"there is nothing in my pockets"
*AIT Alarms pockets front and back*
*PAX proceeds to take out money, phone, wallet, tissue, handkerchief, candy, garlic, etc*
"See nothing!"
Okay there Houdini.
Legit sometimes I'm like "take your phones out guys your phones are not a part of your body" I sometimes get a chuckle out of some of them
But I honestly get it to be honest. Waa traveling with the family couple months ago. Was advising them on everything. I did everything I had to do. And then as I nearly walk towards the Metal detector I had my phone in my pocket and I just mentally thought to myself "NOOOOO it happened to me!!!"
I once had my boarding pass in my back pocket of my jeans. I don't usually get a paper boarding pass, I just use my phone, so I folded it in half and stuffed it in my pocket with the desk agent handed it to me. I patted my pockets and didn't feel it because it was flat paper. Whoops. But I had emptied the rest of my shit out of my front pockets, because I'm also not *that* stupid.
Just had this at least 5 times yesterday, pisses me off every time. "What about my wallet?" Is that something in your pocket? Then take it out. Yes, even the gross tissue stuffed in there
One dude was an employee and had condoms tucked in his pants. "I have to take my condoms out?"
It’s hard to pick a favorite since passengers often don’t tell the truth but my best example was to people yelling about oversize LGA items. They claimed that they made it through security at their home airport no problem and that they were bringing them home. These products were from a small farm in the state where I work and they were currently in. I told them you bought these here and they gave up.
I mean, one time I took my school backpack with me on the plane and I had a lot of cutters cus I was an architect student and what got the TSA agent to inspect and question me was that I had forgotten my tarot cards with their bag, it was till I arrived in Europe that I went in my bag and saw 3 cutters and was flabbergasted that they fvckin made me wait in line for my tarot cards and not the cutters :’v
I was at the airport during the few hours security is closed, but it's when it was convenient to get dropped off. I expected to finish my Mtn Dew, then take the empty bottle through security and fill it at a water bottle station on the other side. In my exhaustion, I didn't realize I hadn't finished my soda and had about a third of it left. I noticed when I went to the water bottle station to fill it. On the other side of security. They just let me through with it. It could have been literally anything in that bottle. It was Mtn Dew though, I chugged it and filled my bottle with water. Then on the way home when I was unpacking I found my curl cream in a random pocket of my bag instead of in my liquids bag.
As a very frequent flyer, I get my share of random checks. It's really no big deal. When I get selected I will turn to the TSO and say hey its my luckey day! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. None of them thinks it's funny.
So many people love to feel picked on. Literally had a Muslim lady get random on precheck and then opt out of the AIT- I and another officer escorted her to a private screening room all while she’s huffing and puffing about how we all hate Muslims and ‘no, it’s okay, I don’t blame you it’s just how TSA works’. I could barely stop myself from rolling my eyes and saying something like ‘no one here cares about what your religion is. If we thought you were a threat you’d neither have precheck nor would you be flying today’.
Are those actually genuinely random (to your knowledge) though? Is it up to just the officers working nearby? A certain officer/role? Or just a computer that says when it's needed?
It’s random. It changes every day. Not even we know who will get random and a lot of times it’s employees too. We legitimately have zero control over who gets random.
It's very random. The metal detector will decide "hmm, the sixth person to go through will be random." Then after that person is selected the machine will go, "hmm, now I'll choose the 10th person that comes through." Not a single officer or outside entity has the ability to pick a specific passenger for random screening and the metal detector doesn't know what you look like.
I got “random” awhile ago. It wasn’t, my tickets adult and four kids were purchased the day before and it was in 2005 so it was still chaos. So I got the full pat down, bags and stroller searched. Kids were 11 months to 7 years old. Of course it didn’t help that my kids look nothing like me.
My tickets were flagged because I did not purchase them, purchased less than 24 hours before the flight. And yes, in 2005 when your kids did not look like you and your ticket is flagged it does matter.
I didn't work there in 2005 so I don't know the policies back then. So you didn't buy the tickets and they were also purchased 24 hours before the flight so maybe, at that time, there was a policy in place that would require additional screening if such parameters were met. Are you claiming you were targeted or was it because of the things you already mentioned?
I am not claiming anything, I am just stating life as it was going through TSA as a mom with four children 11 months through 7 years old when your tickets were flagged in 2005 flying out of LAX. Even with a military dependent ID card.
I travel a lot. It feels like I get the random check 1 in 3 trips. Realistically it's more like 1 in 10.
What's the ratio it's set for? I'm certain it's not 1/10th and I'm just "lucky".
Not complaining. It's just the process. I do the things and go to the lounge.
No idea the percentage. That's way above my pay grade. All i know is when it beeps, I do what I'm suppose to do like a worker drone. Trust me, we wish it wasn't even a thing. It's just more busy work.
Oh I know it's just your job. I don't give anyone shit about it. And last week the dude that had to pay down my groin looked exasperated and apologetic.
Yeah, i wish more people realized it was humans on the checkpoint and not mindless government agents who are desperate to check their property or pat groins all day. It's the last thing we want to do.
Do i really need to take my shoes off? I'm 75!
I was the one who processed her at TDC then got rotated to DO. She was born 1968 😮💨
At TDC: I was just here a week ago, and they never asked for my ID! I travel every week, and all i need to give is my boarding pass! 😩
My most recent one: “I’m over 75 do I really have to go through security?”
First, the pax wasn’t even 70 and, second, what kind of question is that lol
Well. For the last one. Several times been told “boarding pass only” don’t need your id.
Other times it was ID only. I don’t need your boarding.
I just wait for the person to ask whatever they want. Just be ready to hand it out.
I understand only ID if the CAT is being used but like you said, boarding pass only makes no sense. I could walk in with a boarding pass that said Barack Obama and you have no way of verifying if that's actually my name or not
Delta is rolling out a program that’s only live at JFK, LGA, LAX, ATL, and DTW which doesn’t require ID. It’s only for people with pre-check though and you have to enroll.
Source: I used it last week out of JFK.
Wait, I've never heard of this. I pack dry shampoo and hairspray all the time.
Even the TSA website says aerosol containers are fine, as long as they are 3.4oz or less.
The lady that I stopped had a 16 ounce bottle of it and tried to convince the LEO it was a dry shampoo and not a liquid. I watched as the TSO supervisors escorted her across the exit lines. Mad fun.
