TSA.

[yard2010]

While I agree it's nonsense, I'm curious what would change without harming the personal security of everyone involved? I mean this system has many flaws but no one can steal a plane again and crash it into innocent people right?

[mjamesaustin]

Modern airport security is beyond useless. It's hugely wasteful and ineffective. https://www.vox.com/2016/5/17/11687014/tsa-against-airport-s...

[borski]

Even if that’s true, which I’m very skeptical of, the TSA has little to do with that. The armored and locked cockpit doors? Sure. Air marshals? Possibly.

But the TSA has absolutely no bearing on whether or not a plane gets hijacked. It is far too easy to circumvent.

[beefield]

As someone who carries a 20 cm metal rod through airport security every time and has not seen a single warning light ever popping up because of that, it is quite difficult for me to understand how the airport security is supposed to add safety against anyone who is willing to spend any time working around it - and who is motivated.

(For the curious, there is a titanium plate in my body due to an accident)

[macintux]

That risk is effectively zero now due to locking cabin doors, to the point where actual pilots are the only ones who deliberately crash planes.