'I don't want to go to Disney World anymore': Parents' fury as TSA agents detain their crying

[deurbano]

110. Extra screening can lead to missed flights, etc....

For those who say people who use wheelchairs-- but don’t want to be subjected to onerous screening measures-- should find alternative transportation, I would reply that it unrealistic … and harsh. My daughter, who is quadriplegic, has often needed to travel to Washington, DC for her advocacy work. We live in San Francisco. There is no realistic alternative to air travel for her. We don’t mind that she receives extra screening. We mind when she receives so much extra screening that flights are missed. One time, when our whole family -- including her (then) three-year-old sister and her (then) seven-year-old brother--- was traveling with her back from Washington, we were ALL pulled aside with her and ALL subjected to extra screening…. and we had to wait and wait (and WAIT) as other non-disabled passengers continued to get screened… until finally someone was available to screen us… but even though we had gotten to the airport early (as we always try to do), we missed our afternoon flight, and couldn’t get on another flight until the wee hours of the morning. It’s one thing to be “sentenced” to hanging out in an airport for hours with a three-year-old and seven-year-old when it is unavoidable (flights grounded, etc.), but this did not feel unavoidable. The extra screening has resulted in other missed flights, too… not to mention, frantic rushing to make the plane, while also needing to make a bathroom stop first, since even when there are “accessible” bathrooms on planes, they are not really all that accessible. Also, aisle chairs are always requested ahead of time, but seldom ready at the gate, so there is usually a delay for that, too. It can make it seem like it’s my daughter’s “fault” if a plane doesn’t leave on time… when other passengers can see we are the last people boarding, but don’t know that we actually arrived early, but were subjected to delays they didn’t have to experience.


[Sidebar: The term “wheelchair-bound” is archaic and not really accurate.]