Air Travel advice flying in Diapers

MayMay: I've had 2 bad experiences with TSA that seem relevant. I had a knee replacement and the surgeon gave me a signed card. TSA wasn't at all interested in the card. I obviously had a massive charge of C1 explosive in my knee, judging from the panic they went through.
The next one is my CPAP. How many do they see a day at a busy airport? Sleep Apnea and the supplying of CPAP machines is big business, but periodically, they act like they've never seen one or heard of one. There is a limit to how much disassembly you can do to a CPAP before you destroy it. There really isn't all that much to them, actually, but maybe the computer chip that controls them had the secrets of the Atom Bomb in it and I was taking that to the USSR?
Oh, wait! The Russki's have the Atom Bomb and the USSR is no longer in existence.
Government doesn't have to make sense - it isn't anywhere in the Constitution - and TSA is in a rabbit hole all by themselves.
One pill makes you larger,
And one pill makes you small,
And the one that mother gives you
Doesn't do anything at all....
 
In non-Covid times, I generally fly 3-6 times a year. I've never had a bad experience with TSA - I've been pulled aside once for a pat-down (it was apparently a random check, and a quick and not very thorough pat-down at that). However, I know two people who have had problems, and I'm always worried about that when I fly.

As far as diapers go, I've been fortunate that I've never had to go through security in a wet diaper. I've had to change in the restroom before security a couple of times, but I've fortunately never had an accident in the line. It helps that most of my flights are between airports that tend not to be busy, and I usually manage to schedule flights at times that aren't very popular.

I'm very concerned about what will happen with my new Interstim implant, though. I have TSA Precheck, so I just have to walk through a metal detector at the airports I typically use, rather than the full-body scanner. The Interstim is almost certainly going to set off the metal detector. I got a card when I got the Interstim (someday they're supposed to send me a more permanent one; I still just have the temporary one) that explains that I have an implanted medical device prescribed by my doctor, but various reports, including from two different friends, says that some TSA agents may not pay much attention to that.

Part of the problem is that there is a lot of inconsistency in how different TSA agents react to situations. TSA itself has guidelines, but also has the disclaimer on their page about flying with disabilities saying that the ultimate choice is up to the screener as to whether you can fly or not. That is a policy that's guaranteed to go badly; you get some screener who's in a crappy mood, or is inexperienced, or likes bullying people, and you're going to get treated differently from the screeners who are empathetic and believe their job is to help ensure safety while minimizing the disruption to people's lives.

It's a sad fact that TSA screeners routinely miss contraband. Security is routinely tested by trained TSA investigators attempting to bring dangerous items (including guns and simulated explosives) through checkpoints; I've seen figures ranging from over 70% to 95% of contraband that these people attempt to smuggle is missed, which should give anyone pause. 9/11 was perpetrated by nineteen hijackers, and at those rates TSA would have stopped one to three of them, and perhaps less since they used box cutters rather than guns. Someone who's just been written up for allowing an investigator to smuggle a handgun through the X-ray machine they were suppsed to be monitoring is not likely to be easygoing or empathetic toward someone in a diaper - for all they know, it's another investigator trying to get them fired, and they'll do everything in their power to make sure they catch the "contraband" that in reality is a wet diaper, an Interstim implant, or a hip replacement.

Simply put, TSA is more about providing the illusion of security than actual security. I guess the hope is that, if terrorists think that TSA will catch them, they won't try to smuggle weapons or explosives aboard. It's illusory security, though, and I think at some point America is going to pay a high price for fostering the illusion of airport security instead of the real thing. Ironically, agents wasting their time strip-searching someone in a diaper takes them away from catching the guy trying to smuggle explosives in his underwear.

For what it's worth, TSA guidelines state that passengers will not be required to undress for the search, but they may be asked to "rearrange" their clothing (whatever that means). As stated above, though, the guideline is apparently not binding on individual TSA officers, who can strip search whomever they wish.
 
