DFW Shoe Harassment
 

I was passing through DF-Dubya Monday and, approaching the magnometer, got the usual "your shoes, sir." I politely declined, and the guy said that they met a "certain profile" and sent me right through to holding for secondary. He actually said it had to do with sole thickness (they are tennis shoes). I almost blurted out, "but you can't tell me that - that's SSI!" :rolleyes:

When will this stupidity stop?

Why didn't you ?

Why come in here and cry & whine ? Does it make you feel any better ?

Stand up and be counted !! :p

I got the same exact line "It was because my shoe sole thickness" when I was de-shoed at SDF last time, which fortunately has been well over a month ago.

Many more trips out of SDF and through many other airports, no de-shoeing at all.. other than my buddy that got SSSS'd on a last minute purchase as a re-route for a cancelled flight. At LAX I was asked "Have you been through a metal detector with those shoes before", I said yes, and no problems.

What the screener did at LAX was excellent; if in doubt, ask, and then proceed. Thankfully we do have screeners who use common sense out there!

SDF_Traveler

P.S. Next week will be doing SDF & EWR domestically -- will see what that brings... plus I'll be doing some European airports, but there I know I won't be de-shoed or encounter any sillyness other than perhaps the ICTS interviewer for my return trans-Atlantic.

And not a moronic, sicko, drunk, idiotic FSD running the place.

The only thing that would make me feel better is the immediate disbanding of this massive waste of taxpayer money agency.

I do not post here to "cry and whine", but rather to keep those who read FT up to date with the most recent "on the ground" information from the various airports that I transit.

Need a tissue ?

Sounds just like crying & whining to me ! :rolleyes:

I find the information about the various policies, rules, and secondary search triggers that ender83 and others post here invaluable in dealing with the Totalitarian Subjugation Acclimators. If I know the inside scoop on what the TSA's rules are, I even feel a bit calmer approaching the checkpoint. I want to know, exactly, what will happen if I refuse to take off my shoes, or if I put a coat down to pad my laptop, or if I wear a light cardigan with nothing underneath, or get secondaried in a skirt, or carry three bags at SFO, or wear a button that says, "Suspected Terrorist".

I'm sure others also find the up-to-date info on conditions on the ground at checkpoints useful.

I, and am sure many others, do appreciate the information provided on which airports are better than others when it comes to security from the harassment standpoint.

Some happen to be better than others while others change on an on-going basis.

As far as the TSA, it was intended to be a "quick fix" to improve our security after 9/11, but instead of becoming an effective fix, it's become an expensive waste of taxpayer money which provides little more than window dressing.

We'd be much better off if we followed some models used overseas such as the procedures used at the London Airports (LHR / LGW), or even AMS Schiphol. All baggage is screened (and passengers are able to lock it), no silly SSSS business, and ID is only asked for when necessary.

As an example, I recently flew LHR-AMS on KLM. They use T4 at Heathrow; I check-in (with an e-ticket) & get boarding pass; passport is required to be swiped as I will continue my travel outside of the EU. I then proceed to security; they want to see my ID (passport) and boarding pass once to enter the area where the checkpoint is. I get screened, shoes are not removed, and screening is professional. I go to my gate, my flight is called, I hand my boarding pass to the agent, and down the jetway I go onto a Boeing 767-300 for this 45 minute intra-European flight.

While this particular flight was within the EU (UK to The Netherlands), I showed my ID twice; once to the airline, once to enter the checkpoint. At no other time did I get hit with ID checks, boarding pass checks, etc. My checked baggage was locked and screened behind the scenes; all baggage is matched with passengers on the flight (PPBM); something we should do on all flights here in the US.

Best,

SDF_Traveler

1. Shoe removal is not required (for the 10,000 time). If you don't want to take your shoes off, then don't. However, with that being said, if you alarm your shoes will have to be tested, one way or another. (HHMD & ETD and/or Xray).

2. Your laptop will be ETD'd and opened. Of course this entails more handling, which raises the chances of mis-handling. The choice is yours.......again.

