pontifex

Hello,

I've been able to avoid flying since TSA started the body scanner/groping nonsense, but will have no choice but to fly for a few trips this summer. I'm looking for advice regarding SDOO, or scanner-free checkpoints, or times of day WTMDs are likely to be in use, at the following airports:

MHT (Manchester NH)
BWI (Baltimore-Washington)
MDW (Chicago)
MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
SLC (Salt Lake City)

I've checked tsastatus.net but many of the entries are from last year. Thanks in advance for any help or recommendations.

TSORon

There is no surefire way to avoid additional screening, and that is intentional. But your best chance to avoid it is to follow directions. Dont assume you understand the systems or that they will not detect that plastic wrapper in your pocket, just do what the TSO's tell you and you should be fine.

pontifex

Just to clarify, in case my original post was not clear, I am looking for advice on avoiding the body scanners altogether, not getting a gold star for compliance from some goofball with a meaningless badge.

marvanit

If there was a advice on how to avoid them, doesn't that defeat the purpose? Its the luck of the draw. Sometimes they are using them, sometimes they are using traditional scanners. No rhyme or reason.

pontifex

Some airports are all body scanner, others are still all-WTMD, others are a mix.

Do any of the listed airports have any WTMD checkpoints?

If so, where?

Yosemite

I sympathize with your concerns. It is very uncomfortable to be violated by perverts. That's exactly the reason why I cut down my air travel by 80%. Unfortunately, the travelers have no choice in this matter. We're being punished for traveling through or from a US airport.

Orion

Look like me.

ladytraveler

Here's the flyertalk list of airports that have BSX or MMW scanners. Perhaps this is what you are looking for. (I think it's up-to-date.)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...y-scanner.html

Ari

Well put. ^

MSPeconomist

Is the OP trying to avoid the body scanners or to avoid being groped? These are different questions.

BearX220

The OP is pretty obviously looking to stick to WTMD checkpoints where possible in order to avoid having to opt out of NoS/MMW and thus be groped.

As others have said there's no easy answer to this. Even the FT definitive list of airport checkpoints with Nos/MMW does not indicate that many of them also have standard WTMDs operating alongside, or instead of, the new machines at various hours of the day or night.

It's been a couple of months since I have had to submit to a groping because (A) I've been somewhat lucky and (B) I have found it possible to self-select WTMDs at BOS, BWI, IAD, DCA, SEA, and SJC with no problem.

pontifex

The OP is trying to avoid being groped by avoiding the body scanners; if scanners are the only option, the OP will opt out, but the OP would rather it not come to that.

GaryD

I hear the following airports use a marginally better system, if you have an extra day or so to travel:

YUL (Montreal)
YYZ (Toronto)
YWG (Winnipeg)
YYC (Calgary)

It's a shame tsastatus.net is out of date, if that's true. A valuable societal benefit. Let's make a point of updating it after each trip, shall we?

mybodyismyown

At BWI, there is a scanner-free checkpoint downstairs near baggage claim from which you can access all the Southwest gates (A and B). There is no scanner-free checkpoint for other airlines from BWI.

At MSP, there are some scanner checkpoints and some scanner-free checkpoints: 1, 4, and 5 are scanner-free in Terminal 2 and you can access all Terminal 2 gates once you pass screening. In Terminal 1, there are no scanners.

At MHT there are no scanner-free checkpoints. Do not use BOS or PVD as alternatives, either, unless you can fly Virgin from BOS (scanner-free checkpoint). You can take Amtrak to BWI from the Boston area and fly out of BWI scanner-free on Southwest. I'm doing this tomorrow.

At Salt Lake City there are no scanner-free checkpoints. You should use Provo airport as an alternative; it's only an hour away and Provo has no scanners.

Chicago has no scanner-free checkpoints. Chicago has excellent train service on Amtrak to many destinations. I recommend the Cardinal line - it's unbelievably beautiful mountain river geography out the windows! - to DC or New York.

And finally - yes, please update tsastatus if you visit any airport. I always post whenever I'm at an airport.

I wish you all the luck in the world avoiding the TSA's unforgivable sexual abuse. None of us deserve to be treated this way, or to have to rearrange our lives to avoid having our bodies pawed like meaningless objects by immoral TSA losers.

RatherBeOnATrain

If you are going through an airport with both the nude-o-scopes and WTMD, you can simply hire someone to be serve as your designated decoy. The designated decoy will go first and loudly proclaim "I OPT OUT!", while loudly and repeatedly saying words like "CANCER!" and "NUDE PICTURES!" and asking the TSOs "HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT STANDING NEXT TO RADIATION ALL DAY?" and "HAVE YOU SEEN THE VIDEOS SHOWING HOW INEFFECTIVE THOSE CANCER BOXES ARE?"

In no time at all, the designated decoy will be surrounded by uniformed TSA screeners. In order to keep the line flowing, TSA will direct the other passengers thru the WTMDs.

Now, before anyone suggests that I am helping imaginary bad guys, realize that terrorists themselves would choose the nude-o-scopes because those machines are so ineffective.