TSA Fail

Sadly, I recently had a less than pleasant TSA experience at JFK and while not usually one to cause a fuss when faced with many abhorrent  practices, Thursday morning’s screening passed by a regular threshold of what is acceptable.  Therefore, what you will read below is a first person account of our ordeal, with some quotes from my friend and colleague, who also happened to be my travel companion on this trip. 

I was on a return trip home from business related travel  in New York, with Pittsburgh, PA as a final destination and a  short layover in Boston.  I was travelling with a friend and colleague and my guide dog.  As we had done on the way out and as I have done numerous times before, in security lines, I  asked her to walk in front of me and when she had passed through the metal detector, I passed her my dog’s leash leaving his harness on.  While doing this I informed the agent that my dog  would set off the detector as his harness and leash both contain medal components.  My colleague took his leash and called him forward.  Without skipping a beat, he set off the alarm, as we knew that he would and the agent went to clear the alarm and then allow me to proceed through, when the agent  was stopped by his supervisor, who directed us into a holding area.  My colleague and I then waited. While we waited, dozens of people passed through the line, passing our purses, our bags and my colleague’s iPhone, on top of our belongings, out of mycolleague sight entirely.  No one  asked us what time our flight was; we were ignored entirely with no explanation but "wait here." A number of other passengers passed through with visible disabilities.  My colleague  reported that “a  woman using a wheelchair waited with us about three minutes and then went through after her young granddaughter did.  No problem.  We waited.”

She would say 13-14 minutes passed as one dog on leash, and two dogs carried in the arms of a passenger, went through without being pulled out to wait.

Finally after we had waited there for over fifteen minutes, my colleague caught someone’s eye and asked, "what is the protocol for a person with a visual impairment?"  "Someone is coming for you."  She and I then asked again,  "What is the protocol?  IS there a protocol?"  No answer.

A female agent then turned up.   She brought us back through the small door, back to the front of the line near the conveyor belt.  My Colleague stood in the x-ray scanner first.  While I was again  pulled to the Side.  The female agent asked if they could pat my dog and I down.  I consented, we did hope to make our flight to Boston and then home to Pittsburgh, after all.  Though, I must confess,  I believed this to be an over stepping of my rights.  Remember that my dog did set off the detector, while I had not.  The agent then asked me if I would like to step into a closed off area or be pat-down where I stood.  I opted to stay where I stood and then she proceeded to administer the most invasive pat-down I had ever received and I have traveled internationally, once entering back into the country in 2002, 9 months after 9-11.  She combed her fingers through my hair, ran the back of her hands over my chest and up and down each leg, invading what my elementary school health teachers would have called my bathing-suit area, and in the process made a lot of onlookers quite uncomfortable.  

Again my colleague stated, “People were staring and then looking away.  Some caught my eye and were wide-eyed, seeming uncomfortable and sympathetic to your situation.  Nobody said a word to TSA (including me biting my tongue so we didn't get further delayed). But people reacted unhappily, empathetically, or angrily due to facial expressions I saw.” 

When logging on to the TSA site, I found this; ”You and your service dog/animal will be screened by a walk-through metal detector. You may walk through together or you may lead the animal through separately on a leash. You will undergo a pat-down if you are not screened by the walk-through metal detector.

If the metal detector alarms, you and your service dog/animal will undergo additional screening, including a pat-down.”

Which is fine but, this is not what took place.  My dog did walk through, sporting his guide dog attire, harness and leash, both were constructed using metal and leather and of course, my dog set off the detector.  I did  not set off  alarms but was patted-down.  Most aggravating of all were the TSA  staff people.  I  would suggest that they go through extensive training with various service animals and their handlers.  They should all know protocols and most importantly , continue to communicate with their captives, as they wait, giving important information like expected wait time, reasons for extra screening measures, etc.  

Debriefing, after the fact, my colleague said, about our original approach and walk through, “This is exactly how we did it in Pittsburgh and it was much more professionally handled” and she was right. In the nearly 15 years that I have been flying through our nation’s airports, I, like most of us, have experienced various screening procedures, sometimes sailing through and sometimes under going further measures, that is the variability of travel.  This time, however, actions and lack of action, prompted this post.  I am asking nothing of the TSA except for some additional training of their staff and only write this account as an educational piece in the hopes that future screenings of service dogs and their handlers are done with a greater level of awareness.

Happy Travels,

Vanessa Braun