There is an episode currently trending on Reddit. Pax and companion were traveling from AUS to NYC. Pax has a hard cast because of a broken ankle - plates and screws were put into the ankle. He checked ahead of time with TSA, thought he'd be OK. He got extra scrutiny in AUS.
NYC TSA refused to let him fly because they couldn't remove his cast and they claimed they couldn't clear it. Apparently even the Port folks and bomb specialists thought he should be OK to fly, but TSA didn't agree. He and his companion are on a bus on the way home.
This has been reported on @
ASKTSA. @
ASKTSA's response is that they will look into it
only if the pax reports it.
Why? It seems to me that if an incident was escalated to the point of involving Port authorities and bomb experts, TSA wouldn't wait for a pax complaint to look into the issue.
If you leave me an anonymous message telling me that you saw one of my employees stealing from the cash register, I am not going to refuse to look into the matter unless you submit a formal complaint. If I were head of TSA, I would assign someone to start logging and formally investigating all twitter and FB complaints - and praise! I think it is highly unlikely that multiple pax would post fake complaints - or praise - about specific airports, checkpoints or screeners. No need to wait for formal complaints, particularly because some folks fear retaliation. If a screener has misbehaved and it can be verified on video or personal observation, then TSA doesn't need the pax's personal information to address the issue.
I would also start holding FSDs accountable for the complaints and praise generated by their staff - and by accountable, I mean that based on complaints, the DEN and MCO FSDs would see no annual bonus.
We all just want TSA to work at least as efficiently and respectfully as airport security does in virtually every other country in the world! Is that really too much to ask?