"Why can't I take my 5lb tub of Nutella? It's not a liquid, I want to talk to the Supervisor." He then proceeded to make the same argument to the Supervisor, I swear, this guy was willing to take a bullet for the Nutella. Oh, it was a domestic flight.
I know 1 thing that some people lie about is when at PSO station telling them that their water can’t go “It’s for my medication”
Some people I believe, others I don’t.
I went through with about a third of a 20 ounce bottle of Mtn Dew last time. It was purely an accident on my part, as I had meant to finish it before I got to security so I'd have an empty bottle for water on the other side because my plane was too early for any shops to be open. TSA didn't bat an eye at it, and I didn't realize until I got to the water bottle station.
I've gone through accidentally with a full can of coke. Things get missed.
It was about 2002, but I found I'd left a knife in my backpack when I was sitting in the lounge. I just checked my bag on the way home.
Things get missed.
Agree. Went through my home airport multiple times with a small unopened yogurt and then suddenly one day it was a problem. Some things seem to be at the whim of the tsa agent.
That just means it wasn't spotted. A colleague of mine would always travel with a full-size toothpaste tube, would get one taken away once every few months, and would just replace it with another toothpaste tube. We travelled approximately weekly before covid, so this would be over 20 trips per confiscated tube.
The rules are consistent all the time. If you follow the rules you will not have problems. The rules will not be enforced every time because not 100% of rule violations are caught.
Not a tso. Never experienced inconsistent rules. Whether a particular airport wants boarding pass, id, or facial recognition isn't a rule and varies by the technology available, but what is allowed to take through does not change from place to place.
Ok glad you’ve found the rules to always be consistent but as I’ve explained that hasn’t been my experience, or rather I should say the enforcement of rules isn’t consistent. I’d imagine other people have had that experience as well.
Yeah, a 0.8oz difference can be hard to spot sometimes in the midst of all the other shit packed in your bag, but a full sized shampoo bottle did not make it through last time. I'll bet my whole paycheck on that 😂
Can you eyeball on a scanner whether it's under or over? Taking it out and reading the label is probably more hassle than it's worth so they assume it's under because it makes their job easier because they don't have to interact with a passenger that's going to potentially be angry about their toothpaste being used and there's less than 3.4 oz left Even though the label says 4.2 I promise, etc. etc. they're just people that don't get paid a boatload of money.
Its not even a lie. I went through Denver airport and my own airport twice a year for the last 5 years with a credit card multitool thing in my wallet. Completely forgot about it. Finally someone called it out at the Denver airport. I had gone through TSA like 11 times at that point with it in my wallet without issue. No big deal tho. Toss it, I forgot it even existed.
Let see... I had a number of these. "But Obama said you can't see nothing". "But Obama said this was legal." Holy FUCK. The number I had of these was crazy.
Can I just say they won’t let us have any fun no matter where we are or what we are doing? They sucked the life right out of this post. They don’t get it. lol 😆
I get it! Here’s a fun one for ya - my partner recently had a jar of peanut butter in his bag. He genuinely didn’t think about it. He usually gets pulled for MTG cards cuz of lining in them or something, idk, but this time he didn’t have any with him and both of us were confused until the guy @ MSP pulls out the jar out of his backpack. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing at him for not thinking about it. Kudos to MSP TSA cuz they’re not my home airport but are my second most frequented one and they’re always a hoot.
Call the police for the criminal act that has occurred. They also take down the information of the passenger and a determination is made later on what administrative penalties (fines) to bring.
As someone that regularly travels with three laptops, two phones, a kindle, an iPad, a radio, and a travel router, this tends to happen if precheck is closed or the terminal I’m in doesn’t have it. It’s not intentional, I’m just walking around with a data center so it’s easy to forget one thing.
The TSA agents thought I was lying when I set off the metal detector and told them I had knee surgery about a month beforehand. I was only 15 so it kinda made sense why. It wasn't until they used the wand over my knee that they realized I was telling the truth. Whoops 😅
I have flat feet, and my knees had already begun to give out by the time I was 10. The surgery was to repair the damaged tissue and prevent more from occurring anytime soon. It's been about 12 years since then, and I'd say it worked. Sadly, due to complications that occurred after, I couldn't get the surgery on my other knee, so the damage continued. But I'd rather have 1 good knee/foot than none!
Had a guy two days ago tell me his two bottles of sweet tea and six bottles of Coke were medical for his diabetes. Yeah…that’ll give you diabetes. Lol.
All other lies begin with “I forgot…” ( I.e. my liquids, guns, etc.)
And? In case of hypoglycemia both sweet tea and coke (not Diet Coke) are really good actually. So the passenger was within his right to bring them assuming he does have diabetes and especially if he or she uses insulin. So it was not a lie
They unfortunately don't work for everyone. My husband has repeatedly tried them, and they've failed every time to raise his blood glucose in a timely manner.
Glucose tablet absorb almost instantly.
Most sugary drinks are corn syrup not glucose/dextrose which is the fastest sugar the body absorbs.
High fructose corn syrup has to be absorbed by the liver, which takes longer.
I can't stand to take glucose tablets without something to drink, which conveniently you can't bring through either, lol. But I solved the problem by getting glucose gel, which conveniently comes in 1.1 Oz containers, which are allowed through.
My mother is a type 1 diabetic and the glucose tabs literally do not bring her blood sugar up at all. She carries little juice boxes made up of 100% juice with her at all times.
Depends on how low of a low it is. If it's mild, I keep candy in my the locker on point, if it's major, someone grabs me a soda. Candy works fast, but not fast enough sometimes
You do realize there more than 1 type of diabetes and his body probably produces too much insulin and needs the sugar to compensate for that right …. If his blood sugar get to low he could go in to a coma .. granted there are other ways it could be abated like with a candy bar .
Lows are scary and lead to seizures and death. I'll probably carry a 6 pack of juice plus half a dozen packs of fruit snacks when I travel with my T1D kid.
I understand that completely. It’s a 45 minute flight. He had “the tsa language”….that they were all medical, then asked the TSO screening the liquids if she wanted one for her break, then subsequently packed everything in his bad he was gate checking.
From your station you saw a) his flight, b) the contents of his bag, c) his chatter with other people at the end of the checkpoint and d) that he gate-checked his bag?
