Warning: Gate Rape at YYZ
 

For all you US-based UA flyers who sometimes book a transborder flight on AC or UA from YYZ:

I was first-in-line to board a flight at terminal 2 at YYZ today and got gate raped. Was furious at myself for presuming that Canadian security had returned to some semblance of sanity like American security and screened only SSSS passengers. The screener went through all the motions but was not at all thorough.

So, I thought I'd share this with y'all: remember not to be first to board at YYZ.

Any other experiences elsewhere in Canada?

At YVR, May of this year.

Great, just my luck as I am heading there on Thursday!

I am sorry to hear about your experience. However , I think you have been around this board long enough to remember that we had agreed not to use the term "rape" in this context. If you were truly "raped", I hope you filed a police report and had the person arrested

As one who goes through YYZ frequently (it is home base) and primarily to the US they choose people at random - it is not always the first person in line.

Thursday of last week I got selected from the middle of the pack on a flight from SFO-SYD for screening, but I didn't complain or say I am being raped. They are doing their job, I may disagree with it, but they are doing what they are hired to do. If they do it professionally, no complaints - if not, then I complain.

Correct.

And since the original post is only marginally UA related and the responses asked for are not necessarily UA-related at all, I am moving to the Travel Safety/Security forum where this seems better suited.

cblaisd
Moderator, United

Any link to the thread when, where, and why this was established and - especially - what the correct expression for it is these days?

Ah, those Canadians obey their imperial masters in the U.S. so well, don't they? Almost like the Germans.

When will these countries remember that they are supposedly sovereign and don't have to do -- or over-do! -- what the U.S. commands?

Bruce

It doesn't matter here because you can call the TSA and related agencies what ever you want here. Even Forum board members trash the TSA with uncalled for names.

It's called gate screening. That was one of the worst ideas TSA ever had, so I'm really sorry to hear it's spread to Canada.

I remember the day I showed up three hours early to get an "A" boarding pass and be first in line on a cross-country Southwest flight with first-come-first-served seating. Those *&*(&*@(! gate screeners not only pulled me and Mr. GradGirl out of line, they held us until every other passenger had boarded. As it happened, the only two unoccupied seats left were together, in the very last row, but I was prepared to pitch a royal fit if I got separated from hubby for a six hour flight because of that ridiculous gate screening. Gate screening has gone away in the U.S., AFAIK.

Actually TSAMGR it DOES matter here. It was agreed that they use of the word "rape" in the context of a gate screening negated the feelings of woman ( and or men) that had actually been raped and was an insult to all of them ( and no I have not been raped). The discussion took place in late 2001 when someone first used the term "gate rape". At that time the original poster of that thread was actually kind enough to ask the adminstration to change the thread title so I have no clue how I would find it at this point.

This has been going on continually since the process was created in the US. Everytime I fly back to the US from YYZ, no matter the airline or flight, they are there.

Having said that, I have found their security people very easy to defeat. I just position myself in line so they grab another passenger before me...the same process that has saved alot of us when the gate screens were done in the US airports. In a couple of instances, I also pretended like I didn't hear them say "excuse me, sir", and I just blew past them down the jetway...they never said anything and just grabbed the next person who walked by. The whole process is annoying, but fairly easy to avoid.

Technically, the policies call for the names, so they are not "uncalled for."

Thanks GradGirl.
Now this is the official wording for the process, and so it also is what we use here, I assume. Just wondered if there is any moniker for this procedure.
And yes, I share your experience, countless times. Having a passport of the wrong colour, attracts the searchers.

It did not appear to me that this was the allusion of TSAMGR. The pun in the wording is probably the emphasis of the non consentual body contact.

IMHO the word 'screening' is at least as inappropriate as 'rape' as it does not reflect the harassment and humiliation of the questionable procedure. Even though I agree that it is not entirely useless.

This is why I asked if there is a more accurate nickname for it.

Also - YYZ - No INSPASS
 

Also, they happened to kill INSPASS at YYZ a few weeks back for no apparent reason.

REALLY pissed me off when I walked through and saw a giant piece of tape over the machine... :-(

Then of course, I got picked for a random - something about "Canada not agreeing with the US's policy on security," so they still do randoms.

Lucky, lucky us.

the policies dictated the use of name-calling?

I'll stay away from the language issue here, but I also went through YYZ via UA today. What a disaster! Remind me not to whine about the TSA (very much) anymore. The worst US experience was far better than the joke that YYZ is.

