Travel Warning for Travelers with Implants

[cologal]

As of last week, if the airport does not have a backscatter machine, anyone who sets off the alarm will be submitted to a very intrusive pat down. As children were told not to allow people to touch there. Resistance is futile if you refuse the search you will not even be allowed to leave and go home. If you try you will be arrested.

No I was not arrested.... I finally did submit to the search but because of it I was subjected to an additional search by some agency I have never heard of. Even the TSA agents did know and couldn't tell me what tripped that search.

If you don't want to be touched make sure the scanner is available for the lane you are in. Do not walk through the metal detector!!!!

[K9-Lovers]

One day, I walked back through the security checkpoint to visit a restaurant. When I came back through the second time -- hooo boy -- I got the intimate pat down, too.

Be careful if you are ticklish.

[Pturner]

I find air travel less and less enjoyable. I'm happy I found a retirement community that is like being on vacation! I used to think I would like to travel more when I retire. I am rethinking that.

[JenAjd]

Not sure what kind of implants would set off the alarm. I've had dental implants for years and also a surgical plate and pin in one of my limbs as well and have never set off the alarms in an airport. If there "is" concern..I've been told you can get a card from your physician to show security.

[Ajack]

Flying is still the best way to go and the extra security can be annoying but it is better safe then sorry.

[cologal]

Not sure what kind of implants would set off the alarm. I've had dental implants for years and also a surgical plate and pin in one of my limbs as well and have never set off the alarms in an airport. If there "is" concern..I've been told you can get a card from your physician to show security.

I have 2 knee replacements..yes I can get a card but TSA doesn't care about them.

[cologal]

Flying is still the best way to go and the extra security can be annoying but it is better safe then sorry.

I fly every week twice a week when I am not in TV for work. It is a hassle to be checked that often.

Perhaps you will enjoy having your private parts fondled. Not I.

[K9-Lovers]

I'm sorry, but every time I read the title of this thread and the word "implants" I keep picturing Dolly Parton setting off alarms at the airport.:evil6:

[bluedog103]

If there "is" concern..I've been told you can get a card from your physician to show security.

I've had a knee and a hip replaced. I have a card from the doc but it's a waste of paper. The alarm always sounds and I get searched every time I fly. Pain in the a** but there's nothing I can do about it.

[Hancle704]

I've been told you can get a card from your physician to show security.

You can forget about those cards since 9/11.

My wife has hip and knee replacements and leaves the cards at home. She has learned as she approaches the detector to announce "female assist" which eliminates need to go back through detector and she gets seat until a female TSA person arrives to do the thorough scanning and pat down. Such is the price we must pay for security.

[Ajack]

I fly every week twice a week when I am not in TV for work. It is a hassle to be checked that often.

Perhaps you will enjoy having your private parts fondled. Not I.

Well, I would rather have my private parts fondled then having them exploded into thin air. Loosen up, at our age, it is a perk.:1rotfl:

[golfnut]

ajack, :agree:, :icon_wink:

[Niels]

My wife has two knee replacements that set off the alarm. She does not carry a card from her physician because, as others have mentioned, the cards are useless.

If you cannot pass thru the detectors without setting off the alarm you will be hand wanded or patted down. It seems lately that they are doing more of the pat downs on my wife than the hand wanding that they use to rely on.

[l2ridehd]

WOW, didn't know I could ask for a female assist. Have to remember that for the next pat down. Who said air travel wasn't fun?

[getdul981]

WOW, didn't know I could ask for a female assist. Have to remember that for the next pat down. Who said air travel wasn't fun?

You beat me to it.

[cologal]

Well, I would rather have my private parts fondled then having them exploded into thin air. Loosen up, at our age, it is a perk.:1rotfl:

Ok ...I can enjoy a good laugh, the TSA guys in Colorado Springs are a bunch of old farts nothing to shout about, but you make a very good point about the process.

So on a more serious note there are people in this world who have been molested and/or sexually abused. Those people can be traumatized by a stranger touching their private parts.

The metal detectors do not catch terrorists....they catch people with metal implants, pace makers etc, people with swiss army knives their father gave them. As we saw with the under ware bomber they failed because he did not have enough metal on him to set them off.

The only answer is to have every one go through the back scatter machine which reveals everything. But the American public doesn't want to be seen naked...imagine that. So if you refuse the machine you get the "thrilling search" so AJACK remember that could be fun for you ;).

In my case CS doesn't have a BS machine so I had no options .... I do now its called DAI....Denver they have the machines.

[dianaandtj]

I have two knee replacements and set off the metal detectors about half of the time I fly. The cards are no good, since any decent terrorist could print a card. The only alternative is to put up with the pat down as the price of flying. The back scatter machines are actually more intrusive than the pat down. (If you don't like these options there is always the bus or train).

[cologal]

I have two knee replacements and set off the metal detectors about half of the time I fly. The cards are no good, since any decent terrorist could print a card. The only alternative is to put up with the pat down as the price of flying. The back scatter machines are actually more intrusive than the pat down. (If you don't like these options there is always the bus or train).

Have you flown in the past week....if not then think again.

But again you make my point.....if the airport has the back scatter machine and you think that is to personal then you can opt for the pat down. However, I find the pat down just to personal so I will opt for the back scatter.