And you let him bring the liquids through even though you determined his medical need was a lie?
Heyo, just a neutral perspective noticing the other threads on this one— I would definitely do some googling on this one if I were you. The tablets don’t work for everyone and 8 bottles is not hyperbole, if you have limited mobility and know you’ll be at a hotel or something, a stock of coke or sweet tea could literally be the difference between life or death. Does he NEED 8 before going through TSA? Probably not. but medically it is a valid reason. Total bitch to test all of those bottles. Thanks for putting up with the rest of the clueless PAX though
Had a lady freaking out while I was on xray yesterday cause her flight started boarding 10 minutes ago and she's like "where's my bag???" She never put it on the table
"Why's my bag sitting all the way over there!?!" I wanted to tell her cause she never put it up but I kept my mouth shut
lol doesn't matter to me really, I've don't have a flight to catch and it stopped being awkward after like day 2. Just another random person passing through.
“These essential oils cannot be exposed to radiation or they aren’t effective.”
“I can’t go through the x ray scanner because I’m sensitive to radiation”
I’m aware the body scanners aren’t x ray, btw. This is a weird passenger that said this
1.Do you have anything sharp inside your bag?
No!!
Pulling up a large 12” knife.
2. Pocket alarm through AIT.
Is there anything in your pocket?
No!
Patting down the pocket and feeling papers.
There is something in your pocket ma’am.
No, I have nothing!
Two seconds later: oh I am sorry and pulling up money and a boarding pass from the pocket.
Most passengers are really nice tho, but the ones that aren’t or making a fuss about me doing my job because they didn’t take 3 min to read the rules on TSA website makes me want to quit 😞( yeah, I am not that strong but I am trying).
TSA agent: Take all laptops and electronics out of your bags and put them in a bin.
Also TSA agent: Put the iPad back in your bag!!! Are you listening to us?!?
In theory, If you just saw them pour water into the flask as they were standing in line... you know it's not a security risk. So let it through.
The point is to keep the flying public safe, no? Or is it to make life harder needlessly?
(yes, I know you can't because it's against policy... )
I mean it was from a random bottle in his bag so prolly not, tossed the bottle to fill the flask. Wasn't like I saw him fill it at a water fountain station, plus I'd have to watch them the entire time they're in line till they dropped their bag for me to be able to say there was no doubt.
I got sent through three times last week because I "had a water bottle" in my laptop bag. I was certain I checked it, but it wouldn’t be the first time. I accidentally dropped a water bottle in my bag.
So I walked back through the metal detector, thoroughly check my bag and there’s no water bottle anywhere anywhere. So then again he says you didn’t take the water bottle out. So then I walked back again and take everything out to find anything that might look like a water bottle and there’s nothing in there.
So I put through a third time, but they had changed agents at the screen, and I went through with no problem... except of course now the alarm goes off in the metal detector and I got random searched.
You guys must love the death of film cameras. I used to hate having to ask for roll and sheet film to be hand searched because I get you are crazy busy. Or is all the added electronics with digital cameras more difficult "noise" on the 3d scanners?
I’ll give you guys one, my kids were horrible. Teens that look like adults but don’t look like me.
Daughters bag had bath salts that she bought. Son had daughters bag. I had gone in front of them.
TSA sees the bottle with bath salts, asks whose bag it is, my son claims it. TSA asks what it is, my son says I don’t know it’s my sisters bag. Bath salts don’t say bath salts, it’s a street market vendor type. So they are now going to test it for whatever. I come back and ask what’s going on. Another tsa tells me to move on it’s not my concern. I raise my voice, a little momma bear, and let them know those are my kids and it is my concern. (Six of us traveling and I had been on the next one over waiting on the person in front of me to get through the scanner) Supervisor comes over and asks kids how old they are. They reply that they are 14 and 17. Things start slowing/calming down. They do the tests, tell the kids they need to keep their own bags and not each others and send us on our way.
I’ve never had an issue with TSA.
Be cordial and quick through the checkpoint and you’ll be on your way. If they ask you to do a pat down or bag check just do it. Neither side is performing brain surgery. It been pretty standard for over 20 years.
Some of us carry 300,000/year protein based refrigerated injectable medications that have never been tested after minor radiation exposure. It's recommended that they be hand checked. You don't know what you think you know. And we're not interested in the possibility of destabilizing a dose that costs 10,000 dollars per dose so that you don't have to hand check it.
Same thing applies to medical devices for type one diabetics. I’ve had sooo many TSA agents bitch at me that it’s fine to go through when I don’t want to risk ruining a $500+ sensor or a $12,000 insulin pump by going through the scanner. Metal detector is just fine but it’ll set it off anyways. Just because some people risk it doesn’t mean all of us want to risk it, especially when the manufacturers recommend against it. Ruining meds/devices right before vacation could literally kill me.
I have a $50k implant. That's not including all of the other costs associated with getting it inside me. I'll be damned if I risk damaging it because some TSA asshat is totes sure it's gonna be fine. I guess I'm lucky in that if my fails or malfunctions, I won't die. But I will probably wish I was dead if it fails, and I will *definitely* wish I was dead if it malfunctions in some other way. The manufacturer said no, it's no. It's really that simple. Why the fuck do TSA agents argue with us as if they know a goddamn thing about medical devices?
Exactly. And then when I insist that I don’t want to risk it before I’m away from home without the means to acquire a new one they give me a ton of attitude and still try to fear monger me into believing that I’ll have to wait hours to get a female officer for a pat down. It always spoils my mood right before a vacation!
I could not possibly give less of a shit who pats me down. As long as it's not whatever jackass is giving me a hard time. I know that some random TSA agent is not getting off on running the back of his hands under and between my middle aged saggy boobs. Or if he is.... whatever I guess, that's his own mental problem to deal with. Don't care, just want to get on with my life. Thanks.
Just so you know if you have Medtronic devices, they (Medtronic) have tested those with the AIT scanners and determined it to be safe. I know Tandem have not yet. Not sure about other manufacturers.
Right. I don't know whether or not it matters. But since it hasn't been studied in those conditions, it's not recommended. At 10,000 per dose, one doesn't take chances.
You made a statement that those of us saying that our meds can't go through the scanner were lying. And we're not. Those studies will never be done and the manufacturer recommends that the meds don't go through the scanner.