Let's see... after the half mile walk from the rental car return to the UA counter, I show my passport, get my BP and trudge over to the Immigration line, showing my BP and passport to the guy at the door (who was forgetful about making sure pax picked up the Customs Declarations). The line (at 4pm) was almost to the door, with no special handling of US citizens unless you were late for a flight.

The line took about 45 to 60 minutes to transit. (Can somebody explain the "no talking on cellphones" rule that requires one agent to wander around telling people that cell phones aren't allowed? Perhaps if they added that agent to the booths the line might move faster and people wouldn't feel compelled to kill time yapping on their phones.) Customs guy takes all the paperwork, asks a couple questions and stamps me on my way. Then you get to screening. Laptops out. Shoes on. WTMD set less sensitively than US. Laptop gets wiped and my backpack gets a cursory search (first time for both of those in over 30 segments of travel this year). The backpack "search" was a joke. Lots of unzipping and glancing (my bag was full of stuff and was a bag of computer wire spaghetti), but hardly worth the time for the person checking.

Ok, so now I'm four passport checks into the airport and the only way out of the area is back through Canadian Immigration.

Off to Gate "L". So now can somebody explain to me how it is that cleared pax cross the sterile corridor for inbound pax on the way to Gate "L" and higher? That makes no sense that you'd want people mixing there.

So now at Gate L, I again present my passport (as if I could be there without one) and then get selected for the gate check (serves me right for not letting a guy at the counter step in front of me). Again, waste of their time and effort. Wanding with a back touch (and not to TSA thoroughness), then shoes off for a feel (but no wanding of the socks), then another VERY cursory search of the backpack. This "search" was even less intensive than at screening. So what was the point of all that?

I agree. A search would yield the precise threads on which most agreed to stop using "gate rape" to describe the ridiculous procedure.

I prefer to use the term "gate groping" to describe the foolishness, since plenty of groping typically occurs. It connotes an offensive side to the process while not using the highly charged term of "rape" which is probably inappropriate in this context.

Funny you should mention that. Yet the highly charged term "Nazi", which is inappropriate in the context it was given, is okay in your book and Bruce should not have apologized.

The hypocrisy train keeps on chugging.....

Get Bent.

Will get right on that......

I've gotten it at YVR and SEA being the first person on the plane. I'll have to remember to go on second

:rolleyes:

When a Board Member of FlyerTalk is the one coining these phrases and complains are made and nothing happens then it doesn't matter.

OK I guess I'm lost. I dont see where BusterCT1K is a board member. I personally just go to airport, do whatever has to be done and get on the plane. I am a firm believer in "Dont Sweat the Small Stuff and its all Small Stuff" so most of these things dont seem to happen to me . Must be that catch more flies with honey than vinegar thingie :)/. The only reason this thread caught my eye was that it was originally posted in the UA forum and used the word rape

Since I am obviously out of my depth on the politics of this particular forum I guess I will go back to ny UA and Hilton hole. :D

Wasn't talking about BusterCT1K. Persons reading this area and doing a little homework should be able to figure it out.

No research is necessary to know that rape is a horrific crime, with women almost always the victim. It is juvenile to say that because someone has used this term on FlyerTalk, we all can use this term. We desensitize ourselves to the seriousness of this crime when we use it to describe an airport security check, no matter how extensive that check might be.

I thought so also until about two weeks ago in LGA when the TSA set up a table at the gate where we were boarding a Song flight to FLL and pulled pax over randomly for the gate shakedown. Why this happened at that time I do not know except for the rumor that a flight FLL-LGA was the subject of some kind of security alert and the bigdomes at TSA figured they would find makework for some of their staff at 1130PM on a Thursday night for a flight on the same route, albeit in the other direction.

I posted on the forum recently (somewhere, don't remember exactly where) that random gate screening is back, not as bad as it use to be. This is part of an inter-agency security program which started about two weeks ago. It is for certain areas under stricter security measures.


Don't kill the messenger.

Whilst I agree with you I still agree with the response that you received on the Qantas forum! :rolleyes:

So I had to go look. And since your implication is that the defination would include a gate search, and I dont see it - I am posting it here. This is one of the few things that bug me - the use of the word rape in the context of something that involves no physical harm to the person being searched and the use of the word Nazi to describe anyone acting like an ******* being the other.

