Preparing for TSA screenings

December 1, 2004 12:13 AM

I'm flying in a few weeks, and I'm majorly worried by some of the stories I've been hearing about physical TSA screenings. There are certain ways I am not willing to consent to be touched by strangers, no matter what.

Do I have any recourse if I am singled out for a physical search of my person, other than not to fly at all? How can I prepare in advance for potential conflicts?
posted by croutonsupafreak to travel & transportation (24 comments total)

Croutonsupafreak, legally there are a few things you can do to protect your anonymity and privacy. Unfortunately, these things are rarely adhered to by TSA, and the people that do fight them are usually humiliated and "made examples of", if you will.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do. Wear tighter clothing, so a visual inspection for foreign objects is easier; check your luggage so your chances of personal bag-searches are minimal; and don't get upset at the TSA personnel. Most of them are just doing their job, it's their supers that are out to dick us over. Plus they can arrest you.

To put your mind at ease, stories of extreme violation are rare. I fly quite a bit, and at most have just been scanned with a wand. Usually I'm not even stopped for secondary screening. Most people are usually quite friendly.

Hope that long-winded post helps some.
posted by symphonik at 12:41 AM on December 1, 2004

You can be selected by your airline according to government criteria, and "SSSS" will appear on your boarding pass. Or you can be selected by screeners because you fit some kind of profile or an alarm needs to be cleared. Make sure you do not have anything metallic on your person and don't handle any explosives or fertilizer before the flight, and put your shoes through the X-ray. You can also be selected if you are at a checkpoint that does "continuous screening" and they aren't screening anyone else at the time.

The FlyerTalk Travel Safety/Security forum has plenty more information on this and there are alleged TSA screeners and supervisors who hang out there who are happy to answer your questions as long as you don't insult them or they won't lose their jobs. There is also information there on more dubious ways to avoid searches.

Personally I don't like being felt up during a secondary screening, but I'd rather do that than take my shoes off before walking on the same floor shoeless that thousands of others just have. Mmmmm, fungus.

Anyway if you are willing to flash a same-sex screener privately for a visual inspection you can avoid some of the groping.

If you disagree with what a screener is doing, do not argue with the screener. Immediately ask for a supervisor and discuss your concerns with them. In some airports, supervisors will have epaulettes with three stripes, while lead screeners have two stripes, and regular screeners have one. If you cannot resolve your concern with the supervisor, ask for the screening manager who is probably somewhere else in the airport. Obviously this takes lots of time so be sure to get there early. There must be a supervisor (sometimes a lead screener is made acting supervisor while the supervisor is on bathroom break) and screening manager on duty at all times the checkpoint is open.

In the end, you should tell your Congresspeople exactly what you think about secondary groping, although you should be educated about it before doing so.
posted by grouse at 1:23 AM on December 1, 2004

for what it's worth (white male with no phobias) my experience has been that they are pretty reasonable, professional, polite, quick, and avoid my crotch - you tend to hear of extreme cases in the news exactly because they're extreme. and while it's important that those cases be examined, and the whole stupid system questioned, your individual experience will probably be quite different.
posted by andrew cooke at 3:58 AM on December 1, 2004

These screeners suck ass. I was dropping my nephew off last week and they gave me a gate pass. The screener did everything but make me spreak my cheeks. Christ, and I was just walking a little kid to the gate.
posted by damnitkage at 4:09 AM on December 1, 2004

A key thing to make a point of is, if they ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with (and this is not that likely, really), keep calm and ask for, don't demand, accommodation. So, if they decide they want to touch your breasts, "I'm sorry, I don't feel comfortable with that, is there another way you could make that inspection?" is going to get you a lot farther than, "I don't think so!" or anything at all that involves cursing. If your immediate security agent doesn't have any options, then ask for a supervisor and discuss it with them.