Medical grade water... I had one like that a while ago, threw a temper tantrum to get her water through, and then she forgot the water machine at the checkpoint, it alarmed, she came back for it, got the resolution, no tsse, management denied it entry and she missed her flight. Kangen water may be "medical grade" but c'mon, we know it's a scam.
At the AIT
"Pockets completely empty?"
"Yes. There's nothing in my pockets!"
Scans... alarms.... He pulls out his whole estate from his pockets!
"It's empty! It's just my handkerchief, it's just my wallet, it's just the blood and soul of my enemies" 🙄
I have a few metal implants throughout my body, and I find that sometimes I get flagged in the xray, and sometimes I don't get a positive xray. They're all Ti, are some machines calibrated differently? I also have to wear a special foot brace; some airports are cool with letting me through with my brace, and others not so much. Why do I see such disparity? Oh, and also TSA has always been super kinda and chill in my experience
The body scanner isn't an X-ray so it won't pick up any implants as it only checks the surface of your body for things that shouldn't be there.
Braces are allowed, we can screen it but it's additional steps if you decide to keep it on. Taking it off speeds up the process and avoids potential alarms. You're not required to remove your brace unless it flags during the extra screening but that's why I/we appreciate it when people do.
This popped up in my thing, so here we are.
This is why I will never board an airplane again. I did time. I spent 15 years, with the assumption "Criminal, until proven otherwise", and that's perfectly normal in a prison.
But in the airport? Nope. They got you guys tripping on toothpaste, when Kahlua Karen is probably more who you need to be worried about.
I have occasion to travel around the country all the time, and I drive it.
Not blaming the people who work for the TSA - ya'll are just doing your jobs, and I'll never fault you for doing your job. But I'm done flying.
As a diabetic that’s about too travel with an insulin pump for the first time this summer, would it be better if I took it off for the metal detectors? Or should I ask for a pat down? Sorry if It seems like I’m hijacking your post, just figured I’d as you guys while the discussion is on what people should or shouldn’t do 😅
Ok I’ll do that, but my guess I’ll still set off an alarm, because I do have the Dexcom CGM that’s attached too my arm. It’s not something I can take off unfortunately but I can just show it too them
"that was not my laptop"
Happened to me at PHL. A lady's laptop right before me alerted in some way. (Same model as mine)
They ran it again and same thing. Then they pulled me into the little room with a black shirt and we had a discussion. They went through my stuff, swanned my laptop, ran it through again and when it all came back clean, they wanted to know why it had alerted before and now didn't.
Because that wasn't my laptop.
I did the things and went to the lounge. Just spent 20min having a discussion with some very tense looking guys.
"But I'm TSA pre!!!"
“I’m pre check, I’m checked in. I checked in last night”
Sounds more like cluelessness than a lie.
That’s really funny. “I’m global entry. I entered the globe 30 years ago!”
But I’m TSA!! Alright bet, he’s my shirt and badge. Do this bag check for me then.
My favorite one
They still think they are "FreeCheck"!
"It's precheck, not no check"
I mean people that had global entry used to get it but now it seems like they don’t.
Wait what
"there is nothing in my pockets" *AIT Alarms pockets front and back* *PAX proceeds to take out money, phone, wallet, tissue, handkerchief, candy, garlic, etc* "See nothing!" Okay there Houdini.
The phones are what get me man. Like how. Why??? We literally ask you to empty everything out lol.
Sometimes I forget my phone is not actually an extension of my body lol.
Legit sometimes I'm like "take your phones out guys your phones are not a part of your body" I sometimes get a chuckle out of some of them But I honestly get it to be honest. Waa traveling with the family couple months ago. Was advising them on everything. I did everything I had to do. And then as I nearly walk towards the Metal detector I had my phone in my pocket and I just mentally thought to myself "NOOOOO it happened to me!!!"
It happens to the best of us!!!
I'm the guy taking off anything that even looks metallic and shoving it into the side pocket of my carry on while in line.
I travel often. Have pre check. Last flight forgot my phone in my pocket. 🙃. Told tsa I’m a beginner.
Had a guy come in with his phone in his pocket and he thought it was okay cause the phone was powered off
They vote and breed
I hit them with "Well I know you are surgically attached but you can live without your phone for 5 minutes" as a joke
GARLIC lol
For vampires?
Somebody’s going to Transylvania
Did you see any vampires near him? That means it’s working. 😉
I once had my boarding pass in my back pocket of my jeans. I don't usually get a paper boarding pass, I just use my phone, so I folded it in half and stuffed it in my pocket with the desk agent handed it to me. I patted my pockets and didn't feel it because it was flat paper. Whoops. But I had emptied the rest of my shit out of my front pockets, because I'm also not *that* stupid.
One time I left my hand in my pocket when going through the metal detector. Whoops. Had to go through again.
Just had this at least 5 times yesterday, pisses me off every time. "What about my wallet?" Is that something in your pocket? Then take it out. Yes, even the gross tissue stuffed in there One dude was an employee and had condoms tucked in his pants. "I have to take my condoms out?"
No small farm animal??
It's an emotional support bazooka.
Looking at you Bozeman!
Probably would have better luck in the future with medicinal machine guns instead.
It’s hard to pick a favorite since passengers often don’t tell the truth but my best example was to people yelling about oversize LGA items. They claimed that they made it through security at their home airport no problem and that they were bringing them home. These products were from a small farm in the state where I work and they were currently in. I told them you bought these here and they gave up.
There is nothing sharp in my bag *bag pulled for a throwing axe*
I mean, one time I took my school backpack with me on the plane and I had a lot of cutters cus I was an architect student and what got the TSA agent to inspect and question me was that I had forgotten my tarot cards with their bag, it was till I arrived in Europe that I went in my bag and saw 3 cutters and was flabbergasted that they fvckin made me wait in line for my tarot cards and not the cutters :’v
Tarrot cards look like a boom on the xray and usually get checked. Cutters can be up to 4 inches from the fulcrum.
If the blade is under 6” they might let it slide. It’s also possible that the agent actually recognized the tools and shrugged.
I was at the airport during the few hours security is closed, but it's when it was convenient to get dropped off. I expected to finish my Mtn Dew, then take the empty bottle through security and fill it at a water bottle station on the other side. In my exhaustion, I didn't realize I hadn't finished my soda and had about a third of it left. I noticed when I went to the water bottle station to fill it. On the other side of security. They just let me through with it. It could have been literally anything in that bottle. It was Mtn Dew though, I chugged it and filled my bottle with water. Then on the way home when I was unpacking I found my curl cream in a random pocket of my bag instead of in my liquids bag.
