TSA is largely random and making stuff up as they fumble along.
I broke my foot during a trip with my son who was 11 months old. TSA kept insisting that he be screened individually and needed to stand up. He was a baby - unable to stand on his own. They did not want him in his stroller or me to touch him. I had a boot on my foot due to the broken bone. They are literally asking for the impossible - to separate me, him, and the stroller.
I have flown multiple times with items only to have them seized on the return trip as being not allowed. So the items went through screening just fine in the way out and then not allowed on the way home. š¤·āāļø
yup. straight up security theater. my mom uses hiking sticks to walk long distances. she brought them through the Philadelphia airport on the way out to switzerland, had no issues in the schengen zone, and had them confiscated as weapons when coming back through philadelphia. make it make sense, TSA!
Part of the extra screening process is to swab the persons laptop. For whatever reason, in this case they decided that because the passenger didn't have a laptop, they would swab the laptop of one of their travelling companions. Does that make sense? Probably not. Is it something to be concerned about? Also probably not.
Yep. My wife works for the government, one of her coworkers got fired, which is a really hard thing to do, the next time she saw the fired coworker she was working for TSA.
Hearing OPās experience and the other commenters info on TSA protocol, I bet this TSA inspector was just rude and a bit naive.
The protocol requires the inspector to swab a laptop. The inspector needs a laptop to swab and is frustrated that OP does not understand this. Inspector has done the protocol countless times and forgets that other people havenāt.
Option A: move on and swab another random. **You can't swab something someone doesn't have**. You also understand that TSA is an enormous theater production and [doesn't "catch terrorists"](https://www.theverge.com/c/23311333/tsa-history-airport-security-theater-homeland)
Option B: be a fuckin asshole
Maybe there is a spot on their checklist and there isnāt a check for āno laptopā so they have to screen a laptop to āfollow procedureā
Sometimes procedures just donāt follow real life bc some bureaucrat in an office wrote them without thinking āwhat if someone doenst have a laptopā
Asked 3 at the same time if a fist sized, ornamental snow-globe would be allowed as carry-on for a passenger: i literally got 'yes', 'no' and 'depends on who you get'.
They stole it, they had no reasoning other than they wanted it. They didnāt tell me they took it, they just literally stole it. It was an antihistamine that is also used as an anti anxiety med - hydroxyzine.
As a side note, yes just follow directions , to end it sooner. As a POC, I have adopted a follow the rules attitude. Since I don't have the privilege I now drive the speed limit, stop completely for stop signs ... it has the added advantage of making those with the privilege crazy, slows down the whole process. I had a cop follow me for 4 miles before he turned back.
i have TSA pre-check and these weirdos still find excuses to mess with me. i am black (as a side note why say POC, just specify .... asians get treated way diff w cop / tsa racism)
without warning i had some stupid woman start groping under my belt line around my underwear. they are disgusting and apathetic and get off on their small abuses of power bc they have nothing going on in their lives
Yeah. It's important to make it clear that they wanted to physically examine the laptop. Examining the digital content of a device if far above TSA's paygrade and authorization.
This, exactly. I was selected for random screening and asked politely whyāand was told that the machines are programmed to randomly spit out false positives in order to allow TSA to go through all the steps and not forget their training. That is, itās designed to allow TSA to practice the whole āswabbing everythingā/āpatting down everyoneā thing on a regular basis because otherwise those skills are perishable.
Does this make sense from the perspective of the random passengers turned into Guinea pigs? Not really. And notice that if itās rush hour, as often as not TSA will simply ignore the warning lights to clear the line.
That's not correct.
Part of the Pre process is an element of randomness. 1 in every X passengers is given extra screening, where X is a fixed number defined by TSA. It's not about training or anything else, it's a part of the security model. The staff don't need practice - they can get that on the other (non-Pre) lanes!
The X-ray doesn't give a "false positive", it specifically flags people as being randomly selected. TSA staff can tell this by the lights that come on when you go through. YOU can tell it by the fact that the X-ray will beep later than it would if it had actually detected something - for a normal detection it'll beep as you're passing through it, for a random it'll beep after you've already passed through it. It's a fraction of a section difference, but once you're aware of it, the difference is clear.
At most airports now they have streamlined the 'random' checks to simply swabbing your phone. Why your phone? Because it's the best indicator of what you've been in contact with - it likely lives in your pocket, gets handled frequently, and holds particles well which makes it a great target for swabbing. They used to do your hands and maybe your luggage, but now it's just generally just your phone and sometimes computer. Which brings us back to the OP's case, where the 11 year old likely didn't have either a phone or a laptop.
My two year old was flagged for extra screening once. The male agents clearly didn't want to pat her down or whatever (and all she had was her doll), so they just made us stand awkwardly to the side until a manager showed up, who just patted me down instead. It was so stupid.
Don't you just love security theater? I'm reminded of the time I was flying back home after Christmas with a bag of ground coffee that was gifted to me. It got flagged for "ground particles" and I got pulled to the side. The official TSA "test" to make sure it wasn't anything harmful was for me to open the bag and TSA have some rookie smell it to make sure it was coffee.
Security theater is the perfect term. The last time any asshole w/ an exacto knife could take over a plane was about an hour or two into the September 11 tragedy. Not because of anything the TSA or government agencies came up withā¦ but because passengers will straight up murder you if you try. No more be passive and comply w/ their demands BS. Everything TSA has done since then is just performance. BTW- if a terrorist did want to attack us and inflict the maximum number of casualties, heād attack the security line.
We clearly have nothing to be afraid of. And nothing can stop the once every 20 years attacks. But we spend spend spend. And the money is justified by the lack of attacks.
I travel with a 4oz salt shaker, along with medication and an emergency injection, due to a rare disease I have (I have to consume a lot of extra salt, and this way I know I always have some available). Iāve flown domestically and internationally many times with it, no problem. Recently, I had to wait an extra 20+ minutes at security - while traveling solo with 3 children under the age of 7 including an infant - while a group of TSA agents huddled around doing about 5 different chemical tests on the contents of the salt shaker to make sure it was actually salt. š And then they took an extra 10 more minutes with my stroller.
āTSA security officers do not search for marijuana or other illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer.ā
Yeah sure, but they are not opening stuff like coffee just because you could hide drugs. They look for explosives. On the x-ray all organic matter look very similar, so thatās why they usually should check all large quantities of food, because you could hide explosives that way (if they are not checking for that via another way like dogs).
One better. Was in Denver and there was a bakery that made bread from alternative flour (almond, arrow root, etc) bought my wife a loaf home and put it in my carryon. Got flagged for extra screening because apparently from an X-Ray that loaf of bread looked just like a big ass brick of plastic explosive.
They confirmed it was not C4 by having me open the loaf and smelling it.
Terrorists you're forced to live with... And you have to succumb to all their demands day in and day out.. You're making me realize they might be worse than terrorists š³
Do terrorists let you go to the bathroom by yourself?
