Setting Granny Up For Airport Security Bust??

[Bill From PA]

My dear old grey haired Mom will be along on our next trip, but will fly home mid-week. In order to spare her any trouble in the return flight, I've offered to tote her bags home with us later, but doesn't a passenger without luggage fit the profile for a terrorist? A 79 yr. old great-grandmother of Welsh extraction might not strike one as a threat, but I've been reading that elderly white women have not been spared attention at the security table. Does the guy pictured below look like a bomb-toter? I got searched going and coming last November. Should I give Mom a token piece of luggage to speed her through, or am I being paranoid?


Bill From PA

 

[peg2001]

I would give her a token piece of luggage. Perhaps a light carry-on with reading material/snacks, whatever she needs to be comfortable on the flight home. If anyone questions her, which I think is unlikely, she can explain that her son has the bulk of her luggage with him on a later flight.

Peggy

 

[n2mm]

Hope grannie doesn't have her underwire garments on or it might set off the metal detector and then she'll be scanned and shoeless.

 

[Bill From PA]

n2mm,

Her two artificial knees will probably set off the alarm.

peg2001,

We'll go with the carry=on.


Bill From PA

 

[erikthewise]

Oh. I thought you WANTED to set up your Granny for a bust, and I was going to help out. Never mind.

 

[DebbieB]

Now that they do all the security at the checkpoint, not at the gate, how would they know at the checkpoint if you checked luggage a few minutes before or not? It's not indicated on your boarding pass.

I went on a one day business trip in February with no luggage, it didn't cause a problem. You would think a ticket recently purchased, roundtrip all in one day would draw attention. When the luggage goes through the x-ray, they don't know which one is yours unless they see a problem and ask who it belongs to.

I do think they occasionally pull a little old lady out of line just to prove they don't discriminate.

erikthewise - that was my first reaction too!

 

[Bill From PA]

DebbieB,

In Pittsburgh last Nov., coming and going, there was an area with a table next to the door you entered the plane through, and I 'won' the lottery both times. Your bags are bar coded and scanned before one gets to the gate. At the moment they call for boarding, they have a list of all passengers. Comparing that to a list of 'who checked what' would be easy. I've read many times that one of many indicators of a possible terrorist is the lack of baggage, along with others such as ticket recently purchased, in cash, often one way. For every little old lady they single out for PC reasons, there's that much less time and effort put to better use. I didn't mind the going over I got, I'm just trying to save Mom a hassle. Anyway, maybe a good body cavity search would do her some good.

Bill From PA

 

[DebbieB]

Bill,

They eliminated the gate checks after the first of the year at PIT when TSA took over (they also eliminated curb side check-in). You don't even need to show ID at the gate anymore, just at security. I don't know if I agree with that part, especially at a hub where people are changing planes, wouldn't hurt to check ID again. I can't remember when I was at MCO in February if they still check ID at the gate.

They do have a room near the security area now for "private searches".

Debbie

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Bill From PA
...(snip)...... Anyway, maybe a good body cavity search would do her some good.

Bill From PA

Tsk! Tsk! Mom doesn't read the DIS, does she?

 

[Bill From PA]

CarolMN,

Thankfully, no!!

Bill From PA