Airport bag inspection by TSA

[Billy6]

What is your percentage of having your carryon inspected, with the machine, hose and mask in your bag? Mine is 2 inspections out of 13 trips through security.

[OutaSync]

My machine has been taken for swabbing 100% of the times i have been through security.

[cflame1]

In the US... 100 percent of the time
In Canada... 0

[Captain_Midnight]

...2 inspections out of 13 trips through security.

I now take my xPAP out and send it (in a huge plastic ziploc) through the x-ray. That's what they usually ask for, so I'm just a bit ahead of them.

I'm of the opinion that I want them to look at it, and all such devices.

Airport security...it's a good thing.

.

[AuntieNae]

I am 2 for 2 ..
both times they asked I remove the machine from the bag and send it separately through x-ray .. upon exiting the x-ray, they grabbed it and pulled me aside so they could swab it ..
I just planned ahead and put it in a large ziplock so I would not have to put it directly in one of those tubs.

[jnk]

Airport security...it's a good thing.

For whom?

I am partial to the phrase Jeffrey Goldberg used in the following article, the phrase "security theater."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security

[SharkBait]

Airport security...it's a good thing.

For whom?

I am partial to the phrase Jeffrey Goldberg used in the following article, the phrase "security theater."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security

You beat me to it jnk...

[AuntieNae]

I just thought .. all the time you are dorking around with swabbing my machine .. who else is now going through securtiy that they are not checking carefully ..

[Kiralynx]

I'm of the opinion that I want them to look at it, and all such devices. Airport security...it's a good thing. .

I could agree with you... if it were reasonable. If it were secure.

In 2002, less than eight months after 9/11, I traveled to the UK. I carried several pounds of food which was safe for me to eat on the plane. The security asked what it was, and requested permission to run their chem analysis on it. The analyst asked why I was carrying it, and I explained about my special diet. He agreed that carrying my own food was a good idea, since I certainly wouldn't find anything which met my parameters in an airport or on a plane, and sent me on my way. All very polite, all very civilized.

In 2004, my plane was delayed due to weather. Without a similar food bag, I would have had no choice but to fast for the 18 hour delay because there wasn't anything in the airport I could have eaten, and I had no transportation to reach a restaurant.

In 2007, they considered confiscating a small bottle of homemade Cajun BBQ seasoning. Now, I grant you that some Cajun seasoning could be explosive, but this wasn't -- and there was less than 3 ounces. They weren't terribly polite about it. They also weren't sure about my 2 ounces of homemade guacamole. Keeping food quantities under 3 ounces resulted in a very difficult trip. (The only available 100 ml container is made in Canada, and difficult to get in the US.) Did I feel any safer than I did in 2002 or 2004? No. But I was definitely irritated. If those planes had been delayed, I would have had to fast because I wasn't allowed to bring adequate food on board.

I haven't yet had the fun of traveling with my Bipap by air. It's gonna be a load of yucks getting my dangerous machine and my safe food on board. Especially since they insist on taking my hair clips and my cane away from me.

Come to think on it... maybe they're right to take my cane away from me. I might use it as a dangerous weapon and beat their heads in if they try to claim my provolone cheese is plastic explosive.

[CorgiGirl]

My husband's had his xPAP for about 6 years now and I've had mine for 7 months. Our machines get checked 100% of the time in the US aa well as the few times we've flowing into and out of Canada.

[hobbs]

What is your percentage of having your carryon inspected, with the machine, hose and mask in your bag? Mine is 2 inspections out of 13 trips through security.

What airport in CA are you going through? (the terrorists want to know!)

[mdbarthe]

I've gotten to the point now that I just take my APAP as a carry-on and hand it over when I go through the security checkpoint. I've had to dig through my luggage too many times and pull it out for them to swab. I finally gave up. Most of the screeners have been very courteous and polite about it.

[Pekoepup]

I have just completed three round trip flights with my CPAP in the last 2 months. I am relatively new to CPAP and these were my first trips with my equipment. I was treated well at each airport and my requests for TSA agents to wear clean gloves were always respected. The interesting thing was that my machine was checked and swabbed at each and every airport and each time, they said it tested positive for explosives! Now, I don't know what kind of explosives they are testing for but I really was surprised. Unless the wipes I use to clean my machine contain explosives or Respironics is hiding something in those little black boxes, there was no reason for the tests to come back positive. Once the tests came back positive, I had to submit to a full body search and all my carry-on luggage was examined by hand. I then had to enter that weird x-ray box and the "puffer" box too. They did always remain polite to me through all of this though and I tried to keep a sense of humor about it all.

I found it interesting or maybe discriminatory, that every person pulled out of line by TSA was non-English speaking, handicapped or had medical equipment with them. There was a poor young man with severe Muscular Dystrophy or Cerebral Palsy and they were examining every inch of his wheelchair. They kept asking him to move when he had absolutely no control of his body movements. There was another family with a young child in one of those large handicapped strollers. The parents were asked to remove the little guy so the stroller could be checked. The parents complained that the child was medically fragile and that he was easily prone to seizures. The TSA agent insisted and the mother removed the little boy only to have him suffer a severe seizure. I was so angry at the callousness of the agent. No assistance was rendered to these parents. The agent just shoved the stroller back at them and walked away. I swear, everyone there had an assistive device, broken legs, crutches, was very elderly, or had CPAP's etc. It was very strange.

