This nonsense has to stop. The same agency that issues me a licence to operate a 280 ton airliner over the cities and close to the landmarks of the United States also issues rules that make me a SELPX (selected passenger, high risk) when I fly deadhead on the way to my work.
I work for one of the largest cargo airlines in the world, and our crewmembers deadhead on other airlines hundreds of times each month. Almost on every US domestic deadhead sector, we get singled out as security risks, for the simple reason that we hold oneway tickets bought just 2 or 3 days before the flight by our company travel office. It does not make a difference wether we travel in uniform or not.
Three days ago I deadheaded from LGA to ATL on Delta in Firstclass. My boarding pass said SELPX, and I was not treated as a trusted employee but got the full security treatment twice by the airport screeners, whose qualifications have been discussed thoroughly on these pages. If I can not be trusted according to FAA rules and profiling, why would the same agency allow me operate my 280 ton airliner within US domestic airspace just 3 hours later without even looking at my licence? Again, this happens to all of us, all the time.
Nobody ever asked me for my pilots licence or company ID, or maybe for my itinerary. Easy and simple ways to verify that someone actually is a licensed pilot going about his scheduled work are not used. On purpose?
Does this really help to increase the flying public's trust in the airlines and the FAA? Doesn't it, on the contrary, show that they do not believe in their own licensing and background checking system? Look, they don't even have faith in their own captains.
We all need to contact our union and congressmen / senators about this. In the meantime, I tend to agree that the day that you get this extra security treatment for no apparent reason other than being a pilot, is probably not a good day to operate an airliner. Maybe you need to recover from the humiliation. And once there are delays, everybody will notice.
Yes, a regular security check is ok. For all of us. What I object to is the constant selection as a SELPX/security risk for traveling deadhead on my company's orders. This happens to a lot of US and international pilots right now. Rumour has it, that it even happened to military personnel on their way to deployments. What I know for sure is, that it happens to airline pilots who operate contracts for the US Military.
Why it is fully understandable that there was a rush to more security in the days after the terror attacks, we now need to make sure that the new rules make sense and actually increase airport security, instead of wasting precious resources on licensed individuals with thorough background checks.
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