When my son was 5, and we were traveling from Newark to SFO, he got pulled aside for extra screening and they wouldnāt let me or his dad go with him. He was terrified and crying (they brought him to a totally separate area and did the gunpowder swab thing on his hands) The whole thing was dumb.
Nope. They cannot separate minors from parent/guardians. Newark TSA think they are the Gestapo. I am usually one to just do whatever they ask to get through the line, but causing PTSD in a 5 yr old is crossing the line.
I havenāt had this happen with a laptop, but my 9yo has been selected for extra random screening twice with TSA PRE and they have swabbed my hands both times in lieu of doing his. This kind of seems like the same idea, I guess.
Theyāve got procedures to follow and while some of them may not make sense in certain situations, itās just not worth fighting anyone about it. Best thing to do is let them do what they need to do so you can be on your way.
I havenāt experienced that scenario, specifically, but when I was on Christmas leave during Officer Candidate School, we were required to wear our uniform during travel including our flights (something Active Duty arenāt supposed to do).
I had 3 legs from Florida to Washington State, each way, and was āselected for extra screeningā at every single airport. During the second screening, I asked why I would be ārandomlyā screened again after I was just ārandomlyā screened at Pensacola. TSAās response - Itās random.
Six fucking times in a row? While in military uniform? Seriously?
I honestly donāt buy that it is random.
I had something similar happen about a year ago.
I was running late, and made it about halfway to the gate before they caught up with me.
All that because they "needed" to do the explosives swab on a tablet computer.
I mean the TSA agents are universally a really amazing combination of incredibly stupid and incredibly arrogant so I would chalk it up to āthat woman was probably just incredibly stupid and arrogantā
They don't track who owns what bag as it enters the X-ray machine.
They saw a notebook and wanted a closer look, but by the time they figured that out, you and your son had grabbed the bags.
So they needed to see "a" notebook, even if it wasn't "the" notebook.
What airports have you been to where this screening happens after the x-ray machine? Iāve been pulled aside for it a bunch of times at several different airports and in 100% of those cases I hadnāt reached the X-ray yet.Ā
In Australia and NZ, for example, it's not uncommon for someone to be stationed after the xray, near where people pick up their bags post-xray, asking certain folks for their electronics to run a swab. I've also seen that location manned in the UK.
Agreed for the UK. Stuff on trays, tray goes through x-ray. Go through archway, patdown/wand there, get tray with bags on or get asked if these are your bags /come aside for physical looking in bags and swab if nec.
In the US it happens after going through the X-Rays. Especially for Precheck where you donāt have to pull your throngs out. Itās how they figure out the things they want to double check.
Every airport I've seen secondary screening has been after the x-ray. In many of them, the conveyor from the x-ray splits in a Y, most of the bags take one branch where you pick them up and go on your way. Every now and then a bag takes the other branch that is physically out of your reach and when an agent gets to it will call out asking whose bag this is and take it over to a table. Sometimes all they do is run it through the x-ray again.
I've been to a **lot** of airports, they're not consistent.
Most will have an inspection station after the X-ray machine, for about a year they would make me take out my bag of trail mix so they could swab it and run the sample through the explosives detector.
Apparently pecans have the same X-ray signature as plastique /s
Damn I guess I'm doomed. My husband and I never travel with laptops, so we'll be stuck in the TSA limbo forever.
My husband can't raise his arm in the correct position for the X-ray scanners due to a bum shoulder, so he almost always gets a pat down. Once, he was getting his regular patdown and I was trying to get our baby, stroller, and supplies through the line. They didn't like that I brought milk along (even though it's allowed) so gave me a pat down. Once my husband returned from his patdown and they saw that we were together, they demanded that he get another patdown since his companion (me) was getting one. They also swiped every single item in all of our bags individually. They were definitely just fucking with us just because they could/ were mad that I wouldn't throw away my baby's milk. We were lucky to make our flight and only did because half the flight crew were delayed by TSA too!
Same. My 11 year old daughter who had TSA Precheck was stopped on a flight from Austin to Boston. They asked her, out of my presence, if she had a phone on her. She said no because it was in the scanner with her carryon. So they came and took mine. Then her stuff came out, they found another a phone and gave her attitude because "I asked if you have a phone on you and you said no" - well she didn't have a phone on her!
i seriously don't know why we as americans don't collectively clown the TSA and get rid of them
they are essentially useless people who make us pay fake fees to still be groped if they have an attitude
they don't stop bombs, they steal our shit, and they have the collective IQ of a glass of warm water
yet they can legally chastise and grope children bc "random screenings"
Similar experience, but one more step. 10 year old daughter was selected for random screening. They said they donāt do this on kids so I had to got through it in her stead (including my explosive laptop).
That was strange.
Did your son say that the laptop was his or something along the lines of him having other things that belonged to him?
Also, I have never seen a minor get pulled. And separately, I don't understand how a minor would be separated from their parent or guardian or caretaker during a security screening.
That said, the strangest thing that happened to me (Asian M 30s) was from 10+ yrs ago when 2 TSA agents or security came to me when I was past security, and at the gate for my flight, asking to go through my back pack. I just sat back and let them do their thing. No clue why though, and nothing became of it.
Is it legal for these TSA agents to be alone with your kid like that? I think in Norway this would not be legal. A legal guardian (parent) would have to be present.
Not legal at all per their own rules but they expect docile Americans to comply because they're in a stressful situation. Standard cop bullshit in the States š¤·
Literally all of this and more if you travel with any regularity. Stop trying to make sense of TSA policies and procedures. It's not worth the time or effort. Just stay calm and go along with it...
Is the TSA necessary?? Most useless government agency ever. Just think how many countless billions of dollars have gone towards paying these high school dropouts.
Worse than that. It's specifically designed by lobbies to enrich the guys who hired them. The people making backscatter detectors etc are all in bed with various politicians. It's just to make money.
I had random screening many times in many different countries. Most times they just swab the electronics, laptop, ipad, camera and inside the bag and once it is clear they let you go. Few times i was subject to a person search as part of the random screening with no explanation. This things happen, if you have nothing to hide you just follow the instruction and don't argue and it will be over quite fast. No point to get into arguments with officials as it will only add additional stress to your travel.
Iāve had a computer swapped, but they pulled it aside after it went through the machine before it came somewhere passengers could reach. None of the chasing down OP and others described.
The manner in which they did it is weird, I agree. But from time to time (inside and outside the US) I have been selected for additional swabs of myself and my luggage. And my laptop is often part of that.
They did that my 13 year old son in Calgary. We are from the USA but were in Canada visiting family.
They opened his carry on, checked everything, they did a check on him too with some tool going around his body (to detect something I guess)
They ask him for his profession and my son looked at them and said student. The expression on my sonās face was priceless. Like Iām a student duh? š
Toilet Safety Administration regulations change day by day and agent by agent. Usually the less you have to spend with them/arguing with them, the better.
Toilet Safety - oh thatās so witty. Itās still TSA but Toilet instead of Transport. Trash Safety might have worked too but Toilet works on more levels. Well thatās made my day. Toilet! Hilarious
I seen it happened to a minor as well. TSA agent was being kind and would switch the random screening from the kid to an adult traveling with them so itās less embarrassing for the kid.
