Vidiot

By quizzing her on parts of our address, right on the Con Ed bill envelope! REAL bad guys never know what's on their ID.

InkUnderNails

Just an update. WN gates, 32-40 I think, nearly a year later, the BSX is to the left side and the right side still leads to WTMD only. When slow, everybody gets guided to the left necessitating opt outs. When busy, every line gets used. The contractors here are more "thorough" than the TSA in most locations. I got a full bag check on both my carry on bags.

RadioGirl

If you steal from a mailbox in your own suburb, it's going to be easier to fake. @:-) REAL bad guys steal mail from across town.

WChou

First off, my GE card was rejected again at BOS. A 2 striper was no help and waffled in making a decision. No time this morning for nonsense so I just used a passport card. Both TDCs were at least very apologetic.

Anyway, there were two lanes open with people randomly selected for either the WTMD or backscatter. Today I tried the hot chick theory. After the TDC, I waited for the two very easy on the eyes girls headed to GRU to go ahead of me. They both got selected for the body scanners. To keep the line moving, I hopped right through the WTMD. As I was leaving the checkpoint, the first girl was getting a resolution patdown or perhaps a Seinfeld inspired "are they real" check.

tkey75

MSP, gate check. My stare down the guy tactic doesn't work at the gate. It gets me selected for a rub-down, but no ID check, like they do everyone else. Hmm. TSAer asks if I have any area of soreness. I answer in the affirmative and he completely ignores it and gropes away, unswayed by my pleas to take it easy. No comment cards available.

tsastatus

Great thread! If you are all be willing and able, and if you are not doing so already, feel free to head over to tsastatus.net and post your checkpoint experiences. We've recently added the option to put a time of day and a time-to-get-through field. It is my belief that SDOOs are easier at certain times of day, when checkpoints are busier and the non-WTMD lanes take far more manpower. The more information you submit, the better our data, and the more information we can share. In the long run, we'd love to be able to have predictions for when you're more and less likely to run in to a blue shirt pat down.

FWIW, an SDOO is almost always "yellow" on our DHS-inspired color scale (scanners were in use, but you could choose a WTMD lane).

Cheers! -TSAstatus

Find us: Twitter and Facebook: @tsastatus

CBear

Last weekend in May 2011, Seatac, I was about 8 months pregnant at the time and the TSO motioned me towards the porno machine, I said no and he told me to go throught the WTMD, no extra patdown or anything. This was at the D gates security.

CBear

I stifle a chuckle everytime.

This applies to my state only.
I'm one of those terrible DMV ladies that actually print out licenses and ID's. I have no idea what on earth they are trying to look at with their little lights, because there is nothing there. That tells me that they have no idea what the security features on the actual driver's license actually is. I've had customers call me from the airport that got told by TSA that their license was no good, hours after I personally issued it.

It's a joke.

littlesheep

deleted

RadioGirl

That's consistent, because the people doing this have "nothing there" between their ears.

suzeshoes

Have been searching this thread to discover if anyone else has had the worst experience in the country when opting out in ATL. Always going thru North Security (although no "expert traveler" lines anymore), had particularly tight connection yesterday and per my docs instructions asked to opt out. My biggest concern is how you are usually not allowed to watch your personal items after they have gone thru the X-ray machine. In November at this same location, when I asked to have a visual on my computer and purse, I was told "that's the price you pay for opting out". Without a doubt, this is the nastiest group of TSA agents in the country! Yesterday I asked the male TSA agent at the entrance to the scanner if I could watch my items and he said yes. The female TSA agent took issue with this but the decision had already been made to allow me to walk 3 feet forward so that I could watch my items. The pat down was slow and deliberate. I dread opting out in ATL but refuse to go thru these machines which have been banned in Europe due to health risk.

stifle

Thanks for your post, but this is the thread where we report occasions where you got to go through the metal detector rather than NoS or a patdown.

FriendlySkies

Flew NRT-LHR-ARN yesterday, both flights in T3.

At the transfer checkpoint, the MMW was up and running, and people were being selected pretty frequently. This does not match my experience at T1, as that NoS always seems to be closed.

Lines were fairly long, so by the time I got near the WTMD/MMW, another lane opened up, and I made my way over there. Breezed through the WTMD without any issues, while pax continued to be selected for the MMW.

If I had gone through the other lane, and been selected, I'm curious to know what would have happened if I told them I could not raise my arms.

stifle

You would be invited to supply a physician's letter proving same, and in the event you were unable to provide it, you would be refused permission to travel and escorted to the UK Border Agency.

skidv25

Regarding ATL - My advice is to go through the main checkpoint on the domestic side. Despite the fact that they added additional MMWs this past fall, it is still a fairly easy SDOO because they don't have enough staff to operate all of them. I passed through the main checkpoint 5 times in the past month, and there were multiple MMWs roped off each time I went through. Also, during peak times, see if lane 20 (left side) is open. It is WTMD-only. Note that all gates can be accessed from this checkpoint.

Don't know how long this will last, but it's definitely the way to go in ATL these days.