Also, be at the airport damned early if you think you're going to have a problem with this. The pressure that you might miss your flight is not something you want to add to the situation.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:55 AM on December 1, 2004

I was returning from Logan 1.5 weeks ago and was SSSS'd at check in. My screener was male and asked politely if I was comfortable with being touched with the back of his hands in "delicate" areas.

I told him to do what he needed to do and thanked him for asking. The most "delicate" place he touched me was between my breasts and the touch was so light that had I not been watching I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Given this experience and from comments I've heard others make, I would never ask for a private screening area unless there was something found during this cursory pat down. I've never understood what the big deal is, and I've got some pretty big issues with people touching me. YMMV

I was much more annoyed and distrurbed with the manhandling of my luggage than the pat down I endured.
posted by FlamingBore at 5:46 AM on December 1, 2004

You have (basically) no recourse, no--so the way you have to prepare for potential "conflicts" is by thinking of them differently. By and large, the TSA screeners are just trying to do their jobs and aren't evil stormtroopers. They have no choice either; they can't chose not to search you physically because you ask not to be searched. In fact, obviously, your asking not to be touched or searched physically would make them more obligated to do so.

So, (a) get all your stuff in order and make sure you don't have a Swiss Army knife or what have you in your bags; (b) get prepared to ask nicely for alternate search methods (nicely!) if you're uncomfortable--almost always the TSA screeners will ask *you* first if you're comfortable--and (c) realize that you're making a choice: save time by flying and deal with security, or take the train or drive and don't get searched.

I (like most people) seem to be one of those 'above-average' folks who are SSSS'd often. But my screeners have always been courteous, always asked ahead of time, and always been polite, courteous, and gracious, especially since I have never freaked out at them for doing their jobs. Instead of thinking about it as a "conflict," think of it as a reciprocal relationship--you're nice, they're nice. That's the way it *usually* is.
posted by josh at 6:09 AM on December 1, 2004

Getting all worried and nervous about it right before you go through screening is a bad idea too.
posted by smackfu at 7:05 AM on December 1, 2004

Can your unwillingness to be touched by strangers be qualified as a medical condition (or part of one)? Maybe you can talk to a doc and get some kind of note, and maybe notify the appropriate people (if there are any) beforehand.
posted by fricative at 7:11 AM on December 1, 2004

Buy your ticket in advance, and get a round trip to get on the regular no grope line.
Try to wear clothes with no metal at all - even the rivets on jeans can set off the detector and send you for extra screening.
Don't brush the sides of the detector when you walk through as that can set it off.
Don't use hand lotion which can be read as explosives by the sniffer machine.

If you do get selected for special screening, be calm. Some of the TSA people are okay, some are dickheads. (I'm looking at you, bitch from hell at Newark.) I've always automatically gotten a woman to pat me down - I think it's procedure. First they take away your shoes for an explosives check and make you stand to be wanded. Then comes the pat down. They say they will use the back of their hand, and what that generally means is they jam it up under your breasts, and poke you all around the waist and back and down around your ass. Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's a little rough. They may pull at the waistband of your pants but generally not.
It's usually over long before they are done going through your luggage so you have a nice moment to sit there and steam.
I second the recommendation of getting their early to reduce stress. And remember, they do this all day to thousands of people.
You'll most likely not get selected anyway so don't get too freaked.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:40 AM on December 1, 2004

What CunningLinguist said about not triggering the detectors or sniffer machines, with the addition of this important caveat: Don't wear an underwire bra.

And take off all your jewelry, including your watch and rings, and put it in your pocketbook.

If you are selected, and you have a male screener, you have the right to request a female screener. Now, you may have to wait a bit until a female screener is available, but you have the right to request that.

Stay calm. They're not trying to make you miserable--remember, this is their job and they have to do it. Imagine having to pat down hundreds of strangers a day for a living. Try to establish contact with your screeners--a smile, a "Thank you!", a "sir" or "ma'am" go a long way.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:25 AM on December 1, 2004

I am surprised at the admonishment to not wear an underwire bra. I flew across country in October and didn't have any problems resulting from my underwire bra. I don't think I even own a bra without an underwire. Have they really triggered the screen machines?