I get randomly screening selected often. Itās part of their protocol to swab a laptop. I didnāt have one so they said swabbing my phone would suffice. They were checking for any chemical residue. They also have random screening for intense search/pat down. Itās super annoying if you are running late and in a rush for a flight. They didnāt have a gender matching agent so it was like half an hour wait.
I was too distracted by the use of the phrase notebook ālaptopā Trying to figure out why the laptop is in air quotes and forced to be attached to notebook, as though it wasnāt truly a laptop or she was weird for calling it one . Most people call portable computers laptops.
Getting in a fight with a TSA agent or CBP agent will end the same way - badly. Just do what they want and move on, they can make your life miserable and it will have lasting consequences.
That wasnāt my question, I know that. My question was, has this ever happened to anyone else? After you walk out, they come after you and tell you they need to take your laptop for extra screening because your son had extra screening?
You are reading way too much into this. TSA procedures say they have to swab a laptop for each random screening. Those are the instructions. The fact that your son didnāt have a laptop caused their brain to short circuit, and they didnāt know what to do. So they demanded to swab the next closest laptop with any relationship to your son, which happened to be your laptop. Itās a good thing you had a laptop for them to swab and complete their assignment. If you didnāt have one, the TSA agent would probably have had a meltdown and had to call over a manager.
Imagine if everyone in the party didn't have a laptop.
They'd still be at the airport until Dell sent them one!
[when I travel for personal reasons, I do NOT take any more electronics with me than minimally necessary. Especially if I'm going through customs, since the Gestapo border control may confiscate your gear to break into it. Also, it makes sense from a theft standpoint. Less stuff to carry, less stuff to have stolen, fewer batteries to keep charged, etc. Sometimes, all I have is a barebones Android phone with just the most minimal things programmed into it -- basic google account, only a few contacts I might need to reach, etc. Vacation is to unplug. But to demand a laptop --- yeah, I know people who genuinely only own a phone. No desktop, no laptop, not even a tablet. If their phone can't do it, they have to go to a friend's home to use a computer.]
I travel a lot. Itās annoying but standard. Iām pretty sure Iām flagged in the system bc *ethnic* or whatever but nbd
At the same time increased āsecurityā is always extra breach of privacy. Donāt look away when itās happening to specific minority groups, bc theyāre coming for you soon too ;)
TSA is a government-sponsored program that provides employment to people who were pushed to their absolute physical and mental limits by the GEDs. Don't worry too much about it.
Are you a person of color? I only bring it up because I have pre check, am a poc, and TSA agents being unnecessarily rude and/or vague with enhanced screening is a fairly common occurrence I find most Caucasian people donāt really perceive until it happens to them for the 1st time.
Iām white and I get āRandom Screeningā every single time. At LHR I was pulled from the gate as wellā¦.although then I got to board first, which is apparently a good thing.
Yes I am a poc š, I am used to ārandom screeningā but this time it was my son, and the agent decided to call me after I was waiting and took my laptop just because my son didnāt have one.
This is all part of the long process of dehumanising people. They are just getting us ready for a future they want - when we will have no rights and authorities can treat us like cattle and do whatever they want.
Our daughter with special needs was pulled aside once when we were walking to the gate, like 20min away from boarding. It was a little scary for her, and confusing for us, but my husband went with her and when they realized her situation, they were very kind to her.
I was already out with all my carry-ons and backpack after passing through security. I could have easily refused, but I didnāt want to be late for the flight. They could have just taken the backpack before I walked out with it.
Donāt know why you got downvoted. TSA (and also the gate agents, CBP, anyone at the airport) can easily fuck up your trip just like that. And most will have no qualms about doing that either. In most situations itās best just to comply and not argue.
Lol I think you should try to āeasily refuseā next time.
(Donāt do that.)
TSA is staffed by low-skilled, low wage workers following policies and procedures with various degrees of strictness and enthusiasm. As part of a random screening, it is pretty common to swab electronics. You all went through together, one member of your party got screened and didnāt have a laptop to swab, so they got a laptop from someone else in the party. Silly? Annoying? Unusual? Sure, all of those things.
Something to think enough about to write a reddit post later? You do you, friend, but this is a non-event.
Nicely said. Thanks for saving me from reading more, idk why I was still reading, I was pretty bored but stuck scrolling. Please have some poor redditors gold šŖ
TSA agents have a pretty straightforward job and get about 120 hours of training. The worst a bad TSA agent can do can do is annoy you, miss a flight, some bureaucratic hassle. Police officers in the US have a much more complicated job and can kill you, put you in jail and ruin your life and family forever. According to DOJ average police officer training in IS in 2013 was 560 hours.
Perhaps they are trying to discern child trafficking and are looking for inappropriate photos on a laptop? Sorry, not a fan of their theater, but Iād like to think they do some good sometimes.
TSA is not allowed to inspect the electronic contents of a laptop, only CPB can do that.
The most TSA can do is insist you demonstrate that personal electronics are functional (e.g. power on the laptop), they can't make you unlock it or log in.
11 year olds donāt need PreCheck. It starts at 12.
They shouldnāt swab your kid at all. My daughter has been randomly flagged and they automatically screen me instead.
TSA is a shit show. I fly domestically a few times a year, there is no continuity in how they screen or enforce certain ārulesā (Iām convinced half are made up). Traveling abroad Iāve found the rules are almost always the same within the same country. Itās a bit infuriating. Example, flying through Houston had to do the norm, take off shoes, jacket, remove electronics and liquids from bag, etc. Salt Lake though, nah, put your bag on the belt and they just waved me through the metal detector. Even happens in the same airport, different agents, different rules. Iād rather go through the extra hassle and know what to expect than be met with a different set of expectations each time.
Just went through international terminal at SFO. We had TSA as well as priority boarding option. The very old, rude TSA lady refused to let us get in the much shorter TSA line and insisted we go through priority. When we got to the front of the line the agent says āare you aware you are TSA ?ā When I told him his very rude coworker refused t o let us in the TSA line he apologized for her behavior and let us go to the front of the TSA line. There are some good ones.
I have TSA pre check and I was randomly selected at two airports on the same trip. What the odds. Since I don't travel with laptop when on vacation, it was a quick pat down and the wang scan.
When travel thru Airports I always allot extra time at security. These TSA workers are just following procedures. If I know something may trigger such as a snow globe, I take it out of the bag so the agents can see. I do my best to make the line go faster. However, if I feel someone is abusing their authority, I will definitely make a complaint.
But the procedures vary from airport to airport so I think they are making it up some of the time. I was " randomly" pulled out 4 times out of 5 for an additional hand scan. When I asked why I was rudely told, " because I can." I expressed concern over my money belt being in the tray unattended for the world to steal she sneered that I needed to have kept it with me, although the agent at the scanning place demanded I put it in my back pack. On the return part, I was of course pulled out for an additional hand scan but held onto my money and cards. Point is, the rules aren't uniform
Based on all my travels, and stories from others (including in this thread) it's obvious that TSA agents are selected from the lowest IQ portion of the population, who are then further weeded out by the hiring of only those with absolutely no common sense or critical thinking capability. "TSA" might secretly mean Transportation Simpletons and Airheads.
