How to respond to the TSA?
Oct 12, 2010, 7:42 pm
#16
Join Date: Jul 2007
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I also have an ICD and carry documentation with me down to the serial numbers of the device and the leads. I have never been asked to show it although I indicate that I have a "pacemaker" and get a manual pat down. I assume that the ID card that was provided by the manufacturer would be more important to a cardiologist if something happened away from home.
)Nahrain, I am horrified, but sadly not very surprised, by your story. One thing I'd like to clarify; you said:
This was when she called the Token LEO to loom over me and threaten to throw me out for being feisty and noncompliant.
Oct 12, 2010, 7:48 pm
#17
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 733
Oh, and Nahrain, welcome to FT. It is absolutely disgusting what happened to you. While I encourage you to contact TSA, they will do nothing. You are best to contact an attorney and sue.
Oct 12, 2010, 8:33 pm
#18
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Based on my extensive experience at PHX, the LEO at the checkpoint will absolutely comply with any TSA demand, without question. And the FSD of PHX could care less what goes on at the checkpoint from a passenger standpoint. The screeners are given absolute carte blanche in every situation, on any whim, for any reason.
Oh, and Nahrain, welcome to FT. It is absolutely disgusting what happened to you. While I encourage you to contact TSA, they will do nothing. You are best to contact an attorney and sue.
Oh, and Nahrain, welcome to FT. It is absolutely disgusting what happened to you. While I encourage you to contact TSA, they will do nothing. You are best to contact an attorney and sue.
Oct 12, 2010, 9:19 pm
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,628
+1 What happened to this poster is an appalling example of a government agency out of control that needs close judicial supervision.
Oct 13, 2010, 12:29 am
#20
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,967
OP welcome and I am sorry this happened to you. Sadly, this is the type of behaviour we are trying to grasp in the 'Question for TSOs' thread. It deals with how TSOs react to passengers with medical conditions and/or injuries. Many of us have experienced unacceptable behaviour, yet the TSOs on that thread give a variety of answers including such a thing doesn't happen, one shouldn't fly if one is ill/injured/disabled, sometimes one has to deal with more pain and injury when flying, etc etc etc.
Your story just reinforces how disturbing that thread is, and how challenging it is for those with medical conditions to travel through TSA checkpoints.
Your story just reinforces how disturbing that thread is, and how challenging it is for those with medical conditions to travel through TSA checkpoints.
Oct 13, 2010, 4:42 am
#22
Join Date: Sep 2010
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Having followed the TSA threads for several weeks, I must say that I was very positively impressed by how quickly and efficient the TSA screening at JFK T4 actually worked for me two days ago. The boarding pass checkpoint agent in turns served one passenger from the economy queue, then one from the business queue and so on and let me pass without a single remark. When I forgot to take off my shoes (in Europe, this is usually only required when the metal detector alarm goes off), I was reminded by a friendly "Your shoes, sir" and could pass through the metal detector without any further disturbance. They didn't even seem to have checked my liquids bag (or at least I didn't notice it), going through security didn't take me longer than 2 minutes.
Oct 13, 2010, 4:23 pm
#23
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: UA gold
Posts: 264
I'm going to be unpopular here and state that while I don't agree with the TSA's behavior and actions for the most part, I also don't think that being asked to remove your mask is unreasonable. I did a quick search for N95 medical masks, and they basically cover half your face. Covering up half your face is going to make it much more difficult to recognize you. Regardless of whether or not you think ID verification is a good or bad idea, it's currently required, and this is not a debate of the merits of ID verification.
I'd also like to say that if your immune system is so weak that you can't remove your mask for a second (even not breathing or breathing out), then you shouldn't be traveling this much - you say yourself you get sick occasionally regardless of what you do. As for the agents wearing masks or not - I don't see how that matters. I'd be much more worried about the air already in the room than about the agents.
I'd also like to say that if your immune system is so weak that you can't remove your mask for a second (even not breathing or breathing out), then you shouldn't be traveling this much - you say yourself you get sick occasionally regardless of what you do. As for the agents wearing masks or not - I don't see how that matters. I'd be much more worried about the air already in the room than about the agents.
Oct 13, 2010, 4:31 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,444
I'm going to be unpopular here and state that while I don't agree with the TSA's behavior and actions for the most part, I also don't think that being asked to remove your mask is unreasonable. I did a quick search for N95 medical masks, and they basically cover half your face. Covering up half your face is going to make it much more difficult to recognize you. Regardless of whether or not you think ID verification is a good or bad idea, it's currently required, and this is not a debate of the merits of ID verification.
I'd also like to say that if your immune system is so weak that you can't remove your mask for a second (even not breathing or breathing out), then you shouldn't be traveling this much - you say yourself you get sick occasionally regardless of what you do. As for the agents wearing masks or not - I don't see how that matters. I'd be much more worried about the air already in the room than about the agents.
I'd also like to say that if your immune system is so weak that you can't remove your mask for a second (even not breathing or breathing out), then you shouldn't be traveling this much - you say yourself you get sick occasionally regardless of what you do. As for the agents wearing masks or not - I don't see how that matters. I'd be much more worried about the air already in the room than about the agents.
