MCO Terminal A - Horrible TSA

[MS_Warrior]

Thank you. I think this was probably our last time at Disney World just due to age and health issues that affect both me and my husband. We're planning Disney Land maybe next year.

I do carry a card from the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation that lists out symptoms and how fatigue and stress affect mobility. I didn't have access to my wallet to pull it out for her and she wouldn't have allowed me to. The time before, when the woman held up the line, I gave her the card and she barely glanced at it.

Orlando is the only airport I've ever had an issue. I've had to wait at other airports until a female is available, but I'm always there quite early so it's not been an issue. I wanted to ask her if she really thought I enjoyed the pat downs so much that I was faking it.

I filed a TSA complaint as someone suggested. Their response was that this would be better handled by the airport and they forwarded it to airport managment. The time before when it happened, I complained to managment and they never even responded to me, so i doubt it will go any further.

 

[MS_Warrior]

File your complaint here. https://www.tsa.gov/contact-center/form/complaints

People may say it’s stupid to file a complaint but aside from a lawsuit there is nothing else you can do. (Except not fly MCO of course.)

Thanks for the link. I did file the complaint. TSA said that my issue needed to be handled by the airport so they forwarded my complaint to the airport managment. The last time I had an issue, I contacted the airport management and they never acknowledged it, so who knows?

 

[LuvOrlando]

Thank you. I think this was probably our last time at Disney World just due to age and health issues that affect both me and my husband. We're planning Disney Land maybe next year.

I do carry a card from the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation that lists out symptoms and how fatigue and stress affect mobility. I didn't have access to my wallet to pull it out for her and she wouldn't have allowed me to. The time before, when the woman held up the line, I gave her the card and she barely glanced at it.

Orlando is the only airport I've ever had an issue. I've had to wait at other airports until a female is available, but I'm always there quite early so it's not been an issue. I wanted to ask her if she really thought I enjoyed the pat downs so much that I was faking it.

I filed a TSA complaint as someone suggested. Their response was that this would be better handled by the airport and they forwarded it to airport managment. The time before when it happened, I complained to managment and they never even responded to me, so i doubt it will go any further.

When my kids were little and had asthma I had so much stuff of all kinds that could not be separated from them I would ask their pediatrician for letters and I would put the letter in a gallon ziplock (it fits perfectly) and literally wave it at all security every step of the way. In general no-one wants to read a letter from a Dr so they would never give me a hard time. I can recommend this approach because the agents all want to be the hero but a Dr note means you are truthful and no-one wants to be written up for challenging a Dr's note. The Dr notes help so much when dealing with monsters & OMG there are so many monsters, I need to mask and get coughed on every single day I go out - EVERY SINGLE DAY.

All you need to do is have a chat with your Dr or message your Dr about your experiences and request them to write something that informs agents that when at the airport you are not to be separated from any walking assistive device like a wheel chair at any time due to risk of falling. I bet your Dr's office writes these sorts of notes all the time, no-one should be treated like you have been treated

 

[MS_Warrior]

Thank you. My doctor is awesome. I have no doubts she would write the letter and I'll ask when I see her.
Honestly, though, this woman was just ticked off from the time I rolled up in my wheelchair. She was rude and hateful from the time I put my stuff on the conveyor and started yelling before I had a chance to put everything in the bin. I had my boarding pass in my hand and she started yelling that everything had to go through the scanner, so I doubt with her, a doctor's note would help. Although, I could stick it in a luggage tag on my wheelchair and pull it out when she started yelling at me for not going through the scanner....

It was probably our last time in Orlando and that's the only airport I've ever had an issue at.

 

[dizneedoll]

I just came back home from WDW and took my scooter with me and TSA at MCO was a huge hassle. I have TSA-Precheck too and they made me get up and go through the body scanner one where you lift your hands over your head and I said I can't lift my left arm up so I had to a have a pat down (never had to do that before) and also had to take off my jacket and shoes.
The agents weren't rude to me or anything but there were 3 different agents dealing with me and it was just overly chaotic and a big hassle.
In contrast, when we flew out of San Diego where everything went smoothly.
Even without having a mobility device, MCO security also seems chaotic even when it's not busy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Crazy isn't it? They didn't make my husband or son take jackets off but did tell my husband to put his wallet through the x tray.

I'm glad you could at least make a complaint so it's on record even if you don't think it'll get anywhere. I'm sorry you experienced such rudeness. Majority of the time TSA is either kind or neutral but every so often you can get abrupt ones. We've had them too.

For the jacket part technically Pre-check allows for a light jacket which is still up to the officer's discretion. Vast majority of the time I've not had to remove it but I did last fall as colder temps were coming in at my home airport, the jacket was worn before through Pre-check with no issues but the TSA agent had said "it's that time of the year we start needing more to be taken off"...okay...sure...but mine really was a light jacket and that is the only time we've ever had an agent mention that at our home airport. Just flew 2 weeks ago same jacket nothing was said, it's the wintertime when very cold temps are out. But that is to say officer discretion or policy of the day can shift around.

I used to wear a different jacket where in O'Hare airport the TSA Pre-check employee said you probably will have to take that off because of the metal on the zipper...uh...no..I said I've worn this jacket countless times at many airports without issue (it was my go to jacket for several years while traveling). He was like "ok but I'm just warning you" I walked through with no issues. It was I guess loud enough of him telling me that a woman who came behind me through the detector said "you were not going to set off the metal, I don't think your zipper is the metal that would" I was like nope I don't think so either. We both just shrugged it off.

My husband often wears a thicker than mine softshell jacket when traveling and just takes his off precautionary. Whether it's too thick for TSA pre-check I don't know but he just takes it off anyhow. When you go through the scanner even with pre-check they tell you to empty your pockets and have nothing in your hands so if your husband had his wallet in his pocket as many men do that could be why they wanted him to put it through.

I think you just got a bad isolated agent but just keep the jacket part in mind, the rules say we don't have to take off for a light jacket but that that is up to the officer's discretion at the same time. I don't know if that means you might feel more comfortable not wearing a jacket until you pass through security or not but I can sympathize with the unknown of whether you'll run into issues with that in the future. IME it's not been an issue the vast majority of the time.