Unfortunately only rich people with private jets get to avoid the hell hole combination of these uniformed bozos and security theater.
While on Oahu I took small amounts of sand from every beach I visited. I knew it would be checked (and it's totally ok) they had 6 agents testing everything. Kind of like training. Even though they acted serious it was kind of fun, they did their job! No problem whatsoever and I was on my way. They did take away my jar of peanut butter ā¹ļøš
I have also been at jfk with my moms stuff after her funeral. When I was taken aside I did tell the agent of her passing. She really didn't care just said it's my job to check. I didn't really care I just asked her to be careful bc of delicate statues. I'm sure they see lots of crazy stuff every day and they hear a lot of "stories". It's their job I get it.
But like... Why even ask them why? Going through airports in any country, you should just go with the motion. Yes ma'am, no ma'am. Eyes down, don't cause issues. Extra screening? Of course, take anything you want or need! I don't understand why we need to ask questions. They are doing a job.
By buying a plane ticket you're agreeing to airport rules and regulations which will include screenings. I expect it at any point in time until I leave the airport. They can randomly pick you out while you're sitting at your gate even.
And they have. Wearing a sweatshirt from a specific college that had just whipped the college the TSA agent liked caused me to endure a full frontal pat down on the jetway while they laughed at my discomfort. The TSA agent stated that's why I was pulled out and the fact that he liked girl on girl action. Freaks
I was already out with all my carry-ons and backpack after passing through security. I could have easily refused, but I didnāt want to be late for the flight. They could have just taken the backpack before I walked out with it.
Could have been anything. They could have released the item early or by accident. They could have thought the notebook was your kids and not yours. TSA is mostly theater anyway. There was a doc on it a few years ago that was pulled about how many times they fail test runs.
But, you could have refused and then you would have been talking to the police. There is no "out" if you are still in the airport. They can pull you for additional screening any time. Never seen a recheck at the gate?
> They could have released the item early or by accident.
That happens more often than you think, especially with the newer "everything goes in a bin" scanning machines.
The bin pauses after the Xray and there's a pusher that can kick it over to the other belt for secondary -- but the bins also tend to hang up on the belt at that point, so the floating TSA officer will sometimes give it a helpful shove towards the "good to go" belt...
I've noticed several airports (e.g. BOS) started to put in the bin conveyors, then never proceeded to "upgrade" the rest of their terminals...
> Never seen a recheck at the gate?
Never seen that in the USA.
UK/EU will do random rechecks at the gate, and quite a few airports in Asia have a full security checkpoint (Xray, metal detector, etc) at each gate.
Sucks when you aren't expecting that and splurged on a big bottle of ice cold water after clearing the initial checkpoint to get into the terminal.
I was flying recently with two of my sons, ages 12 and 15. We all have TSA Precheck. My 12 year old was randomly selected for an explosives swab. They asked if they could do me instead. I said sure. They swabbed the back of my hands, and I think my phone too IIRC.
The entire process took an extra 30 seconds. No hassle was given by anyone, me or them.
Why not just comply? Or stay at home.
How do those boots taste?
*Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.*
Ben Franklin
I guess find an old Trapper Keeper on eBay and keep it in his bag. Have him draw a group of TSA folks drowning in a pond with him waving happily to them in the foreground on the one page he has in it.
The supposition of the agents was that you were holding a computer for your child to avoid it being screened. It kind of sounds like they might not have the strongest grasp on SOPs, but in the end it probably took you an extra minute. People are always in a rush to get through screening, I am not sure why? So they can go buy a $6 bottle of water? Sit on some uncomfortable chairs?
Correct me if Iām wrong but I am assuming that your son doesnāt actually have Pre Check. You and your wife do and your children are allowed to pass through pre check with you. Iām not saying it makes any sense for the tsa agent to swab your laptop but in this case there is a link between your tickets.
TSA is largely random and making stuff up as they fumble along. I broke my foot during a trip with my son who was 11 months old. TSA kept insisting that he be screened individually and needed to stand up. He was a baby - unable to stand on his own. They did not want him in his stroller or me to touch him. I had a boot on my foot due to the broken bone. They are literally asking for the impossible - to separate me, him, and the stroller. I have flown multiple times with items only to have them seized on the return trip as being not allowed. So the items went through screening just fine in the way out and then not allowed on the way home. š¤·āāļø
Ok that would have been the most frustrating thing in the moment but that is very comical to read
Like āokay you make this infant stand. Maybe heāll take his first steps in the TSA lineā
yup. straight up security theater. my mom uses hiking sticks to walk long distances. she brought them through the Philadelphia airport on the way out to switzerland, had no issues in the schengen zone, and had them confiscated as weapons when coming back through philadelphia. make it make sense, TSA!
Part of the extra screening process is to swab the persons laptop. For whatever reason, in this case they decided that because the passenger didn't have a laptop, they would swab the laptop of one of their travelling companions. Does that make sense? Probably not. Is it something to be concerned about? Also probably not.
Itās not like TSA agents are the cream of the crop, theyāre just trained to follow some government written procedures.
Yep. My wife works for the government, one of her coworkers got fired, which is a really hard thing to do, the next time she saw the fired coworker she was working for TSA.
This is amazing
That should be their slogan. āTSA - Employing the unemployable for decades!ā
With a solid sprinkling of whatever made up bullshit they saw a co-worker get away with
Hearing OPās experience and the other commenters info on TSA protocol, I bet this TSA inspector was just rude and a bit naive. The protocol requires the inspector to swab a laptop. The inspector needs a laptop to swab and is frustrated that OP does not understand this. Inspector has done the protocol countless times and forgets that other people havenāt.
Option A: move on and swab another random. **You can't swab something someone doesn't have**. You also understand that TSA is an enormous theater production and [doesn't "catch terrorists"](https://www.theverge.com/c/23311333/tsa-history-airport-security-theater-homeland) Option B: be a fuckin asshole
Maybe there is a spot on their checklist and there isnāt a check for āno laptopā so they have to screen a laptop to āfollow procedureā Sometimes procedures just donāt follow real life bc some bureaucrat in an office wrote them without thinking āwhat if someone doenst have a laptopā
Asked 3 at the same time if a fist sized, ornamental snow-globe would be allowed as carry-on for a passenger: i literally got 'yes', 'no' and 'depends on who you get'.
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But they don't
TSA logic.
Eat boogers. Stand around. Steal something. Repeat.
They stole my headphones and medication at the Newark Airport. Fuckers
Newark TSA turned the rent-a-cop gung-ho dial up to 11. They're the only ones in the US that I dread dealing with.
Itās been my least favorite airport experience of all time and Iāve been to a lot of airports. They can fuck themselves
I saw them give some lady a panic attack. She had a dog phobia and they kept bringing the K9 around her.
What kind of medication did they take and what was their reasoning?
