TSA hassles: CMH, HPN and now BTV too?

[skyaddict]

I don't argue with the goons- I just say aye aye sir and do what they want. However, Burlington in the past has always let me through (in uniform) with water, fluids etc. ... but yesterday they insisted I remove my shoes, water, fluids, etc..

I forgot about one water and some olive oil in my flight kit so I ended up having to get the super duper pat down even without SSSS. Just wondering is this is the shape of things to come everywhere (yeah I know the story on how it is just a "courtesy" that we get away with it most of the time), or if someone yelled at them in BTV and now we all pay the price. Or was this goon ex-CMH- because just as in CMH, he wanted to leaf through every page of my FOM.

 

[Going2Golf]

If they want to do that to you, just make sure you request a private screening and make sure they put on clean gloves prior to touching your stuff.

As long as the olive oil was less than 3 oz they should have let it thru.

 

[skyaddict]

I removed some stuff that was legal under the 3 oz limit and put it in the plastic bag etc., but forgot about some other items that had accumulated deep in my bag after 7 days... once that was discovered they said I had to get the SSSS-equivalent.

 

[OPECJet]

BTV has always been a nightmare for we 121 pilots as well.

 

[ozpilot]

I'm based in Burlington and have noticed this change in the last several months. It started out as one individual. Unfortunately it now seems to be everyone.

Now I just hand over my plastic bag and play the game.

 

[ce750drvr]

When I get the Super Special Strip Search, I start pointing out items they forgot to go through and then point out the little pockets they didn't see. After the 5th or 6th "you missed this one too..." they start to get the point. It makes me feel like I'm in control and I get to tell them what to do!!

 

[DO-82 driver]

When they start looking over your bag just yell out...."clean up in isle 5!!!!" and watch those glorified grocery clerks run.

 

[x402]

CMH has a new trick, if you get SSSS'd they cull you outside the xray and arch. Then they escort you through. The problem is your belongings leave your sight while they stash you in the holding pen. silly me, told them I've never seen that anywhere. He answered, "DO you think we've stolen something, we have cameras everywhere." Things didn't go well after that exchange, the swabbing and search took 15 min. But that might have been because there was a trainee learning to get the swab just so in the holder.
On balance, I've gone through CMH and been treated well. There you go fair and balanced.