i can confirm that this is what happened to me at sfo (sept, 1) and las (sept 4).

background on me is that i had ankle surgery 4 years ago and as a result i now need custom orthotics and orthopedic shoes (walking shoes on steriods and as a result i can never again where dress shoes so i have black, brown, and white ones but i digress). in addition, i cannot walk/stand at all on my left foot without the support (i even have plastic ones for showers) so removing my shoes won't work at an airport would mean i'd have to crawl and with that being said, here is what happened.

sfo
informed the x-ray loader that i have a medical condition and gave the reason. called a supervisor over and explained the situation to her. i was asked what kind of orthotics they were and told her hard plastic and neoprene (wet suit material). pass thru the wtmd with no alarm and was give the full seconday as if you alarm (pat down and wand) including a swab of my shoes and hands.

las
informed the x-ray loader that i have a medical condition and gave the reason. told to "tell it to the person at the metal detector". did just that and told to wait for a supervisor and it became the old game of telephone becasue by the time it got to her, it was "he won't remove his shoes". she was having one of those days cuz she yelled, i yelled but when she realized it is can't vs won't, that was it-i went thru, no alarm so just a shoe swab.

i also want to add that the supervisor at sfo was good in the fact that she asked the right quesions (i.e. what kind of orthotics) but needs to have remedial customer service training as you never ever roll your eyes while facing and talking to a "client as that is what she did when i explained my situation as if to imply, "oh, joy, now i have to deal with this"

now, the supervisor at the ua gates in las is simply outstanding. as i said, she came over yelling "sir, you have to remove your shoes" and i yelled back with the info from the tsa website along with it's "i can't not i won't" and wtih that she said you're right and apologized. it didn't end there-after my screening, i called her over so i could apologize for yelling at at her and with that she put her arm around me and said "hey, it was my bad, your bad-but we got it figured out and i'll make sure that my crew is aware as it looks like they forgot about what was said in our team meeting the other day about shoe exceptions". i told her that right/wrong- agree/disagree, the rules are there and they have to be followed and she agreed with me. we also spoke briefly about the bring/can't bring rules and this woman was as open and honest with me as i was with her and it was truly a pelasure to deal with someone who can use their customer service training the way it's supposed to be used and take what could have been an ugly situation and make it work so the customer is happy and the risk is mitigated.

so those are my 2 experiences and hope all that made sense

both were simple as neither (even at las) took no longer than 10 mintues for me to go thru

well done tsa/sfo-ua dn tsa/las-ua ^

(n.b. please forgive any typos but it's mondfay evening-just got back from las and shall we say, just a bit tired ;))

Why dat, asked the Type II?

Hope you're kidding. If not, you need to spend some time with your doctor discussing your risks and how to watch out/protect yourself.

Neuropathy:
Diabetic nerve damage (neuropathy) also can lessen your ability to feel pain, heat, and cold. Loss of feeling may mean that you might not feel a foot injury. Roughly half of diabetics develop neuropathy, the danger at airport checkpoints is the potential debris on the (rarely-cleaned) floor.

Gotcha. I fully appreciate neuropathy as a serious consequence and do the daily foot-check after I shower, but still walk around in my stocking-feet all the time. It just never occured to me that ALL diabetics should NEVER take off their shoes at the airport.

A wise precaution once considered ...

Diabetics are actually cautioned to NEVER walk around with unprotected feet (shoes, slippers, etc) - bare feet is a potentially very bad thing, with or without socks.

A sin? <rolls eyes>

Oh my.....the tyke had a cough...not malaria...jeez.

I would gather from the above statement that you've not had the experience of seeing a child become very sick very quickly, which can happen with or without cough syrup. Or you've not been puked on by a child coughing so hard that it throws up.

If the kid is crying, screaming, and coughing, it'll make everyone else miserable. Parents "love" getting the "shut your kid" up look from other pax. At least TSA gives an excuse. All a parent has to say is "Hey, TSA took my kid's medicine."

Super

I am a wheelchair user. September 4th at IAD I was required to remove my shoes. When I was told this, I first asked if they could be swabbed instead. Then I said that the TSA regs did not require disabled passengers to remove shoes. The TSA screener disagreed. No dice, the shoes came off.

File an ADA complaint. :td:

Yeah, right. I'll get right on that.

Actually, this isn't a bad idea. If you file a complaint with the TSA, they will most certainly blow you off. If you file an ADA complaint with either HHS or Justice, all sorts of external investigators will descend on the TSA at the airport. The TSA can't blow them off like they do you and me -- and Congress.

I am not a lawyer, but after a very careful reading of ADA Title III (Public Accomodation), I really have trouble justifying that this sort of stuff is in any way covered. As a person who counts on the protection of the ADA for really big important things (can I get in to buildings, can I use public restrooms and other facilities, can my employer fire me for being disabled and no other reason, etc), I can't get behind nuisance lawsuits.

Also, the ADA is an unfunded mandate. The DOJ has absolutely no motivation, financial or otherwise, to come down on anybody for a nuisance ADA complaint.

In this instance, IMHO, TSA is just not following their own stupid rules that they made up. They're not breaking laws.

Lipstick size tube
 

I am at a lost to see how anyone can actually mix a small amount of paste or waxy material to form dangerous explosives. In my younger days, I was assigned to an army depot where glycerines (of much lower viscosities than paste or wax) reacted with super-acids. I could see that one can mix powdered ingredients on board to get the bang (since powders are allowed on board).