Four TSA screeners at LAX allegedly took bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to suitcases filled with drugs (while their counterparts at Burbank arrested a lady for trying to bring applesauce on a plane for her elderly mother). more ›

A passenger for American Airlines was taken into the custody of the FBI at LAX this morning after spending too much time in the bathroom on the plane and "acting suspiciously." What exactly he did to warrant attention from the FBI isn't clear. more ›

Have you noticed Transportation Security Administration making spot checks on passengers at Union Station? If you haven't, you may soon, since the agency has been ramping up their presence at some of the nation's busiest rail hubs, including L.A.'s historic Union Station. more ›

The limited program has already been implemented at four other U.S. locations and will be introduced to LAX come early 2012. The process is voluntary; volunteers are questioned and screened by federal officials prior to flying domestic. Successful participants may then be referred to a shiny, empty lane for expedited screening at the terminal. more ›

LAX is a safer airport than it was on September 11, 2001 thanks to $1.6 billion in improvements, according to a study released today. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa assembled a panel to review safety and security at LAX, which — as the third-busiest airport in the nation — is viewed as a potential terrorist target. more ›

The TSA missed a loaded handgun that was packed in the luggage of a passenger bound for Portland. The airport ramp crew found the gun when it tumbled out of the unzipped compartment of a bag. more ›

After Sunday's arrest of Millage Jonathan Peaks, son of former Los Angeles Fire Chief Millage Peaks, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), officials released text messages between Peaks and Dianna Perez, the TSA officer who was also arrested. Peaks, 23, was detained on charges that he allegedly bribed Perez to help him smuggle approximately 14 pounds of marijuana on nine separate flights. more ›

23-year-old Millage Jonathan Peaks, son of former Los Angeles Fire Chief Millage Peaks, was arrested early Sunday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, on charges he allegedly bribed a Transportation Security Administration agent so he could take several pounds of marijuana with him on a flight to Boston. more ›

The underbellies of some Southwest Airlines (SWA) 737 jets have been decorated with bizarre, unauthorized markings. Arabic or Arabic-like symbols, the vandalism has investigators stumped. Unsure of what to dub the images, they are currently being referred to as said vandalism and graffiti. more ›

A 21-year-old Compton man is learning it is not okay to try to conceal your meth in some potato chip bags and board a flight at Los Angeles International Airport. Even if they are cheddar and bacon flavored. more ›

Word has apparently left the street that flying commercial with loaded guns is illegal. Four loaded, undeclared guns were (thankfully) discovered over the course of one week in SoCal - twice at Ontario International Airport (ONT) and twice at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). more ›

Not too long ago, we questioned the logic of trying to take a loaded gun onto an airplane when former Clippers star Darius Miles allegedly tried to do just that. But now, it looks like Miles wasn't alone in his unique way of thinking. more ›

A woman was arrested Tuesday at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport when she tried to board a flight to Las Vegas with a loaded handgun in her carry-on bag. The weapon was spotted by Transportation Security Administration officer as her bag went through the X-ray machine. more ›

Paul Yashou of Torrance, a 38-year-old Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officer, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on five-counts of theft - two felony and three misdemeanor charges. Yashou allegedly has impressive taste in wrist valuables. The indictment accuses him of stealing an IWC GST chrono perpetual calendar moonphase watch, a Breitling Crosswind watch, an Antima watch, and a Movado watch, each valued at approximately $15,000, $5,000, $1,000 and $1,000. more ›

Well done, JFK Airport and Virgin American: A Nigerian man was able to board their June 24 flight 415 from New York bound for Los Angeles using someone else's expired boarding pass. However, "investigators are suggesting that [Olajide Oluwaseun] Noibi is a tourist rather than a terrorist," reports L.A. Now. more ›

Grassroots activists opposed to the TSA's new strident searching procedures might have called today "National Opt-Out Day," but as thousands upon thousands of passengers move through the terminals at Los Angeles International Airport, it seems more people are opting to not bother opting-out. more ›

For many, the strategy to surviving Thanksgiving week air travel, and the TSA's new search policies and procedures, is to have a sense of humor. While that doesn't mean suddenly it's funny to make "explosives in your underwear" jokes at the check-in counter, for social media junkies it means risking having your junk touched by a TSA agent gets you a badge of honor. more ›