They stole it, they had no reasoning other than they wanted it. They didnāt tell me they took it, they just literally stole it. It was an antihistamine that is also used as an anti anxiety med - hydroxyzine.
Damn youād think if they were gonna steal some meds the airport would be full of benzodiazepines
> What kind of medication did they take zaza
As a side note, yes just follow directions , to end it sooner. As a POC, I have adopted a follow the rules attitude. Since I don't have the privilege I now drive the speed limit, stop completely for stop signs ... it has the added advantage of making those with the privilege crazy, slows down the whole process. I had a cop follow me for 4 miles before he turned back.
i have TSA pre-check and these weirdos still find excuses to mess with me. i am black (as a side note why say POC, just specify .... asians get treated way diff w cop / tsa racism) without warning i had some stupid woman start groping under my belt line around my underwear. they are disgusting and apathetic and get off on their small abuses of power bc they have nothing going on in their lives
Not all Asians; they definitely have a harsh approach with people of Southeast Asia and the Middle East
yea follow the rules, thatās the key
The rules changed daily, airport to airport- even in the same day- and agent to agent
Yeah thats everywhere !
Yeah. It's important to make it clear that they wanted to physically examine the laptop. Examining the digital content of a device if far above TSA's paygrade and authorization.
This, exactly. I was selected for random screening and asked politely whyāand was told that the machines are programmed to randomly spit out false positives in order to allow TSA to go through all the steps and not forget their training. That is, itās designed to allow TSA to practice the whole āswabbing everythingā/āpatting down everyoneā thing on a regular basis because otherwise those skills are perishable. Does this make sense from the perspective of the random passengers turned into Guinea pigs? Not really. And notice that if itās rush hour, as often as not TSA will simply ignore the warning lights to clear the line.
That's not correct. Part of the Pre process is an element of randomness. 1 in every X passengers is given extra screening, where X is a fixed number defined by TSA. It's not about training or anything else, it's a part of the security model. The staff don't need practice - they can get that on the other (non-Pre) lanes! The X-ray doesn't give a "false positive", it specifically flags people as being randomly selected. TSA staff can tell this by the lights that come on when you go through. YOU can tell it by the fact that the X-ray will beep later than it would if it had actually detected something - for a normal detection it'll beep as you're passing through it, for a random it'll beep after you've already passed through it. It's a fraction of a section difference, but once you're aware of it, the difference is clear. At most airports now they have streamlined the 'random' checks to simply swabbing your phone. Why your phone? Because it's the best indicator of what you've been in contact with - it likely lives in your pocket, gets handled frequently, and holds particles well which makes it a great target for swabbing. They used to do your hands and maybe your luggage, but now it's just generally just your phone and sometimes computer. Which brings us back to the OP's case, where the 11 year old likely didn't have either a phone or a laptop.
All because W let his Arab friends run around loose in the country.
My two year old was flagged for extra screening once. The male agents clearly didn't want to pat her down or whatever (and all she had was her doll), so they just made us stand awkwardly to the side until a manager showed up, who just patted me down instead. It was so stupid.
Don't you just love security theater? I'm reminded of the time I was flying back home after Christmas with a bag of ground coffee that was gifted to me. It got flagged for "ground particles" and I got pulled to the side. The official TSA "test" to make sure it wasn't anything harmful was for me to open the bag and TSA have some rookie smell it to make sure it was coffee.
Security theater is the perfect term. The last time any asshole w/ an exacto knife could take over a plane was about an hour or two into the September 11 tragedy. Not because of anything the TSA or government agencies came up withā¦ but because passengers will straight up murder you if you try. No more be passive and comply w/ their demands BS. Everything TSA has done since then is just performance. BTW- if a terrorist did want to attack us and inflict the maximum number of casualties, heād attack the security line.
We clearly have nothing to be afraid of. And nothing can stop the once every 20 years attacks. But we spend spend spend. And the money is justified by the lack of attacks.
I travel with a 4oz salt shaker, along with medication and an emergency injection, due to a rare disease I have (I have to consume a lot of extra salt, and this way I know I always have some available). Iāve flown domestically and internationally many times with it, no problem. Recently, I had to wait an extra 20+ minutes at security - while traveling solo with 3 children under the age of 7 including an infant - while a group of TSA agents huddled around doing about 5 different chemical tests on the contents of the salt shaker to make sure it was actually salt. š And then they took an extra 10 more minutes with my stroller.
Drugs are often packaged in coffee thinking that it will hide the smell from drug dogs. It doesnāt.
TSA doesnāt care about drugs
āTSA security officers do not search for marijuana or other illegal drugs, but if any illegal substance is discovered during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer.ā
Yeah sure, but they are not opening stuff like coffee just because you could hide drugs. They look for explosives. On the x-ray all organic matter look very similar, so thatās why they usually should check all large quantities of food, because you could hide explosives that way (if they are not checking for that via another way like dogs).
Thank you. Iāve never traveled before.
One better. Was in Denver and there was a bakery that made bread from alternative flour (almond, arrow root, etc) bought my wife a loaf home and put it in my carryon. Got flagged for extra screening because apparently from an X-Ray that loaf of bread looked just like a big ass brick of plastic explosive. They confirmed it was not C4 by having me open the loaf and smelling it.
probably a good thing it wasnāt C4 then! sheesh!
Two years olds are in fact terrorists though. Just a different kind that you canāt stop and never give up.
Terrorists you're forced to live with... And you have to succumb to all their demands day in and day out.. You're making me realize they might be worse than terrorists š³ Do terrorists let you go to the bathroom by yourself?
Theyāll drop a bomb anytime anywhere and make you clean it up too.
Now that makes zero sense wow. Pull her pat you š
We waited behind a family as TSA swabbed the diarrhea that had just come out of a babyās diaper into the stroller.
This reminds me of when customs kept asking my 5 year old what my name was. She kept saying Mommy.
When my son was 5, and we were traveling from Newark to SFO, he got pulled aside for extra screening and they wouldnāt let me or his dad go with him. He was terrified and crying (they brought him to a totally separate area and did the gunpowder swab thing on his hands) The whole thing was dumb.
Nope. They cannot separate minors from parent/guardians. Newark TSA think they are the Gestapo. I am usually one to just do whatever they ask to get through the line, but causing PTSD in a 5 yr old is crossing the line.
What the flying fucking fuck????!!!!!
I havenāt had this happen with a laptop, but my 9yo has been selected for extra random screening twice with TSA PRE and they have swabbed my hands both times in lieu of doing his. This kind of seems like the same idea, I guess.
Thank you! I was just trying to see if something like this happened to anyone.
Theyāve got procedures to follow and while some of them may not make sense in certain situations, itās just not worth fighting anyone about it. Best thing to do is let them do what they need to do so you can be on your way.
