TSA took fingerprints?
 

So my dad was travelling from ORD to CLT yesterday and the TSA took Hand-swab and fingerprints. Now i dont know why but i have been subjected to handswabbing in 8/10 of my last flights and i have no idea why.:confused: But finger-printing? Now that's new for me.

What was the reason for the hand swab? Was it secondary screening and did he alarm on the hand swab? But even with that, taking fingerprints is a new one for me :confused:

No alarm through the scanner. No alarm on Hand Swab. He told me they asked for finger-print.
I dont know the reason for hand swab, i mean they have done it to me 8/10 times. So its definitely not random. :|

Can it be coz his boarding pass had TSA Pre✓™ printed on it? Just a random question.

1. Hand swabs are routine. Sometimes even in the line between the ID podium and the inspection.

2. Never heard of anybody finger-printed by TSA. How as this done?

3. Pre-check likely entitled him to expedited screening.

I think we're missing something in the translation here and really need OP to get the full set of facts.

Hands swabbing it is just a secondary screening method for certain things. In pre check the hands swab can be used for several different things including random Selection. You weren't finger printed neither was your dad.

Abhinavp, welcome to FlyerTalk! Please follow the thread as it moves to the appropriate forum on airline security. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

I wasnt finger-printed. But my dad "says" he was. I will ask him properly in the morning what exactly happened. Also my dad hasnt signed up for TSA Pre✓™ ( i dont even know if u have to sign up or not) and i m sure he has not idea what a precheck is :P



1) Their attitude sometimes makes me feel like i m sort of a criminal when they take the swabs :|

2) Never did i. I didnt ask him "how" it was done. He just told me they took a finger-print

3) My dad hasnt signed for the TSA Pre✓™, as i said before i dont have any idea if we even have to sign up for it. It was just printed on his boarding pass.


Thanks !!

Hand swabbing is totally commonplace. But, he must be mistaken about fingerprinting.

I got a random hand swap while in DEN. First time. I find it particularly disturbing. Not sure why as when I get a courtesy rub they swap their gloves then test.

The day TSA asks for my fingerprints is the day I walk out of the airport.

I agree completely with this. I've gotten the long beep at the metal detector a handful of times (no pun intended). I suppose I could see how someone unfamiliar with these sorts of processes could think they were fingerprinted when in fact their hands/fingers were swabbed.

I have also been fingerprinted for government security clearance and you KNOW when you've been fingerprinted. It may be easier to explain to your father how the hand swab typically is performed (ie, wipe a piece of paper over your hand and fingers) and looking for the deviations, rather than asking exactly what happened.

I had to submit to being fingerprinted around 2002 to receive my AOA (Airport Operations Area) credential. As others have stated, the process is distinct from having one's hands swabbed.

As for anyone having their hands swabbed by a TSA employee, always ask them to change into a fresh pair of gloves out of the box (not their back pocket) and use fresh testing media. If they don't comply with the SOP set forth by their employer, stop the process and ask for a supervisor.

Fingerprinted at an airport? Sounds like a breach of privacy and case for the ACLU.

Because they have reason to believe you are a BAD DUDE @:-)

Oh please. A buck gets ten that it was just a misunderstanding on the part of the OP's father. No big case here.