3. What does the wearing of a "light cardigan" have to do with screening @ the CP ? :confused:

4. You will be screened according to SOP (hopefully), which entails the little "hokey-pokey" dance you ladies must go thru when wearing skirts. If you are at all uncomfortable with this done in plain sight, you have the option of a private screening.

5. Can't speak for SFO, but TSA (as it stands now) does not have the authority to enforce the "2 bag" rule. That is up to the airlines, who BTW can be fined by the FAA for non-compliance.

6. The button is your call. If you feel compelled, by all means, wear it. However, don't be surprised if your stopped, questioned, maybe even arrested.

These are just general statements. None of them can be taken as gospel. I'm just trying to relay info to you, as if you were coming thru RDU. Hope it helps. :)

And for the 10,000th time, some sorry, punk-assed, sack-of-crap FSDs are harassing passengers whose shoes do NOT alarm.

As stated....RDU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

And IAD, too.

Let me say this loud and clear so you don't misunderstand it: WRONG.

I don't care what your silly little policies say. The facts on the ground are that people get automatic secondary harassment when they refuse to take off their shoes (at every US airport I've been through in the last six months.) Last time (DFW) the screener literally sent me through the magnometer with the comment to his co-worker on the other side that I was to go straight to secondary because I didn't take off my shoes.

So, it's not required, eh? Get a clue!!

Ender83,

Read the end of TakeScissorsAway post, these comments are about his airport.

But let me change it. Shoe removal isn't required at the WTMD. You do not have to take them off, which is true (at most airports, but I've read here that some screeners seem to block the WTMD till you do remove them which is wrong). But every airport seems to have taken the shoe policy and defined it differently and thus applied it differently at every airport.

If the shoe meets a certian profile, you are to be screened if you don't remove them at the WTMD. For some reason some airports require all shoes off. Other airports require certian shoes off and some just don't seem to enforce it, if I get what I'm reading here right. Maybe the FSD at that airport just doesn't care to or doesn't really have control of his airport like he thought. Or maybe that airport is like mine, where they want us to enforce it but screeners have chosen not to because we all know the Leads and Supervisors don't pay attention to crap most the time, and we get away with it.

Spiff,

If other airports are anything like mine, management beyond the SM doesn't know jack about what seems to go on at the checkpoint until something bad happens. So unless a FSD has come out and said "Hell with the Shoe Policy" I wouldn't honestly believe that the FSD has something to do with that airports lack of shoe harrasment.

Screenerx -

I typically wear the same pair of shoes when I fly; they're light weight and do not have metal shanks. When it comes to the checkpoint at a specific airport, they're pefectly fine for a few trips, then one day I'm told to remove them because the soles are too thick (BS). The next several times I'm not required to remove them at the same airport, same checkpoint. My shoes, let alone the soles, don't get larger or smaller each day. It seems to be of my opinion (and experience), a good number of screeners don't even know what this profile is and they just make everyone remove shoes.

At other airports including BOS, LAX, MSP, and MEM, the shoes are fine, but at JFK or EWR they're not (ok, depends upon terminal at JFK). At LGA sometimes they are, other times they aren't.

The shoe issue alone, let alone many other processes, are so inconsistent around the nation it's not even funny.

As far as screeners blocking checkpoints until shoes are off, it happens. It might be wrong, but it happens; this isn't airport specific either, as I've experienced it myself as well as witnessed it at various airports. As someone who has flown 75,000+ actual miles already this year, I get around and I see a lot of different things at the various airports I use.

If you did the amount of travel I do, I'd be willing to bet, especially with your knowledge of SOP, you would be outright appalled at the actions your fellow screeners take at airports around the United States. Additionally, there is a handful of airports which have serious problems with long TSA screening lines (LAS, SEA, DEN, ATL, as a few examples). Traveling by air, especially during peak hours, is a bloody joke at these airports.

Even at a medium sized airport, where lines are usually decent, I've seen them turn into a disaster after a few flights cancel, pax get rebooked, and 3/4th's of the passengers are selectees which causes havoc for everyone.

Best,

SDF_Traveler