Security at MEM?
 

hey everyone. I'm new here, but have been an aviation enthusiast for years. I've recently moved back to Memphis and I'm taking my first flight out of that airport in a long time on Saturday. My question is, what should I expect with security there? I've been flying out of LIT for the last several years, and security is rather a non-issue there, so I wasn't sure what to expect at MEM. I've been reading various things about X-rays, BioSensors and all sorts of other mind-boggling things! So if someone could set me straight, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Welcome to Flyertalk and the TS/S Forum, flyer_girl295!
I can't help you specifically with MEM as I haven't traveled though there for years but I'm sure some of the other posters in this Forum will weigh in on the issue.

The last time I flew through MEM was in November 2002 on the way home from depositions in New Orleans. My boarding pass for both MSY and MEM was labeled SSSS, so I had the "pleasure" of secondary screening when I departed MSY and also at the gate at MEM. I tried to explain to the gung-ho screeners that I was just changing planes and had been cleared in New Orleans, but that was before the concept of checkpoints and sterile areas occurred to the geniuses at TSA. Oh well, two more sets of hands going through my personal items, no big deal. :mad: Good luck to you this time at MEM.

Hi Flyer_girl295 & welcome to FlyerTalk. I had the "pleasure" ;-) of going thru MEM in April-this visit resulted in my first formal TSA complaint & very lengthy discussion w/the MEM FSD office re: events there, if that tells you anything...I was flying Delta, which goes out Terminal A. Baggage screening is done right @ the check-in counter, but the young men doing the screening (which is manual, btw, w/the lovely little cotton pads that get used over & over) were more interested in talking to each other about some girl & so the pad the made such a production about swabbing over every inch of my suitcase never did get put in the little machine for analysis. Wish I could say that was the end of it, but alas it wasn't because there was still the checkpoint to deal with. The TSA person who was manning the machine I went thru either kicked it to set it off, after I refused to take off my non-profile, no metal shanks flats that have gone thru just about every airport in the country in the past 3 years w/o problems OR, according to the FSD's office, mixed up the alarm from the machine next to his w/the one I was going thru. However, the fun really started when I requested a complaint form from his supervisor-given HER behavior, the behavior of the rest of the staff there isn't the least bit surprising (among other little gems, she claimed there was "no such thing" as a complaint form & that I "should prove" there was one-this chick was CLEARLY looking for a fight!). When I finally spoke w/the FSD's office, he didn't seem the least bit surprised by the behavior I was describing from the supervisor (he WAS, on the other hand, pretty irate about what had happened @ the check-in counter w/my suitcase-kept saying "we spent alot of money on those machines & they're not even using it?"). Anyway, the FSD apoligized profusely, but what if anything has been done to rectify the situation there, I couldn't say since I haven't been back &, quite frankly, have no desire to.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but if you don't mind, let me know how you make out & good luck!

Laura

hey, thanks for the comments so far! anyone got anything else? :)

I've been flying out of MEM every week for the last couple of months so hopefully I can give you some info.

I've only checked a bag in one time so I can't really tell you about check-in stuff other than to say that it seems like every other airport. You check in, take your bag to screening and head to security. Not sure if all the airlines use x-ray for checked bags or the cotton swab method.

As for the terminals, I think that there is just A, B, and C. I always fly NW and am at the B gates. I will say this for the B terminal, even though MEM is not a big airport, it can be quite a hike to some of the B gates. There are no moving walkways etc.

If you are flying from a B gate and there is a long line for security, you can go to either end of the check-in area as if you are heading to either the A or C gates. There never seems to be a line at those checkpoints and then once through security, you can still get to the B terminal.

At B security, there is the ususal rent-an-i.d checker checking BP and i.d. Then the x-ray and metal detector and the TSA BP check. Then, and this has been mentioned before in other threads, after you get your carry-ons, before you leave the security area into the gate area, there is another TSA check of your BP. That 3rd check is a dog-and-pony show. It is a waste of time, money and does absolutely nothing to "make us safe". And before anyone disagrees with me, if it is necessary, how do you justify not having that third check at every airport. And, more importantly, how do you justify not having it at MEM half the time. As I said, I've been through there every week for the last 9 weeks, mostly Friday afternoons. Sometimes there is someone at that 3rd checkpoint and sometimes there isn't so it obviously isn't a necessary position. Also, never are you told to keep your BP out for one more check. A couple of times when I've been caught behind an elderly couple who put away there 15 pages of BP's, connecting BP's, itineraries, etc, only to have to get them out and find the right one, I've thought about just walking by them just to call the TSA's bluff on this checkpoint. Of course, I haven't done it because I'd rather wait a couple of minutes than to miss my flight while the TSA illegally detains me.

Sorry to have gotten on that soapbox. Anyway, I don't think that MEM is any better or worse than most other airports and being prepared as you enter the security area certainly speeds things along.

Good luck.

I fly out of MEM and, although I'm Platinum on NW I *do* occasionally have to fly on DL metal.

The information above is correct, although I have never had an issue with wearing my Bass dress shoes through the magnetometer. Usually the line is relatively short, but I have gone off to "A" terminal to avoid long lines at "B" on occasion. The only moving sidewalks in the airport are used to connect the A and C terminals to B.

Although I hadn't really considered the third checkpoint at "B" security, it's a good point -- why one there and not at the outlet of the other security lines? Perhaps this is because "B" is so much busier, and they think that this will help provide a sort of "check valve" at this busy point?

On the bright side, my personal record for getting from the parking lot ticket dispenser to my gate is five minutes ... and that includes finding a parking spot, walking inside and upstairs, clearing security, and walking to B8.

Holy Cow!!! You must have long legs... :D I thought the only thing 5 mins from B8 was B7... ;) I always seem to end up at B38.

One other thing that really irks me at the "B" security is that I think they have 3 WTMD's and they will use 2 of those for the non-elite line along with sharing the one that the elite line uses. I've often times been in the shorter elite line only to notice people that got in the non-elite line after me get through security more quickly.... :mad:

Just my two cents worth. On 07/04, no checked baggage. Concource A screening, TSA did not even check my ID. Did look at boarding pass. I did not have to take off my wingtips (no steel shank). Since there was no one in line, don't think they even looked at the screen for my bag, it just flew through the machine.

The three TSAs were so involved with talking about after work plans (BBQ, etc.) -- that I did not exist -- just waved me through.

At MEM, you never know what will happen.

I used to commute weekly to MEM before 9/11 (but have not since), so I can't really give much advise on the current state of affairs. The only thing that I'm sure that's consistent is that you must take your laptop out of the bag for XRAY. They were doing this before 9/11 as the XRAY machines they had were so antiquated that they coudn't look through a laptop.

It always ticked me off every week flying out of that hellhole to have to do the laptop dance. Little did I know I'd have to repeat that inane process at every airport after 9/11.