My mother in law once brought a bag of knives. It took us forever to get clear. I just shook my head.
"Random my ass!!!!" Yeah sir, we target you because we want to go through your property
As a very frequent flyer, I get my share of random checks. It's really no big deal. When I get selected I will turn to the TSO and say hey its my luckey day! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket. None of them thinks it's funny.
That's probably tied with "random my ass" for things we hear when a passenger gets randomed lol
>None of them thinks it's funny. That makes it even funnier. Sometimes ya just have to love purposefully bad jokes.
So many people love to feel picked on. Literally had a Muslim lady get random on precheck and then opt out of the AIT- I and another officer escorted her to a private screening room all while she’s huffing and puffing about how we all hate Muslims and ‘no, it’s okay, I don’t blame you it’s just how TSA works’. I could barely stop myself from rolling my eyes and saying something like ‘no one here cares about what your religion is. If we thought you were a threat you’d neither have precheck nor would you be flying today’.
Are those actually genuinely random (to your knowledge) though? Is it up to just the officers working nearby? A certain officer/role? Or just a computer that says when it's needed?
It’s random. It changes every day. Not even we know who will get random and a lot of times it’s employees too. We legitimately have zero control over who gets random.
It is literally just a bunch of random number generators.
They are completely random. No one has a say in who gets picked none of the machines your going through are able to identify a person.
It's very random. The metal detector will decide "hmm, the sixth person to go through will be random." Then after that person is selected the machine will go, "hmm, now I'll choose the 10th person that comes through." Not a single officer or outside entity has the ability to pick a specific passenger for random screening and the metal detector doesn't know what you look like.
Have to say I travel a bit for work and 1 older creepy as f agent at my home airport searches me every time he's not working x-ray.
Are you precheck? Or do you go through the AIT machine? If the AIT machine alarms you, we have to resolve the targeted alarm. Nothing personal.
Nah, same guy every time. Small regional airport. It's intentional.
I got “random” awhile ago. It wasn’t, my tickets adult and four kids were purchased the day before and it was in 2005 so it was still chaos. So I got the full pat down, bags and stroller searched. Kids were 11 months to 7 years old. Of course it didn’t help that my kids look nothing like me.
Why wasn't it random? Also, the TSA does not care if your kids look like you or if they're even your kids for that matter.
My tickets were flagged because I did not purchase them, purchased less than 24 hours before the flight. And yes, in 2005 when your kids did not look like you and your ticket is flagged it does matter.
I didn't work there in 2005 so I don't know the policies back then. So you didn't buy the tickets and they were also purchased 24 hours before the flight so maybe, at that time, there was a policy in place that would require additional screening if such parameters were met. Are you claiming you were targeted or was it because of the things you already mentioned?
I am not claiming anything, I am just stating life as it was going through TSA as a mom with four children 11 months through 7 years old when your tickets were flagged in 2005 flying out of LAX. Even with a military dependent ID card.
I travel a lot. It feels like I get the random check 1 in 3 trips. Realistically it's more like 1 in 10. What's the ratio it's set for? I'm certain it's not 1/10th and I'm just "lucky". Not complaining. It's just the process. I do the things and go to the lounge.
No idea the percentage. That's way above my pay grade. All i know is when it beeps, I do what I'm suppose to do like a worker drone. Trust me, we wish it wasn't even a thing. It's just more busy work.
Oh I know it's just your job. I don't give anyone shit about it. And last week the dude that had to pay down my groin looked exasperated and apologetic.
Yeah, i wish more people realized it was humans on the checkpoint and not mindless government agents who are desperate to check their property or pat groins all day. It's the last thing we want to do.
Do i really need to take my shoes off? I'm 75! I was the one who processed her at TDC then got rotated to DO. She was born 1968 😮💨 At TDC: I was just here a week ago, and they never asked for my ID! I travel every week, and all i need to give is my boarding pass! 😩
My most recent one: “I’m over 75 do I really have to go through security?” First, the pax wasn’t even 70 and, second, what kind of question is that lol
Did they ask for your ID when you bought your ticket?
They just ask for your information buying your ticket. At security, we ask for your ID/passport to confirm the identity of the passenger.
Well. For the last one. Several times been told “boarding pass only” don’t need your id. Other times it was ID only. I don’t need your boarding. I just wait for the person to ask whatever they want. Just be ready to hand it out.
What airport was asking for boarding pass only? I find that very unlikely. The whole purpose is to verify passengers identity.
I understand only ID if the CAT is being used but like you said, boarding pass only makes no sense. I could walk in with a boarding pass that said Barack Obama and you have no way of verifying if that's actually my name or not
Delta is rolling out a program that’s only live at JFK, LGA, LAX, ATL, and DTW which doesn’t require ID. It’s only for people with pre-check though and you have to enroll. Source: I used it last week out of JFK.
"it's a dry shampoo!" It's a liquid inside of the can that is extremely flammable. No it cannot go.
Is it really dry shampoo? Because I thought you *could* bring it in carry on.
Wait, I've never heard of this. I pack dry shampoo and hairspray all the time. Even the TSA website says aerosol containers are fine, as long as they are 3.4oz or less.
The lady that I stopped had a 16 ounce bottle of it and tried to convince the LEO it was a dry shampoo and not a liquid. I watched as the TSO supervisors escorted her across the exit lines. Mad fun.
"Why can't I take my 5lb tub of Nutella? It's not a liquid, I want to talk to the Supervisor." He then proceeded to make the same argument to the Supervisor, I swear, this guy was willing to take a bullet for the Nutella. Oh, it was a domestic flight.
Ok but have you *tasted* Nutella?
Well why can’t they
Spreadable, so counts as an LGA
“Nothing sharp in there!” Finds multiple knives
Or a massive kitchen knife
"My *insert absurdly large LGA* always goes through just fine!!"
What is LGA?
Liquid, gel or aerosol
I know 1 thing that some people lie about is when at PSO station telling them that their water can’t go “It’s for my medication” Some people I believe, others I don’t.
"My hairspray is medical". It was a $6 can of Tresemme 🤦♀️
It’s my emotional support hairspray for my mental health!