I noticed something the last few times I've been through the TSA scanners - the round ones where you have your arms up. I haven't flown this year since early February.
The scan you can see when you get out of the radar-dome used to show the metal, and since I have metal in both knees, one hand, and one foot, it showed.
In 2019 and 2018 (maybe b4 that, too), all the sudden, the scanners didn't show it. I always took the precaution of warning them I have a lot of metal, have for some years.
With computer magic being what it is, is the scanning machine checking a memory of you and subtracting the "known" metal, so a change shows up without confusing the TSA agent? (The Lord knows we wouldn't want them more confused!) While they don't check your boarding pass and ID at the machine, we know the Gov't uses facial recognition software. And they scan your boarding pass (and Passport) when you enter the line. How's that for paranoia?
Just a thought.
They take away my metal cane and give me a wooden one, and (fair is fair) they have offered to help me through the machine, some of them. Mostly, I can get through without falling.
Hey, MayMay! And jrpoorman! Thanks! And a "A Hookah-Smoking Catapiller..." to you!
 
Well I know there is definitely no rule about having to travel with a full pack of diapers. TSA probably has the highest turnover out of all departments in the travel sector, so you're going to get a bag of mixed nuts and untrained wannabes.

As for my dumb luck with getting searched on numerous occasions, I've also had TSA agents make off the cuff remarks about the diaper being too thick, how they couldn't clear the front/back depending on saturation due to stuffer layers needed on longer hauls. I've heard it all, from rudely asking questions about my condition to how long I've been dealing with wearing to resolve it.

Older, better trained agents are very respectful and will casually ask if I've ever had a private screening over my condition before. so I'm even asking for feedback on how it was handled so they know how to deal with the situation in the future.

The rest are just interested in asking about my service animal.

It's honestly a 15% fail rate for invasion of privacy in my experience. There are times when I fly twice a month habitually, and others where I fly 4 to 6 times a month.

I'm fit, in my late 30s, walk with a slight gait in my step, and allegedly have some white privilege. However this doesn't stop me from getting flagged or questioned from time to time.

I'm at the point now where it's clearly a part of the security theater game and I'm just an extra. I try to carry a better attitude now rather than a confrontational one, by trying to educate them aski6ng the way, so that I don't have to file a formal complaint before lawyering up..

That said I have filed over a dozen complaints and have noticed that through the years the training has improved to where the agents seem a lot more informed and less invasive as the years ago by. But there's always that one new guy who has something to prove or wants a notch on his belt.
 
Alot of good intelligence here.
I googled can the tsa do strip searches. Read an interesting article that while the tsa claims a beign public front they have a private room for special circumstances and on may 12th a mature woman was asked to strip to show a panty liner and is suing per a Usa today article.
 
I fly a lot and as already mentioned I change right before I go through the line plus I keep my medicine handy (and disabled VA card) so if/when asked I can quickly show them. The most important part I've learned is that if I've leaked, even a small amount I'll get pulled aside.
 
Yeah, that is the main thing, only time my diaper has ever set off the sensor was when I was running late and didn't change before I went through security. Likely the sensors are picking up on the change in wavelength caused by the liquid and setting it off.
 
I totally agree @ltapilot with your comments. I get the impression that anyone can walk off the street and apply to work for the TSA and if one of their stations desperately needs people then some lucky TSA wannabes have a job! And given a little power, sometimes it goes to some peoples' heads. And I find that very concerning.
So like you say, these eager-beaver TSA types are strip searching some person wearing a wet diaper while someone sneaks through the line carrying explosive-laden underwear or shoes! That's kind of a ridiculous scenario I know, but trust me, anything is possible. Anything at all!
For what it's worth I would say to anyone about to go through a TSA checkpoint to just be your usual nice self, whether or not you're having a bad hair day and be totally non-confrontational. It may not hurt to be friendly and greet the TSA person when you first get to the station. You don't want to give them any reason at all to single you out for special treatment!
 