Someone get Stacy London and Clinton Kelly on the line, stat. American travelers are facing a fashion emergency! Once upon a time, in the boom of the jet set 1960s, airline passengers and flight attendants dressed to the nines, dolling up for their time in the skies. Now we dress for comfort, opting for sweatsuits and casual wear. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants the public to know that he doesn't mind getting the full body scan treatment at LAX, and will be screened himself today at the airport, says LA Now. This atypical photo op is slated for about Noon today at Terminal 6. LAX spokesperson Nancy Castles says Villaraigosa wants to show his support for TSA's efforts to secure the traveling public, visitors and employees here at LAX." During the ten-day Thanksgiving holiday travel period Castles estimates 1.53 million travelers will fly from LAX. more ›

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has formed a 26-member committee tasked with making LAX safer while reducing passenger wait times, according to Daily News. The new committee is comprised of city employees and outside experts, including security experts from Israel's famously safe Ben Gurion airport. The committee will focus on counter-terrorism, law enforcement, fire protection and emergency management. more ›

We know that you have a choice in air travel, and we appreciate you choosing X-rays and molestation over hot food and movies. Please have a pleasant flight. Your essential liberties will be waiting for you at baggage claim. more ›

Passengers coming in and out of Los Angeles International Airport early this morning found three of the airport's terminals temporarily shut down due to what is being called "a security snafu," according to LA Now. more ›

It was the end of a long journey today for traveler Nadine Kay Hays, a 58-year-old Camarillo woman who faced a misdemeanor battery charge for an incident last year at Burbank's Bob Hope airport centered around applesauce, explains the Burbank Leader. Hays, bound for Nashville with her 93-year-old mother, refused to surrender the applesauce and snacks she'd brought to serve to her mom during the long flight. TSA agents accused Hays of striking them during the confrontation, which Hays denies. Today an LA County Superior Court judge dismissed the case on the condition Hays stay out of trouble for the next 6 months. Hays' mother has since died. more ›

For at least the second time this year, security checkpoints at LAX have been shut down after a passenger left security screening too early. "At approximately 5:05 a.m. PDT, TSA closed the security checkpoints at Los Angeles International Airport's Terminals 6 and 7 after a passenger left the checkpoint before a carry-on bag was properly screened," explained Suzanne Trevino, a TSA spokesperson. The passenger was eventually found, questioned, rescreened and allowed to continue to his flight. Checkpoints were reopend at 6:48 p.m. more ›

A small mishap prompted a 20-minute closure of security screening in three terminals this morning. At 5:20 a.m. a wheel-chair bound woman going through a secondary screening because of her prescription medicine--LAX officials called it a bottle of liquid above the allowable amount--left the area towards her gate, apparently because she thought it was being confiscated. When screeners noticed she was gone (ah, hello?), they halted screening per TSA standard protocol as they searched for the passenger, who was quickly found. more ›

William Bratton may be Chief of the LAPD (not for long), but city hall actually has three other totally separate police departments, which may be confusing to some. There's the Port Police, Office of Public Safety--they police city properties like parks and libraries and not city streets like the LAPD--and the Los Angeles World Airports Police who are in charge protecting airport properties like LAX, Van Nuys, Ontario and Palmdale. Although not confirmed, LAWA's Assistant Chief, Erroll Southers, is headed to run to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), according to sources to the Associated Press. Despite funny names like Thousands Standing Around, the agency is one of the few that blogs and really takes their comment section to heart by implementing policy changes based on the public's complaints and suggestions. more ›

Yesterday evening, the local United States Coast Guard Sector entered a new era of public information by launching a blog. This is "a revolution on how we deal with information management and the new social media, or some people call it, Web 2.0.," Admiral Thad W. Allen sternly said in a video. "We are not living in the same information environment we grew up in, it's critically important that senior leaders of the United States Coast Guard understand what technology is doing today, how it is changing, how we must change with it." more ›

With one TSA Officer and one other security guard stationed on both sides of this "Welcome to Los Angeles" sign in LAX's Terminal 7 right before passengers enter the baggage claim area, how did this small tooth-gapping graffiti happen? more ›

Well, not so fast, but starting last Friday, two test shoe scanners went into use at Los Angeles International Airport. "The TSA is well aware that the removal of shoes is not our most popular policy," they stated via their blog, which is known for taking complaints and criticism in the comments section to improve services. "Since this is a test to collect data, passengers will still need to remove their shoes prior to walking through the magnetometer. Hey, don’t kill the messenger. I’m just giving you a heads up! :)" more ›