Gell Cushion and TSA

[twoll]

My dad has a gell cushion seat pad for his wheelchair. We've never flown with it before so it never occurred to us, but TSA was VERY stressed out about it. They finally ok'd it, but it took a lot longer to get through security than I expected.

In retrospect, we should never have brought it because we rented a power chair once we arrived and didn't need it anyway.

I guess we could have placed it in checked baggage, but by the time we realized it was a problem, it was too late.

FYI.

 

[SueM in MN]

That's interesting.
Youngest DD has a Jay 2 Deep Contour seat cushion for her wheelchair. The front of it is a fairly firm foam, but the back half of it is pockets of gel.
She has had that type of seat cushion for at least the last 15 years, flying on 2 trips per year.

TSA does check it, but I would not consider them to have ever been stressed about it.
She is sitting in the wheelchair and they do a pretty complete check of the wheelchair with her in it. Once or twice over the years, they have asked if she can move to a chair and we have lifted her out so the cushion could go thru the scanner. I assume that the remove it and put it thru the scanner may be due to alert levels since we have been at the same airport and have not had them do that.

It is important to know though that a wheelchair check (especially if the person can't transfer) will take extra time. It might only be a few minutes, but we've had a 10 minute check just of the wheelchair and DD.

 

[KPeveler]

I have never had a problem and I have a cushion much like Sue's daughter. I have walked through security and I have wheeled through. Recently I have stayed in the chair unless there is a chair on the other side waiting for me, and they never give me a hard time about it.

Even if they become stressed, they really cannot argue - it is a wheelchair cushion, so it is obviously a medical device. And as was posted on another thread, medical liquids and gels do not require a note, just a declaration that it is medical. I would think such a declaration is not needed as it is a wheelchair cushion.

This is why I get to the airport so early - I am always afraid a TSA person will become stressed over something like that, and make me take longer.