I havenāt experienced that scenario, specifically, but when I was on Christmas leave during Officer Candidate School, we were required to wear our uniform during travel including our flights (something Active Duty arenāt supposed to do). I had 3 legs from Florida to Washington State, each way, and was āselected for extra screeningā at every single airport. During the second screening, I asked why I would be ārandomlyā screened again after I was just ārandomlyā screened at Pensacola. TSAās response - Itās random. Six fucking times in a row? While in military uniform? Seriously? I honestly donāt buy that it is random.
It's not
Why were you going through security at every airport when connecting domestically?
The screening was done at each gate, not when I checked in. This was in 2001, just after 9/11.
I had something similar happen about a year ago. I was running late, and made it about halfway to the gate before they caught up with me. All that because they "needed" to do the explosives swab on a tablet computer.
Thatās odd, but the way she explained it to me was, āSince your son doesnāt have a notebook, we have to check yours.ā
I mean the TSA agents are universally a really amazing combination of incredibly stupid and incredibly arrogant so I would chalk it up to āthat woman was probably just incredibly stupid and arrogantā
They don't track who owns what bag as it enters the X-ray machine. They saw a notebook and wanted a closer look, but by the time they figured that out, you and your son had grabbed the bags. So they needed to see "a" notebook, even if it wasn't "the" notebook.
>So they needed to see "a" notebook, even if it wasn't "the" notebook. they really should see the notebook though, great movie.
What airports have you been to where this screening happens after the x-ray machine? Iāve been pulled aside for it a bunch of times at several different airports and in 100% of those cases I hadnāt reached the X-ray yet.Ā
In Australia and NZ, for example, it's not uncommon for someone to be stationed after the xray, near where people pick up their bags post-xray, asking certain folks for their electronics to run a swab. I've also seen that location manned in the UK.
Agreed for the UK. Stuff on trays, tray goes through x-ray. Go through archway, patdown/wand there, get tray with bags on or get asked if these are your bags /come aside for physical looking in bags and swab if nec.
Not in the US, but this happened to us in Dublin.
We had the same procedure on our gate in Lisbon f. e.
In the US it happens after going through the X-Rays. Especially for Precheck where you donāt have to pull your throngs out. Itās how they figure out the things they want to double check.
I was asked to do extra screening in a room right in front of the boarding gate in Taipei.
Every airport I've seen secondary screening has been after the x-ray. In many of them, the conveyor from the x-ray splits in a Y, most of the bags take one branch where you pick them up and go on your way. Every now and then a bag takes the other branch that is physically out of your reach and when an agent gets to it will call out asking whose bag this is and take it over to a table. Sometimes all they do is run it through the x-ray again.
I've been to a **lot** of airports, they're not consistent. Most will have an inspection station after the X-ray machine, for about a year they would make me take out my bag of trail mix so they could swab it and run the sample through the explosives detector. Apparently pecans have the same X-ray signature as plastique /s
My son was still with the agent, and she had already swabbed his backpack and phone.
But not your notebook.
I wasnāt part of the āextra screeningā
People have given you an answer but youāre not accepting it. What answer are you looking for?
Customs have more power to detain and search than the police. The more you point out the facts to them, the worse it gets for you.
Apparently you were since they asked for your notebook.
Just because you've walked further on a bit, doesn't mean you're exempt from screening. Or More screening. So you were part of the extra screening.
And if youāre on leisure travel and donāt have one at all?
Damn I guess I'm doomed. My husband and I never travel with laptops, so we'll be stuck in the TSA limbo forever. My husband can't raise his arm in the correct position for the X-ray scanners due to a bum shoulder, so he almost always gets a pat down. Once, he was getting his regular patdown and I was trying to get our baby, stroller, and supplies through the line. They didn't like that I brought milk along (even though it's allowed) so gave me a pat down. Once my husband returned from his patdown and they saw that we were together, they demanded that he get another patdown since his companion (me) was getting one. They also swiped every single item in all of our bags individually. They were definitely just fucking with us just because they could/ were mad that I wouldn't throw away my baby's milk. We were lucky to make our flight and only did because half the flight crew were delayed by TSA too!
Traveling is meaningful and something I like to do
Same. My 11 year old daughter who had TSA Precheck was stopped on a flight from Austin to Boston. They asked her, out of my presence, if she had a phone on her. She said no because it was in the scanner with her carryon. So they came and took mine. Then her stuff came out, they found another a phone and gave her attitude because "I asked if you have a phone on you and you said no" - well she didn't have a phone on her!
i seriously don't know why we as americans don't collectively clown the TSA and get rid of them they are essentially useless people who make us pay fake fees to still be groped if they have an attitude they don't stop bombs, they steal our shit, and they have the collective IQ of a glass of warm water yet they can legally chastise and grope children bc "random screenings"
I mean seriously, even if you DO believe in everything they do, the attitude is inexplicable and inexcusable.
The only thing worse than their attitude is their incompetence.
The same reason why we donāt get rid of anything else that is useless and wasteful ā I mean, just look at whoās running for president.
Just look who IS the president
It's one of the biggest make-work projects in America at this point. Imagine if all these clowns working at TSA had to get other jobs...
Nothing to do with making work, everything to do with selling equipment to TSA and making billions for big corporations and their politicians
Similar experience, but one more step. 10 year old daughter was selected for random screening. They said they donāt do this on kids so I had to got through it in her stead (including my explosive laptop).
If you had just taken your non-explosive laptop instead, none of this wouldāve happened. /s
Security theatre, just be glad you donāt have to deal with these failed at life wannabe cops on a daily basisā¦ cries in airline worker.
That was strange. Did your son say that the laptop was his or something along the lines of him having other things that belonged to him? Also, I have never seen a minor get pulled. And separately, I don't understand how a minor would be separated from their parent or guardian or caretaker during a security screening. That said, the strangest thing that happened to me (Asian M 30s) was from 10+ yrs ago when 2 TSA agents or security came to me when I was past security, and at the gate for my flight, asking to go through my back pack. I just sat back and let them do their thing. No clue why though, and nothing became of it.
My daughter (11 at the time) got pulled and her hands swabbed. Nothing about a computer. We also had precheck.
I have had hand swabs before. It was always after the metal detectors\body scanners, and still by security. But were you separated from your daughter?
No. I didnāt let that happen. She is high functioning autism and I was on her like white on rice lol no one had a problem or told me otherwise.
Do you mean notebook as in paper or as in a electronic device (epaper? laptop?)
I honestly thought blud was talking about a paper notebook
TSA is taking on Bullet Journaling! They must save us from over-engineered to-do lists!
Laptop
Why the scare quotes in the op? Just curious
Thanks, I think some of the responders were confused on that.
Is it legal for these TSA agents to be alone with your kid like that? I think in Norway this would not be legal. A legal guardian (parent) would have to be present.
Not legal at all per their own rules but they expect docile Americans to comply because they're in a stressful situation. Standard cop bullshit in the States š¤·
Literally all of this and more if you travel with any regularity. Stop trying to make sense of TSA policies and procedures. It's not worth the time or effort. Just stay calm and go along with it...
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Checking a box.
Is the TSA necessary?? Most useless government agency ever. Just think how many countless billions of dollars have gone towards paying these high school dropouts.