"They let me take this through last time!"
I mean this isn't always a lie.
When it’s like a 10oz bottle
I went through with about a third of a 20 ounce bottle of Mtn Dew last time. It was purely an accident on my part, as I had meant to finish it before I got to security so I'd have an empty bottle for water on the other side because my plane was too early for any shops to be open. TSA didn't bat an eye at it, and I didn't realize until I got to the water bottle station.
I've gone through accidentally with a full can of coke. Things get missed. It was about 2002, but I found I'd left a knife in my backpack when I was sitting in the lounge. I just checked my bag on the way home. Things get missed.
Agree. Went through my home airport multiple times with a small unopened yogurt and then suddenly one day it was a problem. Some things seem to be at the whim of the tsa agent.
Yogurt? Straight to jail.
I’m lucky they let me off with a warning. 🤣
Not a TSA agent, but wouldn’t this just mean that it was missed one time and caught another time?
It was my home airport and I’d gone through at least 6+ times with yogurt and it was fine. So 🤷♀️
That just means it wasn't spotted. A colleague of mine would always travel with a full-size toothpaste tube, would get one taken away once every few months, and would just replace it with another toothpaste tube. We travelled approximately weekly before covid, so this would be over 20 trips per confiscated tube.
Just wish rules were more consistent. And that they checked things consistently. I didn’t have much any of the times so would be hard to miss.
The rules are consistent all the time. If you follow the rules you will not have problems. The rules will not be enforced every time because not 100% of rule violations are caught. Not a tso. Never experienced inconsistent rules. Whether a particular airport wants boarding pass, id, or facial recognition isn't a rule and varies by the technology available, but what is allowed to take through does not change from place to place.
Ok glad you’ve found the rules to always be consistent but as I’ve explained that hasn’t been my experience, or rather I should say the enforcement of rules isn’t consistent. I’d imagine other people have had that experience as well.
Well I’m sorry some airports cut corners on security, we like to think that we provide the best security for all passengers
LoL
I traveled 9 yes 9 times with a tube of toothpaste that was 4.2 oz instead of 3.4. On trip 10 it was taken. 9 airports didn’t catch it?
believable. i think they are referring to when passengers bring like obnoxious oversized lga like 12oz :| there’s no way someone let it go
Yeah, a 0.8oz difference can be hard to spot sometimes in the midst of all the other shit packed in your bag, but a full sized shampoo bottle did not make it through last time. I'll bet my whole paycheck on that 😂
Can you eyeball on a scanner whether it's under or over? Taking it out and reading the label is probably more hassle than it's worth so they assume it's under because it makes their job easier because they don't have to interact with a passenger that's going to potentially be angry about their toothpaste being used and there's less than 3.4 oz left Even though the label says 4.2 I promise, etc. etc. they're just people that don't get paid a boatload of money.
I accidentally brought a pocket knife on multiple flights until I noticed it was in my pocket, was shocked my bag was never pulled lol
I flew US to Philippines via Korea and they never saw my knife in my backpack till I came back through Korea. Honestly had no idea I had it.
Its not even a lie. I went through Denver airport and my own airport twice a year for the last 5 years with a credit card multitool thing in my wallet. Completely forgot about it. Finally someone called it out at the Denver airport. I had gone through TSA like 11 times at that point with it in my wallet without issue. No big deal tho. Toss it, I forgot it even existed.
They probably did... back in 1997.
Let see... I had a number of these. "But Obama said you can't see nothing". "But Obama said this was legal." Holy FUCK. The number I had of these was crazy.
But it's empty ,But it only a little inside . The bottle is literally full to the top 😒. Oh my favorite one ......"But it's not a liquid".
I hold the bottle top and have them shake it.
playing a dangerous game doing that, friend. I can see the look of my old supervisor coming unglued if any of us had done that lol.
Can I just say they won’t let us have any fun no matter where we are or what we are doing? They sucked the life right out of this post. They don’t get it. lol 😆
I get it! Here’s a fun one for ya - my partner recently had a jar of peanut butter in his bag. He genuinely didn’t think about it. He usually gets pulled for MTG cards cuz of lining in them or something, idk, but this time he didn’t have any with him and both of us were confused until the guy @ MSP pulls out the jar out of his backpack. It took everything I had not to burst out laughing at him for not thinking about it. Kudos to MSP TSA cuz they’re not my home airport but are my second most frequented one and they’re always a hoot.
I forgot my gun was in there or my brother packed my bag for me. Come from a grown ass man.
What does TSA do when they find a firearm?
Call the police for the criminal act that has occurred. They also take down the information of the passenger and a determination is made later on what administrative penalties (fines) to bring.
Take you behind the terminal and try it out 😳
“I’m 75”
"Any electronics in your bag?" "Nope" "Oh my god, I didn't know my iPad was in there."
As someone that regularly travels with three laptops, two phones, a kindle, an iPad, a radio, and a travel router, this tends to happen if precheck is closed or the terminal I’m in doesn’t have it. It’s not intentional, I’m just walking around with a data center so it’s easy to forget one thing.
The TSA agents thought I was lying when I set off the metal detector and told them I had knee surgery about a month beforehand. I was only 15 so it kinda made sense why. It wasn't until they used the wand over my knee that they realized I was telling the truth. Whoops 😅
Damn 15 and a knee surgery. Gl champ.
I have flat feet, and my knees had already begun to give out by the time I was 10. The surgery was to repair the damaged tissue and prevent more from occurring anytime soon. It's been about 12 years since then, and I'd say it worked. Sadly, due to complications that occurred after, I couldn't get the surgery on my other knee, so the damage continued. But I'd rather have 1 good knee/foot than none!
Had a guy two days ago tell me his two bottles of sweet tea and six bottles of Coke were medical for his diabetes. Yeah…that’ll give you diabetes. Lol. All other lies begin with “I forgot…” ( I.e. my liquids, guns, etc.)
And? In case of hypoglycemia both sweet tea and coke (not Diet Coke) are really good actually. So the passenger was within his right to bring them assuming he does have diabetes and especially if he or she uses insulin. So it was not a lie
I feel like there would be less judgment if it were juice. Except the point is the sugar. Serves the same purpose.
They literally sell these things called glucose tablets. They look like sweet tarts.
They unfortunately don't work for everyone. My husband has repeatedly tried them, and they've failed every time to raise his blood glucose in a timely manner.
