Does the TSA get VIP notification ahead of time (or the TSA agent with ESP)
Oct 18, 2005 | 1:54 pm
#1
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,684
Does the TSA get VIP notification ahead of time (or the TSA agent with ESP)
We were hanging out in the AA lounge by gate 31 in Boston when I noticed a familiar face--Manny Ramirez. Manny was leaving the lounge (through a door marked "Private") as we got there, but I decided to find him and get an autograph for a friend. The bartender told me he was going to Miami, so I left the lounge to intercept him at Gate 26, which is through a different set of metal detectors. In other words, I had to exit security in my wing (for Gates 29 and higher) and head out to the AA Eagle gates (I believe 26-28) after security over there.
My portable DVD player was somehow confused with a laptop, so the TSA agent took it out to examine it separately. I was quite agitated, as I wanted a chance to catch Manny, so I was worried that I was going to get a full patdown and exam (Why are you so nervous? Why are you trying to come to this area of the airport--your gates are somewhere else?). Instead, the agent just laughed and said, "So, are you hear to see Manny Ramirez?" I asked him how he knew why I was there, and he said that he had ESP. We had a nice discussion about Manny, I went through and got an autograph.
First, does the TSA get notification ahead of time when a VIP is coming through?
Second, kudos to the TSA agent, who probably could have just decided to be a hard-a** and said, "You can't come in here. Your gate isn't here."
Mike
My portable DVD player was somehow confused with a laptop, so the TSA agent took it out to examine it separately. I was quite agitated, as I wanted a chance to catch Manny, so I was worried that I was going to get a full patdown and exam (Why are you so nervous? Why are you trying to come to this area of the airport--your gates are somewhere else?). Instead, the agent just laughed and said, "So, are you hear to see Manny Ramirez?" I asked him how he knew why I was there, and he said that he had ESP. We had a nice discussion about Manny, I went through and got an autograph.
First, does the TSA get notification ahead of time when a VIP is coming through?
Second, kudos to the TSA agent, who probably could have just decided to be a hard-a** and said, "You can't come in here. Your gate isn't here."
Mike
Oct 18, 2005 | 2:43 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 376
Originally Posted by mikeef
We were hanging out in the AA lounge by gate 31 in Boston when I noticed a familiar face--Manny Ramirez. Manny was leaving the lounge (through a door marked "Private") as we got there, but I decided to find him and get an autograph for a friend. The bartender told me he was going to Miami, so I left the lounge to intercept him at Gate 26, which is through a different set of metal detectors. In other words, I had to exit security in my wing (for Gates 29 and higher) and head out to the AA Eagle gates (I believe 26-28) after security over there.
My portable DVD player was somehow confused with a laptop, so the TSA agent took it out to examine it separately. I was quite agitated, as I wanted a chance to catch Manny, so I was worried that I was going to get a full patdown and exam (Why are you so nervous? Why are you trying to come to this area of the airport--your gates are somewhere else?). Instead, the agent just laughed and said, "So, are you hear to see Manny Ramirez?" I asked him how he knew why I was there, and he said that he had ESP. We had a nice discussion about Manny, I went through and got an autograph.
First, does the TSA get notification ahead of time when a VIP is coming through?
Second, kudos to the TSA agent, who probably could have just decided to be a hard-a** and said, "You can't come in here. Your gate isn't here."
Mike
My portable DVD player was somehow confused with a laptop, so the TSA agent took it out to examine it separately. I was quite agitated, as I wanted a chance to catch Manny, so I was worried that I was going to get a full patdown and exam (Why are you so nervous? Why are you trying to come to this area of the airport--your gates are somewhere else?). Instead, the agent just laughed and said, "So, are you hear to see Manny Ramirez?" I asked him how he knew why I was there, and he said that he had ESP. We had a nice discussion about Manny, I went through and got an autograph.
First, does the TSA get notification ahead of time when a VIP is coming through?
Second, kudos to the TSA agent, who probably could have just decided to be a hard-a** and said, "You can't come in here. Your gate isn't here."
Mike
My guess would be that it was just old-fashioned rumor mill at work. Info can spread like wildfire when many of them carry two way radios.
Oct 19, 2005 | 12:28 am
#5
Used to be Sydneysider
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: CPH
Programs: AS MVP/Gold (and 75K aspirant)
Posts: 2,984
Originally Posted by whirledtraveler
I'm a VIP: I'm a taxpayer. However, I haven't received the special treatment that I should on that basis.
Why, it's like a little slice of paradise.
Oct 19, 2005 | 10:09 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: soaking up the sun
Programs: unemployment
Posts: 687
Originally Posted by ender83
You are getting screwed. I get special treatment all the time from TSA: massages, they let me take my shoes off to relax, they engage me in conversation...
Why, it's like a little slice of paradise.
Why, it's like a little slice of paradise.