Oct 13, 2010, 4:34 pm
#25
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SEA
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Are you also a security specialist? If not, you can't make that statement. The most you can state is the chance of someone catching a disease in a public place.
Oct 13, 2010, 4:45 pm
#26
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The mask should not be an issue, and I'm just as qualified as Tom Blank was before he became TSA Deputy Administrator. 
Oct 13, 2010, 5:11 pm
#27
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,444
Actually I can, because checking ID against a person without consulting any list (and I won't go into the problems with the lists) has no chance whatsoever of identifying a terrorist.
Oct 13, 2010, 10:15 pm
#28
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 805
If the person is properly screened, i.e., WTMD, x-ray of belongings, resolving of any alarms, resulting in no WEI found, how in the world does it matter what the passenger looks like? Unless he's Medusa, absolutely none. The downside for the passenger is potential illness. How dare a TSO make this "choice" for the passenger.
Prior to the NoS and the enhanced pat-downs, I believed that these ridiculous ID checks acted to reduce the TSOs "vigilance" in doing accurate screening of luggage, or cargo (but that's another issue). It takes away from the job at hand with no real upside. Now, I don't really know what the deal is.
Prior to the NoS and the enhanced pat-downs, I believed that these ridiculous ID checks acted to reduce the TSOs "vigilance" in doing accurate screening of luggage, or cargo (but that's another issue). It takes away from the job at hand with no real upside. Now, I don't really know what the deal is.
Oct 14, 2010, 4:49 am
#30
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,726
I "shouldn't be traveling this much"? What do you propose? Once a year is enough? Twice? Want to have a chat with my employers about this plan? Should I just quit my work and stay at home knitting? Is travel for pleasure out too, since the TSA has a "policy" which we're "not debating"?
-I- choose what calculated risks I take to continue living -my- life the way I please. Yes, I understand that nothing is risk free, and I understand that going to the grocery store could lead to the exposure that kills me. I -balance- that risk with vigilance and protective measures. I wear a mask and I don't touch my face and I clean my hands so often they'd probably fall off if I didn't use lotion and I check my temperature multiple times a day and my doctor and I spend more time with eachother than I do with most my friends. I'm doing my part in keeping myself safe and how dare some idiot with a highschool diploma and a uniform tell me that I don't get to fly unless they make my choices for me?
And not lifting my mask for a second is not an "indication" of how strong my immune system is or isn't. It takes considerably less than a second to be exposed to all the junk that's in your airspace, and it's much more likely to get shoved in your direction if two TSA "agents" who have encountered 1000 passengers that day are breathing all over you. Once you -put the mask back on-, you're still susceptible to whatever may have landed -inside- it during that process... you have to breathe in eventually.
I love flying. I love flying and I love being healthy enough to travel and I love that I have the money and means to do it right now in my life. And you're telling me I should give that up because that's the policy and we're not debating it?
To everyone who has provided suggestions, thank you. To this commenter, I sincerely hope that you never become disabled, since it seems pretty clear you'd be content to sit on a rocking chair and knit for the rest of your life while accepting SS checks. Great for you, but that's not the life I choose to live, and how I take care of -my- health is between me and my doctors, not between me and the TSA.
-I- choose what calculated risks I take to continue living -my- life the way I please. Yes, I understand that nothing is risk free, and I understand that going to the grocery store could lead to the exposure that kills me. I -balance- that risk with vigilance and protective measures. I wear a mask and I don't touch my face and I clean my hands so often they'd probably fall off if I didn't use lotion and I check my temperature multiple times a day and my doctor and I spend more time with eachother than I do with most my friends. I'm doing my part in keeping myself safe and how dare some idiot with a highschool diploma and a uniform tell me that I don't get to fly unless they make my choices for me?
And not lifting my mask for a second is not an "indication" of how strong my immune system is or isn't. It takes considerably less than a second to be exposed to all the junk that's in your airspace, and it's much more likely to get shoved in your direction if two TSA "agents" who have encountered 1000 passengers that day are breathing all over you. Once you -put the mask back on-, you're still susceptible to whatever may have landed -inside- it during that process... you have to breathe in eventually.
I love flying. I love flying and I love being healthy enough to travel and I love that I have the money and means to do it right now in my life. And you're telling me I should give that up because that's the policy and we're not debating it?
To everyone who has provided suggestions, thank you. To this commenter, I sincerely hope that you never become disabled, since it seems pretty clear you'd be content to sit on a rocking chair and knit for the rest of your life while accepting SS checks. Great for you, but that's not the life I choose to live, and how I take care of -my- health is between me and my doctors, not between me and the TSA.
I've had to deal with police encounters initiated by people who think an insulin dependent diabetic shouldn't be seen in public. Apparently I'm supposed to hide in the bathroom like a meth addict. Exactly the same attitude as dblevitan.
In one case a restaurant is still wondering why they lost their liquor license.