gsoltso

Because I am an awesome guy and they love to talk to me.

Seriously? Probably because they know I will tell them the basics and if they ask something I can't answer, I will direct them to the best place to find the correct answer.

chollie

Perhaps that includes going to the medical liquids page to find out that their non-liquid medical nitro pills can and will be confiscated if the screener determines they are a prohibited substance that is not mentioned anywhere available to the public.

gsoltso

You keep saying this like I am the one that would take your nitro pills. I will say it again for anyone to read - nitro pills, patches and other medically prescribed nitro items are allowed in carry on as well as checked baggage. If any TSO anywhere fails to follow through on that without a logically articulable reason (such as the nitro pills are taped to a bomb, or are mixed into a paste with pellets and BBs and have a detonator and timer attached), then they are 100% wrong.

I can give you nothing more to help you - except a link to TSA customer relations, where you can file a complaint or request a response about the specific medicine. If you file the complaint, and connect the airport where this happened, TSA HQ can address it directly. Would you like me to link that here for you?

The direct phone number to contact TSA is - 1 (866) 289-9673

Their contact page can be found here - https://www.tsa.gov/contact/customer-service

Boggie Dog

And I will again direct readers attention to TSA's "Can I Bring" tool that does not support the above claim.

https://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/cib_r...ycerin%20pills

Not one word says the specified item is permitted.

petaluma1

TSA "allows" nothing; they can and will confiscate anything they want, regardless of what the website or AskTSA says.

I've read of a couple of medical necessary items confiscated recently, apparently because they weren't "declared" before the screening process began.

trooper

Well.... Ive always found the experience at regional airports better... sometimes significantly so.

From tiny places like MLU... through ABQ and PHX.... travelling with guns as I do for target shooting competitions..Ive found the medium and smaller airport TSOs to be much more relaxed...and often very friendly.

I suspect it might be VERY much location related...

gsoltso

The site specifically indicates that nitro meds are allowed in carryon and checked baggage. The green check means go, the red X means no. I have explained that, and asked for any of our readers here (and at the blog for that matter) to please file complaints any time there has been a problem with taking nitro meds on the plane. HQ can't address these challenges if they don't know they are there.

gsoltso

Agreed, the more rural airports seem to be more laid back - of course, that is natural, they have more time to deal with challenges as they arise. The passenger flow usually allows for more personalized interactions as well.

Larger airports seem to lend to a more hectic atmosphere in general due to the sheer numbers that pass through - that can be translated to the way passengers and the staff interact.

chollie

TSA is unlikely to retaliate if you keep your mouth shut and don't file a claim.

I was told that a report was made, my BP and ID were copied, my pills were confiscated, and I was told that if there were any future incidents, my flying days might be numbered.

You really think I was going to file a complaint after that? I suspect most pax treated the way I was would behave the same way.

Boggie Dog

I'll agree just as soon as someone can point the public to the key that defines the bars at the top of the page. Until that time I'll rely on the words on that page that do not support the above conclusion.

HQ could certainly address the simply matter that the TSA tool does not answer the question.

gsoltso

I can only speak to what I personally would have done, and it would have involved complaints until I had the ability to fly with my prescribed medication. If someone had communicated a threat to me, then I would have pursued it even harder - even if I had to take out a second job to pay for the attorneys. This is one of the reasons I keep trying to get the passengers that have experiences like you describe to file the claims. I am also not so naïve to think that every single person that has been in a similar situation would do the same thing that I would. I do, however, consistently ask for passengers that think they have been mistreated or had a bad experience to file complaints. The only way that TSA HQ can try and help in these matters is if they know about them.

Boggie Dog

TSA could take quick and easy action to use clear language and defined symbols on its webpages where passengers can check to see if an item is permitted but seems TSA would rather not be forth coming with the publlc. I say that the problem lies with TSA, not the public.

petaluma1

Do you truly believe that HQ cares?

chollie

The problem is that unlike any other organization I'm aware of, TSA has no fixed rules.

One of the reasons twitter appears to be a 'success' is because people can't find satisfactory answers to basic questions on the website. It isn't just me. The website seems to say cupcakes are allowed; Ask TSA says cupcakes are 'generally' allowed. The news story and the website indicate that cupcakes are only allowed if and when a screener says they are. This is why people tweet about cupcakes so often.

I had to laugh recently - someone tweeted asking if an item was permitted. AskTSA tweeted back that it was. The OT tweeted back asking if AskTSA's reply was valid at all checkpoints. Looks ike that pax has been burned, been told that the 'website is out of date' or 'we do things right, all other airports are wrong'.

Sooner or later, someone is going to point out that Ask TSA is not consistent. There have already been tweets indicating conflicting treatment of contact solutions with hydrogen peroxide - yet there's no indication that after all these years TSA has taken steps to clarify the matter. Sometimes it gets confiscated, sometimes it doesn't and it has nothing to do with whether or not the peroxide is a genuine threat.

Complaints? Complain to who? The trash bin? The people who have just threatened to permanently revoke my right to fly? The TSO who confiscated my nitro pills had backing all the way up the ladder to suits. They followed the rules: the rules that say that any screener can take anything at any time at his/her discretion. Argue that the website has a 'green bar'? That same page with the green bar also says:

gsoltso

I can not speak for every single person that works at HQ (or by extension the airports/field), but I do know that many people that work there truly care and try their best every single day... What impact that will ultimately have on your individual travel experience, I am not certain, but I do know those people exist at HQ, as well as in the field.