TSA Experiences

[tapu]

There was this time when Tiny Son was about 5 and the TSA agent asked if we had anything flammable, and Tiny Son said, "Just shirts." His reasoning was that shirts could be used to start a fire. They told him shirts were okay.

[tapu]

Then there was this other time when Tiny Son was old enough to have discovered sarcasm and when the TSA agent said, Do you have any firearms or other weapons?, Tiny Son said, "Right, we have guns." He claims that I actually punched him in the chest, but I don't remember much from the time period immediately following.

[Andrea]

I truly appreciate the responses so far. Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

[aishah]

just thought i'd share that i'm traveling from kansas city international today (through dulles to charlottesville) and had a wonderfully painless experience with tsa a little bit of difficulty getting through the metal detector as they didn't have any way to assist me while my cane was going through screening, but it only took a minute so i could mostly walk on my own. it all went very quickly and i didn't get separated from my stuff, patted down, or not so randomly selected for additional screening. yay for good security checkpoint experiences!

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by aishah

just thought i'd share that i'm traveling from kansas city international today (through dulles to charlottesville) and had a wonderfully painless experience with tsa a little bit of difficulty getting through the metal detector as they didn't have any way to assist me while my cane was going through screening, but it only took a minute so i could mostly walk on my own. it all went very quickly and i didn't get separated from my stuff, patted down, or not so randomly selected for additional screening. yay for good security checkpoint experiences!

I am happy for you the experience was painless, and happy that you are able to walk without your cane for that minute. It is nice to hear of near painless experiences in addition to the bad ones.

[Andrea]

In case you missed it.... TSA unable to let a woman through the security check because there wasn't a woman TSA working should she need a pat down.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30424404/detail.html

[Andrea]

Peanut butter is a liquid?

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2012/02/15/pot-in-the-peanut-butter-jar-doesnt-fool-tsa/

[Corkey]

Originally Posted by aishah

just thought i'd share that i'm traveling from kansas city international today (through dulles to charlottesville) and had a wonderfully painless experience with tsa a little bit of difficulty getting through the metal detector as they didn't have any way to assist me while my cane was going through screening, but it only took a minute so i could mostly walk on my own. it all went very quickly and i didn't get separated from my stuff, patted down, or not so randomly selected for additional screening. yay for good security checkpoint experiences!

LAX isn't much better, tho I did have the assistance of an arm from a TSA agent.

ETA: I have a neuro stimulator and can not go through the machine, so I always get the "pat down", my cane however got the full treatment.

[SweetJane]

I've traveled quite a bit over the past 2 1/2 years experiencing TSA security checkpoints in Seattle, Phoenix, Ontairo California, Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Dallas. I even traveled out of Phoenix the day before Thanksgiving. Never have I experienced any trouble. Security people have always been helpful and courteous---even when I pinged because I left my keys in my pocket. And I traveled with a lot of gear: a professional camera, a laptop, and a portable DVD player. They were always very professional and helpful. I went out of my way to thank them for what they do.

[*Anya*]

I have traveled a bit lately. Different experiences different airports.

One airport- no problem with sealed bottle of liquid med, with prescription written and signed by my MD. TSA told me it was great it was factory sealed.

Another airport, same med, same script, same seal: got me a public pat down in front of everyone in the security line. No offer of privacy, crotch and breasts included. Embarrassing, even if it was a TSA butch dyke doing the body check.

Third airport-TSA was happy it was unsealed this time. Checked it to make sure not explosives, no problem.

Three airports. Three different rules/treatments. Consistency would be nice.

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Andrea

Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

As a generalisation, my experience of security checks through US airports has been worse than elsewhere (Europe / Asia). This is because, in my experience, there's more chance of being taken aside and, more importantly, the attitude of the officials has tended to be more formal and more stilted than the attitude of officials in other countries.

I'm not sure why but the new bodyscanners have thrown up particular problems for me. Anytime I need to go through one of these machines, I'm invariably pulled aside. Twice in the past six months I've had what I would perceive to be rather intrusive "pat down" of my buttocks region .. I may appreciate this in other circumstances but not at an airport.

No doubt I don't make things easy for myself - I don't do small talk with most folk, let alone TSA officials, I don't smile or act in a deferential manner and I wouldn't attempt to joke or be sarcastic with them as they'd likely not understand.

All-in-all, I'm not a fan. On my trips to the US, it's another reason for me to regret the lack of good rail travel !

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Ciaran

As a generalisation, my experience of security checks through US airports has been worse than elsewhere (Europe / Asia). This is because, in my experience, there's more chance of being taken aside and, more importantly, the attitude of the officials has tended to be more formal and more stilted than the attitude of officials in other countries.

I'm not sure why but the new bodyscanners have thrown up particular problems for me. Anytime I need to go through one of these machines, I'm invariably pulled aside. Twice in the past six months I've had what I would perceive to be rather intrusive "pat down" of my buttocks region .. I may appreciate this in other circumstances but not at an airport.

No doubt I don't make things easy for myself - I don't do small talk with most folk, let alone TSA officials, I don't smile or act in a deferential manner and I wouldn't attempt to joke or be sarcastic with them as they'd likely not understand.

All-in-all, I'm not a fan. On my trips to the US, it's another reason for me to regret the lack of good rail travel !

Thank you for responding.