Originally Posted by
NC_Girl
I almost always travel alone and I have never traveled (by air) with a child before so please excuse what may seem like very ignorant questions....
I am taking my sister and niece to Boston for the weekend and it will be my niece's first time flying. She is quite excited but my sister is a
VERY nervous flyer and I want to make the experience as easy as possible for my niece and hope my sister's fears don't transfer over to her....
So... I am trying to prepare my niece what to expect beforehand. Since my niece is 8, I assume that she doesn't have to show ID correct? Do they ask children any questions while they they check adult ID's? She is quite shy so I hope they don't but if they do I would like to know what they will ask so I can tell her beforehand what to expect. When we get to the scanners, how do things go with younger children? Do they make the parent wait a certain distance? If someone could explain very specifically how it is normally done I would be really grateful.
As soon as we get thru security, we will hit the lounge to put some liquid courage in my sister
C'mon, friends, we can be more helpful than this.
One 'girl to another,
, although I haven't been through the US recently (with or without children), based on reading this board for many years, here's the advice I would give my own family in this situation.
You should not
have to show ID for an 8-year-old, but someone may ask, as noted above. In case this happens, either you or your sister should take control of the situation (sounds like it should be you) and answer for your niece that she doesn't have (or need) ID. Don't be apologetic or embarrassed, just be firm. Part of the TSA's silly game is "behavior detection" where it's more about how you act than whether you really have an ID.
Explain to your niece that someone may ask her questions (name, where she's going) but that she doesn't have to answer. Again, one of the adults should firmly reply "why do you need to know that? Her name is right here on the boarding pass." Don't let them intimidate you.
You mentioned scanners. Your goal is to (a) get in a line where you can go through the WTMD rather than the NoS and (b) get through without setting off the WTMD. This gives you the best chance to avoid a patdown. Your niece will have to go through the WTMD on her own, but assuming she doesn't set if off, you should be able to stay fairly close together.
There is a chance that even if your niece doesn't set off the WTMD, she may be chosen for a patdown. There is a good chance that, even if she goes through the NoS, she may have to get a patdown afterwards. So using the body scanner may sound like a painless way to avoid the patdown, but it's not. If she gets selected for the patdown, you or your sister should be allowed to be nearby. Again, be firm. Under no circumstances should any of you agree to leave the checkpoint area to go to a "private room" for a search.
As your sister is a nervous flyer, I would arrange, well before you get to the checkpoint, that she go first, and is responsible for watching your belongings as they come out of the x-ray. You should then stay with your niece through the checkpoint. It is very likely to be painless, but you should be prepared for what might happen.
I assume you're flying from RDU to BOS, so choose your line carefully. This thread:
Complete List of Airports with Whole Body Imaging/Advanced Imaging Technology Scanner says that RDU has:
1 MMW installed at Terminal 1, WN C/P/ 3WTMD starting at the left, and NoS on the right - 4 MMW installed @ Terminal 2 C/P.
Translation (
)Terminal 1 has 1 millimetre-wave (radio) NoS. The checkpoint for the Southwest Airlines end of terminal 1 has 3 WTMDs on the left side and a NoS on the right. Terminal 2 checkpoint has 4 millimetre-wave NoS. So it sounds like it should be possible in Terminal 1 to avoid the NoS by choosing your line carefully. Terminal 2 could be more difficult. (Can someone with more knowledge of RDU advise?)
And for BOS:
Term. A, Term. B (all lanes!) (US Shuttle, AA), Term. C, UA, B6, Term E. INTL - Left lane of UA C/P (TERM C) does not have a NoS.. VX C/P SAFE
Okay, I'm not sure exactly what that means. Do all these terminal at BOS, except the left lane of the Terminal C UA checkpoint and the VX checkpoint, have the NoS?
Good luck, and as Elizabeth said earlier in the thread, probably it will be no big deal, but it's good to be prepared.