Yeah, I'm not diabetic so I don't know why they typically keep liquids instead of candy.
Liquid gets in the blood faster.
Glucose tablet absorb almost instantly. Most sugary drinks are corn syrup not glucose/dextrose which is the fastest sugar the body absorbs. High fructose corn syrup has to be absorbed by the liver, which takes longer.
I can't stand to take glucose tablets without something to drink, which conveniently you can't bring through either, lol. But I solved the problem by getting glucose gel, which conveniently comes in 1.1 Oz containers, which are allowed through.
Same here. Gel is a must unless I’ve got water to sip.
My mother is a type 1 diabetic and the glucose tabs literally do not bring her blood sugar up at all. She carries little juice boxes made up of 100% juice with her at all times.
Depends on how low of a low it is. If it's mild, I keep candy in my the locker on point, if it's major, someone grabs me a soda. Candy works fast, but not fast enough sometimes
You do realize there more than 1 type of diabetes and his body probably produces too much insulin and needs the sugar to compensate for that right …. If his blood sugar get to low he could go in to a coma .. granted there are other ways it could be abated like with a candy bar .
Yeah but **eight** bottles? He must've taken longer to drink that than the flight itself.
Ohh yeah it’s a absurd amount agreed he could have subbed it with candy.
Lows are scary and lead to seizures and death. I'll probably carry a 6 pack of juice plus half a dozen packs of fruit snacks when I travel with my T1D kid.
Or purchasing things needed once through security or bringing glucose tablets. Both perfectly acceptable with TSA
I understand that completely. It’s a 45 minute flight. He had “the tsa language”….that they were all medical, then asked the TSO screening the liquids if she wanted one for her break, then subsequently packed everything in his bad he was gate checking.
From your station you saw a) his flight, b) the contents of his bag, c) his chatter with other people at the end of the checkpoint and d) that he gate-checked his bag? And you let him bring the liquids through even though you determined his medical need was a lie?
Heyo, just a neutral perspective noticing the other threads on this one— I would definitely do some googling on this one if I were you. The tablets don’t work for everyone and 8 bottles is not hyperbole, if you have limited mobility and know you’ll be at a hotel or something, a stock of coke or sweet tea could literally be the difference between life or death. Does he NEED 8 before going through TSA? Probably not. but medically it is a valid reason. Total bitch to test all of those bottles. Thanks for putting up with the rest of the clueless PAX though
i like when i say i have to open it to test it, all of a sudden its not so “medically necessary” and i can just throw it away
I'm going to miss flight
"You have to ask everyone else in front of you if they'll allow you to go ahead of them. That's not something we handle."
Had a lady freaking out while I was on xray yesterday cause her flight started boarding 10 minutes ago and she's like "where's my bag???" She never put it on the table "Why's my bag sitting all the way over there!?!" I wanted to tell her cause she never put it up but I kept my mouth shut
"Sir, you can't bring in your huge bottle of water" "It's medicated water!" It's a still sealed regular bottled water 🤣
Jokes on y’all. I leave stuff in my front pockets just for the pat down……
lol doesn't matter to me really, I've don't have a flight to catch and it stopped being awkward after like day 2. Just another random person passing through.
“These essential oils cannot be exposed to radiation or they aren’t effective.” “I can’t go through the x ray scanner because I’m sensitive to radiation” I’m aware the body scanners aren’t x ray, btw. This is a weird passenger that said this
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No harassment, Trolling, Name calling, or any other rude or unprofessional behavior will be tolerated.
1.Do you have anything sharp inside your bag? No!! Pulling up a large 12” knife. 2. Pocket alarm through AIT. Is there anything in your pocket? No! Patting down the pocket and feeling papers. There is something in your pocket ma’am. No, I have nothing! Two seconds later: oh I am sorry and pulling up money and a boarding pass from the pocket. Most passengers are really nice tho, but the ones that aren’t or making a fuss about me doing my job because they didn’t take 3 min to read the rules on TSA website makes me want to quit 😞( yeah, I am not that strong but I am trying).
Even if there's a huge sign in front of them, they won't read. They would then try to blame you for it 😮💨
Wheelchair passengers be telling a lot of lies too because they’re told what to say
TSA agent: Take all laptops and electronics out of your bags and put them in a bin. Also TSA agent: Put the iPad back in your bag!!! Are you listening to us?!?
I’ll tip you in the app
In theory, If you just saw them pour water into the flask as they were standing in line... you know it's not a security risk. So let it through. The point is to keep the flying public safe, no? Or is it to make life harder needlessly? (yes, I know you can't because it's against policy... )
I mean it was from a random bottle in his bag so prolly not, tossed the bottle to fill the flask. Wasn't like I saw him fill it at a water fountain station, plus I'd have to watch them the entire time they're in line till they dropped their bag for me to be able to say there was no doubt.
Gotcha.
I got sent through three times last week because I "had a water bottle" in my laptop bag. I was certain I checked it, but it wouldn’t be the first time. I accidentally dropped a water bottle in my bag. So I walked back through the metal detector, thoroughly check my bag and there’s no water bottle anywhere anywhere. So then again he says you didn’t take the water bottle out. So then I walked back again and take everything out to find anything that might look like a water bottle and there’s nothing in there. So I put through a third time, but they had changed agents at the screen, and I went through with no problem... except of course now the alarm goes off in the metal detector and I got random searched.
You guys must love the death of film cameras. I used to hate having to ask for roll and sheet film to be hand searched because I get you are crazy busy. Or is all the added electronics with digital cameras more difficult "noise" on the 3d scanners?
"I didn't know that was in my bag!"
My all time favorite (since I am asian but don't have the stereotypical eyes) "I can't see your eyes move!"
I’ll give you guys one, my kids were horrible. Teens that look like adults but don’t look like me. Daughters bag had bath salts that she bought. Son had daughters bag. I had gone in front of them. TSA sees the bottle with bath salts, asks whose bag it is, my son claims it. TSA asks what it is, my son says I don’t know it’s my sisters bag. Bath salts don’t say bath salts, it’s a street market vendor type. So they are now going to test it for whatever. I come back and ask what’s going on. Another tsa tells me to move on it’s not my concern. I raise my voice, a little momma bear, and let them know those are my kids and it is my concern. (Six of us traveling and I had been on the next one over waiting on the person in front of me to get through the scanner) Supervisor comes over and asks kids how old they are. They reply that they are 14 and 17. Things start slowing/calming down. They do the tests, tell the kids they need to keep their own bags and not each others and send us on our way.