Your comment about the bus and/or is silly considering some of us fly every week for work...I have to make a living.

[Carla B]

I'm one of those who sets off the machine when I fly. Thanks to Jet Blue we had to go through security twice last month at MCO trying to make a flight. My being pulled out of the line made us miss the flight Jet Blue tried to put us on, even though they escorted us through employee security. The pat-downs seem to take a long time. I know the personnel aren't interested in people's bodies but mostly I pity my husband having to get his shoes on and find my stuff while I'm standing there with my arms stretched out. I'm thinking of wearing my tight-fitting blue and yellow diving skin next time.

So if the scanners become widely available I'll opt for going through security that way.

[graciegirl]

I fly every week twice a week when I am not in TV for work. It is a hassle to be checked that often.

Perhaps you will enjoy having your private parts fondled. Not I.

Depends who.

[bkcunningham1]

cologal, I know it is a serious and personal issue for you. I wish there was a solution. I don't want to make this into a Fourth Amendment discussion. I just wanted to share the text of an email a friend sent titled, Solution for Full-Body Scanners at Airports. I thought it was a hoot. Here it is:

All we need to do is develop a booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have hidden on or in your body. The explosion will be contained within the sealed booth.

This would be a win-win for everyone. There would be none of this crap about racial profiling and the device would eliminate long and expensive trials.

This is so simple that it's brilliant.

I can see it now: you're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system, "Attention, standby passengers, we now have a seat available on flight number ..."

[Ajack]

:a20: I love it!!!

[cologal]

cologal, I know it is a serious and personal issue for you. I wish there was a solution. I don't want to make this into a Fourth Amendment discussion. I just wanted to share the text of an email a friend sent titled, Solution for Full-Body Scanners at Airports. I thought it was a hoot. Here it is:

All we need to do is develop a booth that you can step into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have hidden on or in your body. The explosion will be contained within the sealed booth.

This would be a win-win for everyone. There would be none of this crap about racial profiling and the device would eliminate long and expensive trials.

This is so simple that it's brilliant.

I can see it now: you're in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter an announcement comes over the PA system, "Attention, standby passengers, we now have a seat available on flight number ..."

Thanks for understanding......

I could be a believer in this solution.

[cologal]

I am not alone.......

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/major-pilots-unions-rebel-tsa-screening-rules-urge/story?id=12100247

[RichieLion]

I'm of a mind that the protests and political upheaval because of these machines will cause them to be discarded as they are being in some other countries. If we as a people allow this to stand, then we deserve neither privacy or security. We cannot stand still for our children being photographed in a way that would get anyone else arrested for child porn and we cannot let our children be sexually assaulted by TSA agents, because that's what these intimate searches amount to. I normally fly to visit my family in NJ and when Orlando Airport starts using these machines will boycott and drive until the machines are in the dumpster.

[petiteone]

Not sure what kind of implants would set off the alarm. I've had dental implants for years and also a surgical plate and pin in one of my limbs as well and have never set off the alarms in an airport. If there "is" concern..I've been told you can get a card from your physician to show security.


I've heard they could care less about any "card" or note for the Doctor....you will still have to go through the "search of the day".

[RichieLion]

I fly every week twice a week when I am not in TV for work. It is a hassle to be checked that often.

Perhaps you will enjoy having your private parts fondled. Not I.

Cologal, you are going to be subjected to a possible serious health risk if you are saying that you want to be irradiated twice a week (or is that 4 times for 2 trips). Not a lot is known about the long term health risks of all that radiation. Even the pilots and flight attendants are in the process of getting a waiver to avoid this after raising a stink about it and threatening not to fly.

Here's one report concerning skin cancer.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/09/letter-airport-scanners-pose-health-risks/

[cologal]

Cologal, you are going to be subjected to a possible serious health risk if you are saying that you want to be irradiated twice a week (or is that 4 times for 2 trips). Not a lot is known about the long term health risks of all that radiation. Even the pilots and flight attendants are in the process of getting a waiver to avoid this after raising a stink about it and threatening not to fly.

Here's one report concerning skin cancer.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/09/letter-airport-scanners-pose-health-risks/

Thank you for the post....you could be very right I have done some research on the amount of X-Rays but much of it contradictory. Not sure what I am going to do but I don't have to fly until the 2nd week in Dec. Maybe we will be back to normal by then.

[RichieLion]

Thank you for the post....you could be very right I have done some research on the amount of X-Rays but much of it contradictory. Not sure what I am going to do but I don't have to fly until the 2nd week in Dec. Maybe we will be back to normal by then.

I hope so, for the sake of your health and your dignity. More and more high profile people are taking up this issue, like Sean Hannity. Drudge is posting many stories on this issue and the fur is starting to fly. I don't know how this is all going to pan out, but if we do nothing, nothing will change.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-hit-with-lawsuits-as-revolt-explodes.html

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20101117/D9JI6A0G0.html

[pauld315]

Many of the posts on here reiterating their experiences in the airport with a patdown were obviously referring to the good old days. The enhanced search techniques they are now using violate any sense of decency or privacy an American should expect. I think as more and more travelers are subjected to this, there will be an outcry they will not be able to ignore.