Also, since the weather was warm enough, both my son and I wore open toe Birkenstocks on the plane. The screeners didn't make us take our shoes off at all. Maybe we were just lucky? However, my husband wore his regular, lace up shoes and he had to pop them off to be inspected.

While the inspection line at Dulles (DC) airport was quite long, the screeners were quick and efficient. One gentleman was even kind to my son and didn't use any behavior that a toddler would find intimidating.
posted by onhazier at 8:55 AM on December 1, 2004

Ditto on the DON'T wear an underwire bra to the airport that day (that's a guarenteed "hand check", in my experience). Also, try wearing elastic-waisted pants or ones without metal fasteners--when my jeans button or rivets have set of the detectors, that has meant a hand down the front of my pants as well.

Then again, I am a swarthy female who could be confused for Middle Eastern, so YMMV.
posted by availablelight at 8:55 AM on December 1, 2004

I have a routine when I'm flying, and I'm flying quite a bit these days.

Before I get to the airport, I take off just about everything that's metal and put it in my carry-on, including every last thing in my pockets including my chapstick. (I keep my driver's license, though.) That includes belt, glasses, work security badge, keys, coins, everything. (I've never had a problem with the rivets in jeans setting off a metal detector, although the button sets off the wands and I have to get my waistband looked at every time...)

When I get to the airport, I will automatically send my shoes through the X-ray, even if they don't have a metal shank in them and I know it. It saves me going through the trouble of having to go through the screening because I wouldn't be separated from my shoes. I also keep my jacket fastened to my carry-on using a handy dandy strap for that purpose, and put everything except me through the x-ray.
I keep my ticket on my person at all times and keep my driver's license in the coin pocket of my jeans for easy access.

If you have no metal whatsoever on your person and you have the *appearance* of a frequent flier, even though you don't have the frequent flier card that entitles you to the special line, the screeners are *MUCH* less likely to hassle you. If they can say, "ID please" and it's already in your hand, they know you've been through this about a bazillion times.

The only time I get screened these days is when I fly one-way, or the first time after I've flown one way, and the "SSSS" is always on my ticket for those times. Usually I get along with the screener guys ... if they're relaxed about things, I crack jokes that can not possibly be offensive (jokes about towel-heads or bush are probably good to avoid) and we usually have a good ol buddy buddy time. Just keep in mind that their job is to be professionally paranoid.

Best experience ever was when I was expecting the worst ... I still had to get the extra-special treatment because I was flying one way, and my luggage was weird to say the least. I was flying to pick up a motorcycle, so I had a full set of leathers and a helmet in my bag plus a box of power-bars, some bungee nets, and an iPod. The guys who were checking my baggage out both rode, and they were jealous of the fact that i was flying to San Jose to pick up the bike and coming back up the coast into Oregon.

Note for bra-wearers: You can get underwire bras that have a plastic underwire. This may be adviseable, because if you get pulled aside and wanded, and the wand beeps near your boobs, your boobs are gonna get groped.
posted by SpecialK at 9:09 AM on December 1, 2004

I am a very Waspy-looking 40-year-old woman whose underwire bra invariably sets off the wand. As I said in the Blue, so far everyone who has done the bra check on me has been very polite and professional.

I never wear jeans or a belt to fly, so don't know whether if I did I would get the "hand in the waistband" check, but I suspect I would.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:04 AM on December 1, 2004

Odd, my underwire bra has never set off the detectors.

My family flew from New York to Atlanta this summer for a wedding and we had the code on our tickets to get the advanced search. Why? It was pretty random since we all had round trip tickets bought well in advance with credit cards.

We were all searched in Atlanta and New York and there was patting, but no groping involved. They didn't make any of the females take off their shoes and they didn't even search my ten year old nephew - it wasn't a big deal.