I’ve been treated like shit by TSA many times (more often than not), regardless of my being positive and friendly. I can barely breathe when I think of them. Major PTSD anxiety. I can’t stand TSA and would love to never encounter them again. But I love, love, love flying. I took flight school simultaneously with film school, but obviously chose the latter. I refuse to give up being flown just because TSA are assholes. They’re even worse than regular cops because they’re wanna-be cops with even more hostility and ego. And they know they’re losers, so they take out their low-esteem on passengers. HORRIBLE AGENCY. I’m so sick of living in a climate of fear. Remember the good old days when you could go for a meal at the airport for fun, or say goodbye or hello to someone at the gate, and wave at them on the plane? America is a military state.
 
Hi snow, I totally agree with you and it's so sad that air travel has devolved into something to be endured and dreaded rather than something to look forward to and enjoy. I very much remember the good old days when you can go to the airport, go to the gates and see what types of planes are there and watch them take off and land. And I very much miss the days when you can go to the gate to meet someone coming in or to see them off and wave goodbye to them. When I was a kid my folks used to take me (along with friends) to Logan Airport in Boston just to go to the top deck and watch the planes. Entertainment for hours! I was always so envious when my dad got on a plane to go on a business trip.
Fast forward to today: these TSA types are just cop wannabes but they aren't good enough, smart enough or otherwise qualified enough to be real cops. So they run their little stand by the bag X-ray like their little fiefdom! They know damn well they can't cut it on the outside being real bust-the-door-down cops and they take our their frustrations on passengers, especially those with disabilities who they think are too timid to fight back. The fact they can get away with treating those with disabilities like that makes me absolutely furious. I hope every person with a disability who gets hassled by TSA sues the living you-know-what out of that Mickey Mouse agency! And that's my sermon for the day!
 
@billliveshere Yes, I remember when my dad would take me to Lindbergh field in a parking lot right next to the take off area to see the Boeing 727's, dc 10's, dc 9's and a lot of the early 737's, boy they were loud as hell, alittle more and the noise could shatter windshields in the early 80's
 
Yep I miss all of those marvelous airport experiences. Flight is truly magical and deserves the special attention we used to be able to pay it reverence with.

I was thinking about another thing I totally hate about TSA: why, just because you’re rich and can afford a fancy pre-screening pass, do you get to go through that line quicker? What kind of socioeconomic discrimination crap is that?! Why do rich people not have to be screened as carefully as everyone else?!!!!
 
Hi @LiveLifeJR, my favorite plane to fly on was the 727, especially when they accelerate on take-off. And I also like the DC-9s and the MD-80 series as well. As for jumbos the Lockheed L-1011 was the best as far as I'm concerned. Sadly none of them are flying anymore, all replaced by the much more generic looking Airbus 319 and 320s. But to me the new 737s have a bit more "curb appeal" than the Airbuses.
And snow, that is a good question why rich people aren't screened as carefully as us "common folks" just because the got the bucks to but a pre-screening pass. Boy it must be nice, eh?
 
snow said:
Yep I miss all of those marvelous airport experiences. Flight is truly magical and deserves the special attention we used to be able to pay it reverence with.

I was thinking about another thing I totally hate about TSA: why, just because you’re rich and can afford a fancy pre-screening pass, do you get to go through that line quicker? What kind of socioeconomic discrimination crap is that?! Why do rich people not have to be screened as carefully as everyone else?!!!!
Click to expand...

I can understand this thought but I actually had the pre check a few years ago because I had frequent trips to Canada at the time for work and the pass is only like $100 for 4 years.

It does get you thru faster but in most cases I still had to go in a body scanner, just didn’t have to take off shoes belt coat/sweater etc and could leave all my electronics inside my pack.

I wasn’t wearing diapers at the time so I don’t know how that was handled.
 
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