Breast Searches

I'm sorry about your ordeal, that must have been horrible for you and I can see why you wouldn't trust people to invade your personal space.  But it's really not always as bad as people on this thread have mentioned... I've travelled many times to the US and have never had anything out of the ordinary done to me, except having to remove my shoes once or twice. Maybe it's just the airports I've used?

It's b/c you've been lucky.  On another expat site, the stories there, of what members have had done to them PERSONALLY, are incredible.  It IS as bad as people on this thread have mentioned - after all, threy're 'patting down' REAL people, not robots.  Not always, sure, it's supoosed to be 'random', but that fact that it's happening at all, with no concrete evidence that it's keeping airline passengers safer, is disturbing enough as it is. 

The "patting down" may end soon or at least over the next few years that those new human scanning machines are being rolled out at airports. Heathrow was piloting them when we flew back to the states over Thanksgiving. They were asking for volunteers.  The scans are done by same sex officers behind a panel so you are shielded from those in line so there is a bit of privacy. (Unlike being watched while being given the "pat down"). It seemed quick and efficient. Of course some folks will have a problem with being "viewed via a scanner" while others will probably welcome it as an alternative to physical contact.

Our trip to the states both times this year was uneventful....neither of us had a problem being overly scrutinized. As for the speed of the lines I don't notice delays even after 9/11.  Back in the late 90's I used to fly every week for work and when I compare it to today's lines I don't see much of a difference. In fact sometimes I think the x-ray machine to check purses and other personal belongings are run through way too quick (no slow down since 9/11). Also, pre 9/11 on several occasions I was asked to open my laptop and fire it up. When I went back to the states last year for business I wasn't even asked to do that coming or going?

One concern I do have is why are people still allowed to take a lighter or matches onto the plane?

Julie

One thing that I have found strange is that flying from London to NY security is very tight, multiple checks, but much less so flying NYC to London. This strikes me as completely ass-backwards. The whole point of the 911 attacks were that the jet tanks had to be full. It should be the flights out of NYC that get the most security, not the other way round. But it's the mentality of irrational fear-mongering that reverses the order. For me, the entire security increase is bogus. Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, and cause of most of the body searches had indications that should have marked him way before he even got to the metal detectors. He had a one-way trans-atlantic ticket with no check in luggage, no UK address, no US address, and appeared disturbed with dissheveled hair and unkempt appearance. Taken all together, this should have been enough to stop him. No body searches were necessary (and he hadn't even made the damn bomb properly so it wouldn't have gone off).

The 911 bombers flew first-class and so were given first-class special treatment, as they rushed to get on their plane. Remember that Atta, the lead bomber, didn't have any check-in luggage because he had a connecting flight from New Hampshire that was late, so his luggage didn't make the 911 flight, while he was waved through as they do with first-class travellers. terrorists don't fly economy class because there's less room to manuever and more distance between them and the cockpit. It's the toffs who should be getting the extra surveillance, not us.

One thing that I have found strange is that flying from London to NY security is very tight, multiple checks, but much less so flying NYC to London.

I've found this to be frighteningly true.  Last summer, flying from JFK to LHR I saw, on an extremely long line a lot of which was visible to me, one person being checked.  One.  He also happened to be a black man.  I passed through with ease, though I'd not been expecting much different, as I was traveling with a student group and we are generally among the last to get checked.  The attitude definitely had an air of "Go ahead little white girl, you couldn't possibly be a terrorist." 

I get a similar attitude from security authorities in a lot of places, actually.  This a very minor example, but at my school all students have to have their University ID cards to get into places like libraries, computer labs, etc, etc (I've got to admit I'm having a hard time seeing the threat posed to the library, but that's beside the point.)  A couple of times going in I've witnessed scenes where the minority student, usually a black guy, in front of me gets stopped, hastled, and given a lot of grief, and yet almost always when this happens no one even asks me to show my ID.  They kind of step aside and let me pass a little too politely.  And it's not like there's only one security guard, either.  Yet they're giving minorities who have shown no indications a much harder time, and even subjecting them to a pat-down on occasion.  I, on the other hand, were I of a violent mind, could walk in there with almost anything in my bag or in my coat, pockets, whatever, and have a very good shot at getting in without any trouble at all.  Because, of course, we all know that white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed 19 year old girls would never do anything wrong.   

So, that was the disturbing case at JFK.  On the way back in August, going from LHR to JFK, I was startled by the difference.  It was actually the first time I'd flown internationally since 9/11, and before then I don't think I'd ever been checked anywhere, not in LHR, not in Sydney, not in New Zealand, etc.  But on this flight, from what I could tell, they were checking every single person.  Everyone.  And thoroughly too.  A non-invasive pat-down, metal detection, and examination of absolutely everything I was carrying with me on board.  Absolutely everything.  No corner of my carry-ons or anything were left unturned.  I had made sure, earlier, to put all sharp instruments, expecially my nail kit, in my luggage, but I'll admit it hadn't occurred to me that my tweezers could be considered dangerous.  They inspected those, but let me keep them in my carry-on b/c they were old and dull.  There was more to it, but as it was August and I had had almost no sleep the night before (early morning flight this one), I don't remember the whole thing.

I must say I was very impressed.  I don't know how they managed, at those multiple tables behind the dividers, to inspect everyone without causing too much inconvenience.  Or how they managed to thoroughly inspect everything, including the most personal items, without seeming invasive or impolite.  I felt quite safe walking onto that plane.

It was such a huge contrast to JFK and a huge eye-opener (which I even commented to these same security officials.)

I feel so safe now. 

I think LHR has its act together for screening because they've been aware of terrorism for years. This is new to the US, who probably still only see 9/11 as being a one-off...just as they never felt the US would be the subject of any terrorism threat. "Just doesn't happen in my neighborhood."

Anytime I've flown into Miami, even after 9/11, the main push has been about food and insects. They don't want Florida's citrus/cattle industry ruined. And this type of screening they have done for years, and that's what they are good at.

Back on the original topic, I saw this on CNN today:

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/12/23/tsa.pat.downs/index.html

Last time I was traveling about the US, I was subject to one of the (I guess?) revised breast/torso pat-downs because the clasps in my dress trousers were setting off the metal detector. The female patter-downer (?) seemed to want to encourage me to go through it privately; however, I figure if I'm going to be subject to something intrusive -- let's get it all out in the open for the world to see. In fact, if they wanted to strip search me, I'd say 'Fine, let's get on with it right here, right now.' (Witnesses!)

The sensor on the metal detector is sometimes calibrated too sensitively (my brother is a commercial airline pilot). Also, supposedly, you should not have to take off your shoes unless you set off the detectors. Only thing is -- if you point anything like this out to the screeners (sensor set to be too sensitive, you need not remove your shoes), there is the possibility that you will be singled out for closer inspection & detainment as a bullying tactic -- as my brother has previously experienced & he is an airline employee.  The pilots generally get fed up with all this long before the rest of us do.  One of his colleagues (a pilot) was so upset at one point over some issue with tweezers or some such -- he took the crash axe out of the aircraft, handed it to the offensive security guard & asked if he'd be wanting to take that too.  (Security wasn't amused.)

Carolyn B