# How does TSA screening work at VERY small airports? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 4, 2023, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976 "2023-06-04T08:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/41 "2023-06-05T21:19:12Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I fly in am out of Santa Fe, NM all the time, and its pretty much exactly like this. Once it was rush hour, and I was _third_ in line! I do find that at some of the smaller airports, the TSA/contracted staff are actually _pleasant_ Santa Fe’s the smallest I’ve flown to - two gates, not sure how many flights a day. Pretty standard TSA operation, although in a much smaller space. Definitely seemed to close down when there were no flights. The whole airport was under construction when I flew in and out (last fall) - rental car return was extremely haphazard - leave the car in the lot somewhere near the Hertz sign; then try to find someone to give the key to… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/42 "2023-06-06T00:48:28Z")
I imagine there is a lot of flying in and out of small airports in Hawaii and Alaska. (Hawaii for trips between islands, and Alaska for flights to and from tiny towns in the bush, and also perhaps some trips to and from islands.) Is a lot of that travel done without any sort of TSA checkpoint? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/43 "2023-06-06T00:51:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Sadly, for balance purposes we always put the big fat dude in the “co-pilot” seat, never the cute svelte young thing. 'Taint fair sez I. Don’t all pilots like people who have been in a Turkish prison? Because I think a lot of them are big Turkish dudes. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/44 "2023-06-06T01:02:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is a lot of that travel done without any sort of TSA checkpoint? Not Hawaii with the major airlines that do inter-island - like Hawaiian and Southwest. If you fly Mokulele airline which is strictly inter-island, no TSA. They have a separate terminal building. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/45 "2023-06-06T01:02:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is a lot of that travel done without any sort of TSA checkpoint? I believe if a flight seats fewer than some threshold, it does not technically require TSA screening – but then the plane can’t park at the secure side of the terminal at its destination. At least when I was there in 2010, the Anchorage airport had a couple of gates pre-security. From a seat in the airport restaurant with a good view of those gates I watched a steady stream of 30 seat turboprops arrive and unload passengers. I assume they must have been flights from remote Alaskan towns that didn’t have the TSA at their airports. Passengers with connecting flights would have to go through the checkpoint in Anchorage. I think most if not all airports with commercial flights in the Lower 48 would have TSA checkpoints, because passengers don’t want to have to go through security at the hub airport to get to their connecting flights. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/46 "2023-06-06T01:14:05Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I believe if a flight seats fewer than some threshold, it does not technically require TSA screening – but then the plane can’t park at the secure side of the terminal at its destination. That’s it exactly. You can’t get on a 61+ seat airplane not having been screened someplace and not allowed outside the screened area since. Which means smaller planes that don’t park at terminals with bigger planes need lesser or no screening. But if the small plane is to park at a big-plane terminal and mingle its passengers with screened passengers, it and they will have to be screened with the full TSA process at the prior airport before departure. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/47 "2023-06-06T04:27:01Z")
My very limited experience suggests screening is not that different at small and large airports. Fewer people, fewer passengers, fewer baggage carousels, but similar proportions. But hypothetically, maybe the guy who works the grill and checks the baggage will also fly the plane if this AI thing becomes as scary as some people seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/48 "2023-06-06T04:29:17Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But hypothetically, maybe the guy who works the grill and checks the baggage will also fly the plane if this AI thing becomes as scary as some people seem to think. That sounds like the plot of an episode of a reboot of the 1990s sitcom _Wings_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/49 "2023-06-06T07:12:10Z")
you didn’t go to wrestling at the Chase? ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/50 "2023-06-06T09:16:47Z")
Pre 9/11 I flew to a tiny 2 gate airport that EasyJet called Venice, even though it was a 90 minute bus ride away. For the return flight we arrived early and the airport was a ghost town. There was a little cafe next door with a handful of tables so we sat and had a coffee. When Check-in time rolled around the cafe closed and we were ushered out. The waiter took off his apron and pulled on an EasyJet hat and opened the check in gate. Once everyones baggage was checked in, he swapped hats and manned the security line, then swapped back to the EasyJet hat to man the actual gate. As we boarded the plane you could see the same guy loading the baggage into the hold. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/51 "2023-06-06T11:58:57Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > you didn’t go to wrestling at the Chase? I moved to St. Louis in 1994. By then wrestling at the Chase had shut down. I did hear about its legendary status from long-time locals. I lived in the CWE within walking distance of the Chase for my first ~decade in the Lou. Would have been great to see wrestling there. I’m surprised / interested to see that there’s a wiki on this promo. I missed it by 10 years. Oh well. > **[Wrestling at the Chase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling_at_the_Chase)** > > Wrestling at the Chase is a professional wrestling television series of local and national historical importance in the field of television wrestling. The show was recorded in St. Louis, Missouri, for KPLR-TV, Channel 11, and aired from May 23, 1959, to September 10, 1983. It was promoted by the St. Louis Wrestling Club, which was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. > The show was the brainchild of Sam Muchnick, president of the St. Louis Wrestling Club, and Harold Koplar, who owned KPLR ... The wrestling in my era was held here: > **[Sbac | South Broadway Athletic Club | United States](https://www.sbacstl.org/)** > > South Broadway Athletic Club is an event venue that holds boxing, wrestling and social gatherings. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/52 "2023-06-06T12:02:20Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I’m flying to Nevada this week. Las Vegas is busy, but it _moves_. Not the last time I was there. Not a large crowd but took over an hour to get through the line. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/53 "2023-06-06T13:55:57Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Santa Fe’s the smallest I’ve flown to - two gates, not sure how many flights a day. Pretty standard TSA operation, although in a much smaller space. Definitely seemed to close down when there were no flights. > The whole airport was under construction when I flew in and out (last fall) - rental car return was extremely haphazard - leave the car in the lot somewhere near the Hertz sign; then try to find someone to give the key to… As of March, t’s still under construction. They’d just replaced all of the dirt parking by the terminal with a couple of new, paved lots about 400 yards away. They looked like they were expanding the ~~waiting room~~ terminal by twice its’ size. Living so close, I never needed to rent a car, but I agree that the ticketing counter and rental car counter looked sketchy. The “baggage claim” as about the size of my living room (tiny), which gets pretty congested when people cram in there. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Not the last time I was there. Not a large crowd but took over an hour to get through the line. I’ve got PreCheck now, so I’ll make a note of the differences. Tripler Ooooh, SAF may expand to _ **three** _ “gates”! ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/54 "2023-06-07T00:52:10Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > treat people as though they are morons when they ask questions because they are not immediately familiar with the precise current routine of what you must and must not unpack or take off as you go through security at this particular airport at this particular point in time. This, a thousand times. I travel a lot for work. Sometimes I’m flying 3-4 times a month (tends to ebb and flow). And I still never know whether I’m going to be told to take my toiletries out (last week I was specifically told to put them BACK IN my luggage) or if it’s OK to put my belt in the bin with (but not ON or UNDER) my laptop. This at Logan. [I should get TSA pre, but I just don’t want to give them all that info, since it’s BS, and my status lets me go through the priority line anyway; my friends all think I’m nuts] ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/55 "2023-06-07T01:08:57Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > This at Logan. It was Logan where I got yelled at to take my shoes off in the TSA Pre line, “you always have to take your shoes off!” ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/56 "2023-06-12T19:54:21Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > It was Logan where I got yelled at to take my shoes off in the TSA Pre line, “you always have to take your shoes off!” I wonder if sometimes they bounce around from shift to shift and literally forget what line they’re doing sometimes? I haven’t had to take my shoes off in years, or my laptop out of my bag. Sometimes toiletries (they told me the other day to put them back in my bag), and sometimes my belt. Could also be the mixing up random things day to day is one of those psychological security tricks someone mentioned upthread – “unpredictable procedures.” ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/57 "2023-06-13T12:29:11Z")
The slot car race track I had on the floor as a kid is about the same size as the baggage carousel in Morgantown, WV; I’ve never seen one so small. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/58 "2023-07-18T21:13:12Z")
Currently at the gate in SIT, a small airport. The waiting area has a 737’s worth of passengers crammed into a 20x50 foot waiting area. Security has an additional duty of yelling for passengers to clear the doorway at the end of security. People see the full waiting area, and decide the door is the best place to stand. A TSA guy even had to come and yell that we all have assigned seats, so it doesn’t matter where we stand, and people need to move to the back of the room. Also, the plane seats about 180, and they’re all here, but the fire marshall says only 150 allowed in the waiting area. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/59 "2023-07-18T21:24:39Z")
I remember those days! One time a lady was refused permission to have an expensive pair of sewing shears in her purse. That airport was supposed to be a big boost for the city, Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976/60 "2023-10-12T21:12:29Z")
Flew into Yakima today. Small airport indeed. Three gates, no jetways, small seating area for a few dozen people. Concessions consists of a few vending machines. One ticket counter and one rental car counter. Only other aerial vehicle I saw was a Chinook with a cpuple soldiers milling about. Small TSA checkpoint with no line, but it indeed has the body scanner and a glass partition separating the secure area from the rest of the place. [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53252872362_4bb23486ef_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53252872362_4bb23486ef_z.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53254113069_72df607072_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53254113069_72df607072_z.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53252872177_970d999e89_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53252872177_970d999e89_z.jpg) [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53254105769_9824a141f7_z.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53254105769_9824a141f7_z.jpg) I’ll report back on Saturday about how actually going through that checkpoint turns out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-tsa-screening-work-at-very-small-airports/984976.md?page=4)