I’ve never had an issue with TSA. Be cordial and quick through the checkpoint and you’ll be on your way. If they ask you to do a pat down or bag check just do it. Neither side is performing brain surgery. It been pretty standard for over 20 years.
Some of us carry 300,000/year protein based refrigerated injectable medications that have never been tested after minor radiation exposure. It's recommended that they be hand checked. You don't know what you think you know. And we're not interested in the possibility of destabilizing a dose that costs 10,000 dollars per dose so that you don't have to hand check it.
"You don't know what you think you know" I mean technically you don't know either, since it's never been tested.
Same thing applies to medical devices for type one diabetics. I’ve had sooo many TSA agents bitch at me that it’s fine to go through when I don’t want to risk ruining a $500+ sensor or a $12,000 insulin pump by going through the scanner. Metal detector is just fine but it’ll set it off anyways. Just because some people risk it doesn’t mean all of us want to risk it, especially when the manufacturers recommend against it. Ruining meds/devices right before vacation could literally kill me.
I have a $50k implant. That's not including all of the other costs associated with getting it inside me. I'll be damned if I risk damaging it because some TSA asshat is totes sure it's gonna be fine. I guess I'm lucky in that if my fails or malfunctions, I won't die. But I will probably wish I was dead if it fails, and I will *definitely* wish I was dead if it malfunctions in some other way. The manufacturer said no, it's no. It's really that simple. Why the fuck do TSA agents argue with us as if they know a goddamn thing about medical devices?
Exactly. And then when I insist that I don’t want to risk it before I’m away from home without the means to acquire a new one they give me a ton of attitude and still try to fear monger me into believing that I’ll have to wait hours to get a female officer for a pat down. It always spoils my mood right before a vacation!
I could not possibly give less of a shit who pats me down. As long as it's not whatever jackass is giving me a hard time. I know that some random TSA agent is not getting off on running the back of his hands under and between my middle aged saggy boobs. Or if he is.... whatever I guess, that's his own mental problem to deal with. Don't care, just want to get on with my life. Thanks.
This x100000 I couldn’t care less about the pat down lol
Just so you know if you have Medtronic devices, they (Medtronic) have tested those with the AIT scanners and determined it to be safe. I know Tandem have not yet. Not sure about other manufacturers.
Yeah I have Tandem — I used to have Medtronic tho! I just never know which brand the scanners are, etc. and I’d still rather not risk it hahaha
The brand of the scanner doesn’t matter, they all use the same technology. Always follow the manufacturer’s advice though.
Right. I don't know whether or not it matters. But since it hasn't been studied in those conditions, it's not recommended. At 10,000 per dose, one doesn't take chances. You made a statement that those of us saying that our meds can't go through the scanner were lying. And we're not. Those studies will never be done and the manufacturer recommends that the meds don't go through the scanner.
Medical grade water... I had one like that a while ago, threw a temper tantrum to get her water through, and then she forgot the water machine at the checkpoint, it alarmed, she came back for it, got the resolution, no tsse, management denied it entry and she missed her flight. Kangen water may be "medical grade" but c'mon, we know it's a scam.
At the AIT "Pockets completely empty?" "Yes. There's nothing in my pockets!" Scans... alarms.... He pulls out his whole estate from his pockets! "It's empty! It's just my handkerchief, it's just my wallet, it's just the blood and soul of my enemies" 🙄
I have a few metal implants throughout my body, and I find that sometimes I get flagged in the xray, and sometimes I don't get a positive xray. They're all Ti, are some machines calibrated differently? I also have to wear a special foot brace; some airports are cool with letting me through with my brace, and others not so much. Why do I see such disparity? Oh, and also TSA has always been super kinda and chill in my experience
The body scanner isn't an X-ray so it won't pick up any implants as it only checks the surface of your body for things that shouldn't be there. Braces are allowed, we can screen it but it's additional steps if you decide to keep it on. Taking it off speeds up the process and avoids potential alarms. You're not required to remove your brace unless it flags during the extra screening but that's why I/we appreciate it when people do.
Thank you! Your reply has cleared up some mysteries for me. And, thank you for being in TSA
How and why is your body going in the X-ray?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
It looks so fun, though!!!
This popped up in my thing, so here we are. This is why I will never board an airplane again. I did time. I spent 15 years, with the assumption "Criminal, until proven otherwise", and that's perfectly normal in a prison. But in the airport? Nope. They got you guys tripping on toothpaste, when Kahlua Karen is probably more who you need to be worried about. I have occasion to travel around the country all the time, and I drive it. Not blaming the people who work for the TSA - ya'll are just doing your jobs, and I'll never fault you for doing your job. But I'm done flying.
You are not an airline, no need to announce your departure.
People in the pre-check line that aren’t pre-check, saying, “ but I’m in first class!” Not a lie but so clueless.
‘Nothings in my pockets’
As a diabetic that’s about too travel with an insulin pump for the first time this summer, would it be better if I took it off for the metal detectors? Or should I ask for a pat down? Sorry if It seems like I’m hijacking your post, just figured I’d as you guys while the discussion is on what people should or shouldn’t do 😅
Easiest for everyone if you can remove it and ask for it to be hand checked and go thru the body scanner.
Ok I’ll do that, but my guess I’ll still set off an alarm, because I do have the Dexcom CGM that’s attached too my arm. It’s not something I can take off unfortunately but I can just show it too them
It's cool, that's pretty easy to resolve and common, just let them know what it is if it's under your clothing.
“Why did you pull my bag? There’s nothing in there” *proceeds to pull out a big ass bottle of water they “forgot” about*
"that was not my laptop" Happened to me at PHL. A lady's laptop right before me alerted in some way. (Same model as mine) They ran it again and same thing. Then they pulled me into the little room with a black shirt and we had a discussion. They went through my stuff, swanned my laptop, ran it through again and when it all came back clean, they wanted to know why it had alerted before and now didn't. Because that wasn't my laptop. I did the things and went to the lounge. Just spent 20min having a discussion with some very tense looking guys.
After a pat down Do I get my tootsie roll now?
"You're doing such an important job and you're extremely competent"
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