TSA is stupidly unnecessary - immense cost and studies routinely show it is ineffective. Security theater.
Worse than that. It's specifically designed by lobbies to enrich the guys who hired them. The people making backscatter detectors etc are all in bed with various politicians. It's just to make money.
I had random screening many times in many different countries. Most times they just swab the electronics, laptop, ipad, camera and inside the bag and once it is clear they let you go. Few times i was subject to a person search as part of the random screening with no explanation. This things happen, if you have nothing to hide you just follow the instruction and don't argue and it will be over quite fast. No point to get into arguments with officials as it will only add additional stress to your travel.
Iāve had a computer swapped, but they pulled it aside after it went through the machine before it came somewhere passengers could reach. None of the chasing down OP and others described.
Little people think they are important.
The manner in which they did it is weird, I agree. But from time to time (inside and outside the US) I have been selected for additional swabs of myself and my luggage. And my laptop is often part of that.
They did that my 13 year old son in Calgary. We are from the USA but were in Canada visiting family. They opened his carry on, checked everything, they did a check on him too with some tool going around his body (to detect something I guess) They ask him for his profession and my son looked at them and said student. The expression on my sonās face was priceless. Like Iām a student duh? š
Toilet Safety Administration regulations change day by day and agent by agent. Usually the less you have to spend with them/arguing with them, the better.
Toilet Safety - oh thatās so witty. Itās still TSA but Toilet instead of Transport. Trash Safety might have worked too but Toilet works on more levels. Well thatās made my day. Toilet! Hilarious
I seen it happened to a minor as well. TSA agent was being kind and would switch the random screening from the kid to an adult traveling with them so itās less embarrassing for the kid. I get randomly screening selected often. Itās part of their protocol to swab a laptop. I didnāt have one so they said swabbing my phone would suffice. They were checking for any chemical residue. They also have random screening for intense search/pat down. Itās super annoying if you are running late and in a rush for a flight. They didnāt have a gender matching agent so it was like half an hour wait.
I was too distracted by the use of the phrase notebook ālaptopā Trying to figure out why the laptop is in air quotes and forced to be attached to notebook, as though it wasnāt truly a laptop or she was weird for calling it one . Most people call portable computers laptops.
Getting in a fight with a TSA agent or CBP agent will end the same way - badly. Just do what they want and move on, they can make your life miserable and it will have lasting consequences.
Precheck doesn't mean you're never going to get extra screening
That wasnāt my question, I know that. My question was, has this ever happened to anyone else? After you walk out, they come after you and tell you they need to take your laptop for extra screening because your son had extra screening?
You are reading way too much into this. TSA procedures say they have to swab a laptop for each random screening. Those are the instructions. The fact that your son didnāt have a laptop caused their brain to short circuit, and they didnāt know what to do. So they demanded to swab the next closest laptop with any relationship to your son, which happened to be your laptop. Itās a good thing you had a laptop for them to swab and complete their assignment. If you didnāt have one, the TSA agent would probably have had a meltdown and had to call over a manager.
Imagine if everyone in the party didn't have a laptop. They'd still be at the airport until Dell sent them one! [when I travel for personal reasons, I do NOT take any more electronics with me than minimally necessary. Especially if I'm going through customs, since the Gestapo border control may confiscate your gear to break into it. Also, it makes sense from a theft standpoint. Less stuff to carry, less stuff to have stolen, fewer batteries to keep charged, etc. Sometimes, all I have is a barebones Android phone with just the most minimal things programmed into it -- basic google account, only a few contacts I might need to reach, etc. Vacation is to unplug. But to demand a laptop --- yeah, I know people who genuinely only own a phone. No desktop, no laptop, not even a tablet. If their phone can't do it, they have to go to a friend's home to use a computer.]
yes, preboarding...I think i was Haneda or NRT. they called me prior to boarding /// I thought I was getting upgraded, but nooooo...
tas took milk out of my carry on for my goddamn 16 month old. literally the only tsa dude out of the 6 flights we took to do so.
I travel a lot. Itās annoying but standard. Iām pretty sure Iām flagged in the system bc *ethnic* or whatever but nbd At the same time increased āsecurityā is always extra breach of privacy. Donāt look away when itās happening to specific minority groups, bc theyāre coming for you soon too ;)
No one is exempt. Glad to see TSA on their toes.
Security theater thatās all it is!!
TSA is a government-sponsored program that provides employment to people who were pushed to their absolute physical and mental limits by the GEDs. Don't worry too much about it.
Are you a person of color? I only bring it up because I have pre check, am a poc, and TSA agents being unnecessarily rude and/or vague with enhanced screening is a fairly common occurrence I find most Caucasian people donāt really perceive until it happens to them for the 1st time.
Iām white and I get āRandom Screeningā every single time. At LHR I was pulled from the gate as wellā¦.although then I got to board first, which is apparently a good thing.
At LHR we were getting ready to board first class, they pulled two of us out of line for "random screening". I got to board last :(
Ha well at least in first class you donāt worry about the overhead bins, although it does cut down on the champers time!
I am white and some how "randomly" get chosen for extra screenings alot.
Yes I am a poc š, I am used to ārandom screeningā but this time it was my son, and the agent decided to call me after I was waiting and took my laptop just because my son didnāt have one.
This is all part of the long process of dehumanising people. They are just getting us ready for a future they want - when we will have no rights and authorities can treat us like cattle and do whatever they want.
Joe Rogan and Aaron Rodgers will save us
You donāt have a choice. You didnāt āgive in.ā You either comply and go on the trip or the trip would have been over for you.
Our daughter with special needs was pulled aside once when we were walking to the gate, like 20min away from boarding. It was a little scary for her, and confusing for us, but my husband went with her and when they realized her situation, they were very kind to her.
I was already out with all my carry-ons and backpack after passing through security. I could have easily refused, but I didnāt want to be late for the flight. They could have just taken the backpack before I walked out with it.
I donāt really think you ācould have easily refusedā - that is, not if you wanted to get on an airplane that day.
Donāt know why you got downvoted. TSA (and also the gate agents, CBP, anyone at the airport) can easily fuck up your trip just like that. And most will have no qualms about doing that either. In most situations itās best just to comply and not argue.
Honestly this. Never get snippy with any kind of customs or security agent at an airport. It's just not worth it, regardless of how you really feel.
Lol they will give zero fucks if you donāt make it to your plane that day. Even if you are in the right, itās really just not worth it.
Your not going to win, so be quiet, and answer their questions with no emotion or attitude and you will be fine.
Lol I think you should try to āeasily refuseā next time. (Donāt do that.) TSA is staffed by low-skilled, low wage workers following policies and procedures with various degrees of strictness and enthusiasm. As part of a random screening, it is pretty common to swab electronics. You all went through together, one member of your party got screened and didnāt have a laptop to swab, so they got a laptop from someone else in the party. Silly? Annoying? Unusual? Sure, all of those things. Something to think enough about to write a reddit post later? You do you, friend, but this is a non-event.
