Full body pat-down for checking in early?
 

In all my flights over the last several years, I've only had extra screening when flying one-way, buying a ticket a day before travel, or getting the "XXXXXX" randomly on the boarding pass.

Today while flying out of PHL, I checked in several hours early on AA and went into the Admiral's Club. The lounge was outside security. When I went through the metal detector to entire the gate area, I was asked by TSA to submit to a full body pat-down? I couldn't see anything on my boarding pass that would indicate that I was pre-selected for extra screening, so I was just wondering if this was one of these random layers of screening or something that I had done. I had no metal objects, but the TSA guy at the front of the x-ray machine announced to the people doing the screening that I had a "breathing machine" with me.

I had taken a cpap machine out of it's case and placed it alone in a bin per normal. It usually gets the swab test. Again, usually. You know, because only sometimes we should check for things that we isolate for extra screening.:confused:

I doubt it would have anything to do with you checking in early.

Just random.

Sounds random to me. We have people that come through all the time plenty early for their flights and that is not part of the criteria for a patdown.

Congratulation, you won the only lottery that no one wants to win.

Welcome to flyertalk. ^

Random, unnecessary harassment. File a complaint against the TSA employee(s) who selected and groped you. :mad:

Well, probably Shirley Jackson's would trump that one. ;)

Welcome to FT!

Mike

Many people check in 24 hours before the flight, so seriously doubt that was the reason.

You were probably the next person through after the last person they patted down, so they had space for you.

Interesting quote. Changing a few word changes, it could be applied to some of the darker periods throughout history, ... Germany, the Crusades, South America.

+1

I think they've just increased the "random" pat downs since 12/25. I flew out of ORD on 1/11, terminal 3. I got selected for a "random" pat down, my first one. It was early and the checkpoint was not busy. Both TSA people doing pat downs were women so they were selecting nearly every woman that went through. The kicker was she only patted me down from mid-thigh down to my feet for a total of about 5 seconds. I'm NOT complaining mind you, I don't wish for a more thorough massage, but there really was no point in it. It's all for show.

I haven't flown since Xmas, so I can't speak to what's happening now, but prior to the current state of...whatever, I'd been patted down a couple of times for wearing "bulky clothing" - once in IND on a 15 degree morning in November while wearing a heavy sweater, and once at EWR wearing an untucked button-down oxford shirt. In both cases, the TSO explained why he (male TSO in both instances) was making the request, as opposed to this 'random' nonsense; neither TSO seemed terribly pleased to have to perform the patdown, but otherwise both were quote professional about it.

Professionalism AND honesty? TWICE? I should have bought a lottery ticket.