We were very polite to the people doing the searches and did some light hearted joking with them - no terrorist jokes of course. That may have helped.
posted by Julnyes at 10:24 AM on December 1, 2004

I have a new mantra that I use when going through the airport routine. It comes in handy often: I chant "I am a whale. I am a whale." and picture myself as a whale (a sperm whale, of course -- ref. user name) moving smoothly thorough the depths. Everyone else around me (except my wife) are krill. Using this, I have stopped getting bent-out-of-shape at the hassles. Groping? Nothing but krill! In my way? I'm gliding among little shrimp!

I've also thanked pat-down screeners for the massage. /weirdest post you will ever see from me
posted by Dick Paris at 11:59 AM on December 1, 2004

I've flown through San Francisco, San Jose, LA, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, JFK and Philadelphia, as well as airports in New Zealand and Italy, and never had trouble because of my underwire bras. And I don't buy bras without underwire. However, I always wear jeans and that gets me stopped. Go figure. I've never had a patdown, though, just the wand. I did find that the most rigorous search I had was in San Jose when I was 8 months pregnant. Maybe they thought my swollen stomach was a bomb. :)

I've been treated with nothing worse than indifference, and mostly they are friendly. When I was pregnant, the man who checked my shoes even offered to help me put them back on.
posted by tracicle at 12:22 PM on December 1, 2004

I don't really understand what the big deal is. I want people to be searched. I want to feel secure (save the examples of old ladies being searched, that's not the standard).

Because I don't mind the 5 minutes that it takes to be searched, I do not alter my wardrobe. I used to get searched 1/2 the time that I flew before 9/11 and I get searched only slightly more than that now. I've never had a negative experience. Frankly, I think that they should search more and be much more thorough about it.

I was searched last year flying from Minneapolis to JFK. The female officer explained that she had to touch the underwires of my bra. No problem. But what's so scary is that I was carrying a wad of cash in my bra that I had forgotten about and she didn't even notice it.
posted by Juicylicious at 1:12 PM on December 1, 2004

I can't believe how horrible and dehumanizing it has become to fly. Should be interesting when some moron manages to get a bomb on a plane in a body cavity. Really, full body cavity searches and mandatory strip searches are the only frontiers left.
posted by Mitheral at 1:31 PM on December 1, 2004

Honestly, I can't believe how laid back everyone here is about these invasive searches. Because the TSA is a government-run organization, this is a clear violation of the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Random searches are unconstitutional! My girlfriend and I have sworn off flying altogether until this situation gets resolved. (If it ever does...)

I can tell you I don't think I could stand by watching the TSA people grope my girlfriend.
posted by knave at 2:40 PM on December 1, 2004

I've had the underwires of my bra touched plenty of times, but from what I've read they are stepping up much more invasive physical searches. It's nothing to scoff at if you get singled out.

After reading in the New York Times about new policies effective about two weeks ago that allow breast and genital groping with the palm of the hand and increased invasive searches, I am determined to report anything I consider unsolicited physical abuse to my congressman and to local police officers. I want names and I want the bastards prosecuted.

Hopefully it won't come to that.

Thanks for the tips.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 11:53 PM on December 1, 2004

Dick Paris, that suggestion made me laugh a lot.

While I understand why people are saying it does no good to get worked up about it, I also am a little annoyed at the "nothing's ever happened to me, so I don't know what the big deal is" bit. I've been checked many times in ways that made me uncomfortable, and I understand it's the way things are right now, but my discomfort (and yours, crouton) is valid and warranted.
posted by ifjuly at 1:29 PM on December 7, 2004

I know no one is still reading this, but I had the full grope again the other day (one way ticket bought that day) and I was standing there fuming and wondering how the oh so blase guys here would feel if they had some TSA jerk publicly cup their balls before they could get on a plane.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:00 AM on December 11, 2004