Pronunciation: rāp
Noun 1. rape - Eurasian plant cultivated for its seed and as a forage crop
Brassica napus, colza
Brassica, genus Brassica - mustards: cabbages; cauliflowers; turnips; etc.
mustard - any of several cruciferous plants of the genus Brassica
rapeseed - seed of rape plants; source of an edible oil
2. rape - the act of despoiling a country in warfare
rapine
pillaging, plundering, pillage - the act of stealing valuable things from a place; "the plundering of the Parthenon"; "his plundering of the great authors"
3. rape - the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will
ravishment, assault, violation
date rape - rape in which the rapist is known to the victim (as when they are on a date together)
sex crime, sex offense, sexual abuse, sexual assault - a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat; "most states have replaced the common law definition of rape with statutes defining sexual assault"
statutory rape, carnal abuse - sexual intercourse with a girl who has not reached the age of consent (even if both parties participate willingly)
Verb 1. rape - force (someone) to have sex against their will; "The woman was raped on her way home at night"
ravish, assault, dishonor, dishonour, outrage, violate
assail, assault, set on, attack - attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly"
gang-rape - rape (someone) successively with several attackers; "The prisoner was gang-raped"
2. rape - destroy and strip of its possession; "The soldiers raped the beautiful country"
despoil, plunder, violate, spoil
ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up"

Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Gate searches. Hmm. I've had them at SEA, LHR, LGW and seen them at a couple of other airports in the USA. Never been overly bothered about them to be honest except for the last time at LGW where I'd had the exact same person do a 20 minute explosive check on my bag at checkin (odd combo of plastics etc caused positive test for TNT). Luckily he saw and remembered me and we contrived a way to get around it.

To be frank, other than the first-come-first-served seating flights, I'm at a loss to understand why people get upset. It's often pointless, but it's not like the flight is leaving without you. So rape, certainly not. Groping... pass. I see it more like getting trapped by someone really unpleasant at a party, a chore, but not really that much of a problem. But I guess that "Gate Boring Person at a Party" isn't as fun to say ;)

I understand it. I always brief of sigh of relief when I get past security. At that point I know that the carnival is over. An unexpected gate check is kind of like that. You get in your car to leave the carnival, and start to relax as you pull away from the lights and the noise and then you see a set of carnies scramble on your hood in an attempt to start a carnival on it.

Aside from from the peace of mind thing, there is the chance that you'll lose space for your carry-ons. I think that is the most pressing agitation.

Gate screening wouldn't be an imposition greater than the normal screening if they would just halt the boarding while each search happens. It's not fair to passengers to make them lose their place in the boarding line in addition to giving them the wand and unpacking their underwear in public. The airlines wouldn't stand for the delay, though, so a strict rule about boarding order being maintained would effectively rule out gate screening.

I agree with the issue about luggage space but if you're one of those people who travels with a small suitcase as cabin luggage then I don't have tremendous sympathy (they're usually Americans too, for some reason). On several flights my relatively small bag (big enough to contain laptop, CD player, camera, clean underwear) has been put several rows away because someone has filled my overhead with a bag the size of a small Eastern European tractor factory. If your delay has meant you're on the recieving end of that then you have my sympathy ;)

And I'm certainly not going to kill the messenger (so don't take the references to "you" and "we" below as meaning TSAMGR specifically), but I fail to understand the wisdom of gate screening. In effect, specific intelligence about a particular flight aside, what's being said is any one of a number of things:

1) We don't think the primary and secondary screening is cutting it.
2) We think that screening in other airports isn't cutting it.
3) We're worried about all those people wandering around the airport (i.e. airline, airport, and concession employees) and what they might sneak through their screening or just in general with the stuff they need to do their jobs.

What it also says, by nature of the randomness is:

1) We think terrorists are too stupid to figure out how to time their approach to the gate so as to avoid the "random" screening.
2) We still can't (i.e. are afraid that the ACLU will sue us) profile terrorists, so we'll shake down an old lady or a kid now and then just to show how random we are being.

So to be effective, you either need to rescreen everybody at the gate or you hope that people who are up to no good are too stupid to figure out the system. In the meantime, you just give people more reasons to resent the system in general and increase their hassling of TSA (as clearly shown on this board).

As much as I hate MCI's general screening as you enter the gate area, at least that airport should be safe from gate screening since that whole gate area is effectively sterile with no concessions or rest rooms (which are my gripes about the gate areas there to begin with).

<sigh> There's got to be a better way.

^ :)

Well said.

I agree with you. I usedto be inolved in gate screening and felt really bad for the passengers that were in the front of the line to lose their place to be searched and end up in the back 1/3rd of the line to board. I know that some airlines (i.e. Southwest) have the first come first serve seating. I always feel bad screening those flights. I'd be ticked off to if I were a selectee. One thing I had seen with Southwest was at Raleigh. They had the selectees screened prior to boarding and isolated after screening. Then, they were first to board. I felt that was a good way to compensate for having to be screened.