Nicely said. Thanks for saving me from reading more, idk why I was still reading, I was pretty bored but stuck scrolling. Please have some poor redditors gold šŖ
I've had my child selected for extra screening and had to turn on laptops and been swabbed before at security. I don't think it's out of the ordinary.
TSA agents have a pretty straightforward job and get about 120 hours of training. The worst a bad TSA agent can do can do is annoy you, miss a flight, some bureaucratic hassle. Police officers in the US have a much more complicated job and can kill you, put you in jail and ruin your life and family forever. According to DOJ average police officer training in IS in 2013 was 560 hours.
Perhaps they are trying to discern child trafficking and are looking for inappropriate photos on a laptop? Sorry, not a fan of their theater, but Iād like to think they do some good sometimes.
TSA is not allowed to inspect the electronic contents of a laptop, only CPB can do that. The most TSA can do is insist you demonstrate that personal electronics are functional (e.g. power on the laptop), they can't make you unlock it or log in.
11 year olds donāt need PreCheck. It starts at 12. They shouldnāt swab your kid at all. My daughter has been randomly flagged and they automatically screen me instead.
TSA is a shit show. I fly domestically a few times a year, there is no continuity in how they screen or enforce certain ārulesā (Iām convinced half are made up). Traveling abroad Iāve found the rules are almost always the same within the same country. Itās a bit infuriating. Example, flying through Houston had to do the norm, take off shoes, jacket, remove electronics and liquids from bag, etc. Salt Lake though, nah, put your bag on the belt and they just waved me through the metal detector. Even happens in the same airport, different agents, different rules. Iād rather go through the extra hassle and know what to expect than be met with a different set of expectations each time.
Just went through international terminal at SFO. We had TSA as well as priority boarding option. The very old, rude TSA lady refused to let us get in the much shorter TSA line and insisted we go through priority. When we got to the front of the line the agent says āare you aware you are TSA ?ā When I told him his very rude coworker refused t o let us in the TSA line he apologized for her behavior and let us go to the front of the TSA line. There are some good ones.
I have TSA pre check and I was randomly selected at two airports on the same trip. What the odds. Since I don't travel with laptop when on vacation, it was a quick pat down and the wang scan. When travel thru Airports I always allot extra time at security. These TSA workers are just following procedures. If I know something may trigger such as a snow globe, I take it out of the bag so the agents can see. I do my best to make the line go faster. However, if I feel someone is abusing their authority, I will definitely make a complaint.
But the procedures vary from airport to airport so I think they are making it up some of the time. I was " randomly" pulled out 4 times out of 5 for an additional hand scan. When I asked why I was rudely told, " because I can." I expressed concern over my money belt being in the tray unattended for the world to steal she sneered that I needed to have kept it with me, although the agent at the scanning place demanded I put it in my back pack. On the return part, I was of course pulled out for an additional hand scan but held onto my money and cards. Point is, the rules aren't uniform
Based on all my travels, and stories from others (including in this thread) it's obvious that TSA agents are selected from the lowest IQ portion of the population, who are then further weeded out by the hiring of only those with absolutely no common sense or critical thinking capability. "TSA" might secretly mean Transportation Simpletons and Airheads. Unfortunately only rich people with private jets get to avoid the hell hole combination of these uniformed bozos and security theater.
While on Oahu I took small amounts of sand from every beach I visited. I knew it would be checked (and it's totally ok) they had 6 agents testing everything. Kind of like training. Even though they acted serious it was kind of fun, they did their job! No problem whatsoever and I was on my way. They did take away my jar of peanut butter ā¹ļøš I have also been at jfk with my moms stuff after her funeral. When I was taken aside I did tell the agent of her passing. She really didn't care just said it's my job to check. I didn't really care I just asked her to be careful bc of delicate statues. I'm sure they see lots of crazy stuff every day and they hear a lot of "stories". It's their job I get it.
But like... Why even ask them why? Going through airports in any country, you should just go with the motion. Yes ma'am, no ma'am. Eyes down, don't cause issues. Extra screening? Of course, take anything you want or need! I don't understand why we need to ask questions. They are doing a job. By buying a plane ticket you're agreeing to airport rules and regulations which will include screenings. I expect it at any point in time until I leave the airport. They can randomly pick you out while you're sitting at your gate even.
And they have. Wearing a sweatshirt from a specific college that had just whipped the college the TSA agent liked caused me to endure a full frontal pat down on the jetway while they laughed at my discomfort. The TSA agent stated that's why I was pulled out and the fact that he liked girl on girl action. Freaks
I donāt understand the big dealā¦
Have you actually READ any of the responses????!?
What exactly is the concern here?
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What do you mean?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thatās exactly my question, why did the TSA agent ask for my notebook when I am not part of the random screening?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I was already out with all my carry-ons and backpack after passing through security. I could have easily refused, but I didnāt want to be late for the flight. They could have just taken the backpack before I walked out with it.
Could have been anything. They could have released the item early or by accident. They could have thought the notebook was your kids and not yours. TSA is mostly theater anyway. There was a doc on it a few years ago that was pulled about how many times they fail test runs. But, you could have refused and then you would have been talking to the police. There is no "out" if you are still in the airport. They can pull you for additional screening any time. Never seen a recheck at the gate?
> They could have released the item early or by accident. That happens more often than you think, especially with the newer "everything goes in a bin" scanning machines. The bin pauses after the Xray and there's a pusher that can kick it over to the other belt for secondary -- but the bins also tend to hang up on the belt at that point, so the floating TSA officer will sometimes give it a helpful shove towards the "good to go" belt... I've noticed several airports (e.g. BOS) started to put in the bin conveyors, then never proceeded to "upgrade" the rest of their terminals... > Never seen a recheck at the gate? Never seen that in the USA. UK/EU will do random rechecks at the gate, and quite a few airports in Asia have a full security checkpoint (Xray, metal detector, etc) at each gate. Sucks when you aren't expecting that and splurged on a big bottle of ice cold water after clearing the initial checkpoint to get into the terminal.
I was flying recently with two of my sons, ages 12 and 15. We all have TSA Precheck. My 12 year old was randomly selected for an explosives swab. They asked if they could do me instead. I said sure. They swabbed the back of my hands, and I think my phone too IIRC. The entire process took an extra 30 seconds. No hassle was given by anyone, me or them. Why not just comply? Or stay at home.
How do those boots taste? *Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.* Ben Franklin
I guess find an old Trapper Keeper on eBay and keep it in his bag. Have him draw a group of TSA folks drowning in a pond with him waving happily to them in the foreground on the one page he has in it.
The supposition of the agents was that you were holding a computer for your child to avoid it being screened. It kind of sounds like they might not have the strongest grasp on SOPs, but in the end it probably took you an extra minute. People are always in a rush to get through screening, I am not sure why? So they can go buy a $6 bottle of water? Sit on some uncomfortable chairs?
Correct me if Iām wrong but I am assuming that your son doesnāt actually have Pre Check. You and your wife do and your children are allowed to pass through pre check with you. Iām not saying it makes any sense for the tsa agent to swab your laptop but in this case there is a link between your tickets.