The only time I had noticed this before being a CPAP user was a couple of years ago when my 12 year old son had a broken leg. His ortho doc had agreed to remove his cast and place him in a walking cast, before a three week trip to Europe, but with strict instructions that the cast could not be removed at all. At the airport. he was pulled aside by the agents and taken to be swabbed. I was not allowed to accompany him. They then wanted him to remove the walking cast and he said he couldn't. The agent kept bullying him until he started crying. I just ignored them when they said I couldn't go to the area where he was and I shoved his doctor's letter in the guy's face. Then I gave them all a piece of my mind about what right did they have to treat a 12 year old child in that manner. He sure didn't look like a terrorist. He looked like an all American kid who broke his leg at soccer camp. They need to use some common sense.

[AuntieNae]

My nephew, now age 4, has a birth injury - brachial plexus. My brother and sister in law have been taking him to specialists at the St. Jude Hospital for treatment. At age 2, Rye-Rye had major surgery which has given him back most of the movement in that arm. However, to go for treatment, involves flying across the country. On the return trip, Ryan, was in a body cast from his waist to neck,, and his arm was up in what you could call the "statue of liberty" position with a bar across his chest. It was incredible the treatment they received trying to bring him home 2 days after surgery. First, he did not want to leave his parents and second, he could not walk yet from the weight of the cast. The TSA agents insisted he walk by himself through the scanners. It was too much for my nephew who fell over face first onto the floor. My sister in law reached him to assist and was yelled at. My brother then picked him up and carried him through. As a result, all three were subjected to the full body search including a complete swabbing of Ryan's cast and skin around. It took just about the entire flight back to calm him from the ordeal.

2 months later when they flew back for the follow up and therapy, the TSA staff were very sensitive to his needs and took the time to pull him aside, they kneeled down and talked right to him to explain they needed to check his cast .. sure it took a bit longer but they had a happy 2 year old who was giggling when they were through.

It is all in the staff working how the experience can be.

[Debjax]

I haven't yet had the fun of traveling with my Bipap by air. It's gonna be a load of yucks getting my dangerous machine and my safe food on board. Especially since they insist on taking my hair clips and my cane away from me.

WHY are they taking your cane away? Unless you have given them good reason to do so, they have to let you take that through with you. From the TSA site: (I'm also betting that with documentation from your doctor, you can get your food and liquids through...see below..)


"All prescription and over-the-counter medications (liquids, gels, and aerosols) including KY jelly, eye drops, and saline solution for medical purposes;
Liquids including water, juice, or liquid nutrition or gels for passengers with a disability or medical condition; .... However, if the liquid medications are in volumes larger than 3 ozs each, they may not be placed in the quart-size bag and must be declared to the Transportation Security Officer. A declaration can be made verbally, in writing, or by a person's companion, caregiver, interpreter, or family member.

Declared liquid medications and other liquids for disabilities and medical conditions must be kept separate from all other property submitted for x-ray screening

For more information on these measures, please read our letter outlining this policy -- Changes in Allowances for Persons with Disabilities at Airport Security Checkpoints (pdf, 101Kb)

From that pdf link:

It is recommended (not required) that passengers bring along any supporting documentation (ID cards, letter from doctor, etc.) regarding their medication needs. It is recommended, not required, that the label on prescription medications match the passengers boarding pass. If the name on prescription medication label does not match the name of the passenger, the passenger should expect to explain why to the security
officers. To ensure a smooth screening process, passengers are encouraged to limit quantities to what is needed for the duration of the flight.
Passengers will still be required to remove their shoes as part of the screening process, however, persons with disabilities, medical conditions, and prosthetic devices DO NOT have to remove their shoes. Those who keep their shoes on will be subjected to additional screening that includes a visual/physical and explosive trace detection sampling of their footwear while the footwear remains on their feet. Lastly, TSA's checkpoint security screening procedures for persons with disabilities and, medical conditions have not changed as a result of the current threat situation. All
disability-related equipment, aids, and devices continue to be allowed through security checkpoints once cleared through screening.

Disability and medically related items permitted beyond the checkpoint include:wheelchairs; scooters; crutches; canes; walkers; prosthetic devices; casts; support braces; support appliances; service animals; any and all diabetes related medication, equipment, and supplies; orthopedic shoes; exterior medical devices; assistive/adaptive equipment; augmentation devices; ostomy supplies; medications and associated supplies; hearing aids; cochlear implants; tools for wheelchair disassembly/reassembly; personal
supplemental oxygen; CPAP machines; respirators; C02 personal oxygen concentrators; baby apnea monitors; Braille note takers; slate and stylus; tools for prosthetic devices; and any other disability-related equipment and associated supplies.