You may have heard about the story of the four year old in Philly who was told to remove his leg braces.
The account goes back to March 2009, but when PHL Federal Security Director (FSD) Robert Ellis learned about it last week, he called the father of the boy immediately. There was no formal report of the incident on file with details, but regardless, Mr. Ellis apologized for any inconvenience the boy and his family may have had to go through.
At TSA, we have a few ways to report any problems you have as soon as it occurs. First, ask for a supervisor immediately. This way, TSA management can look into resolving the issue and any personnel can be identified and retrained as needed. If you choose not to report the incident at the airport, or you feel your incident didn’t receive the attention it should have, you have other options:
Got Feedback – Allows you to contact the Customer Support Manager for the airport you traveled through via e-mail.
TSA Contact Center – You can reach the Contact Center via e-mail, mail or phone. You can find Contact Center info here.
When it comes to screening passengers with disabilities, our officers receive Passengers with Disabilities (PWD) training upon being hired and are required to take annual PWD courses.
From Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions:
In order to achieve that goal, TSA has established a program for screening of persons with disabilities and their associated equipment, mobility aids, and devices. Our program covers all categories of disabilities (mobility, hearing, visual, and hidden). As part of that program, we established a coalition of over 70 disability-related groups and organizations to help us understand the concerns of persons with disabilities and medical conditions. These groups have assisted TSA with integrating the unique needs of persons with disabilities into our airport operations.
Note: In order to keep the flying public safe, our procedures require individuals to undergo thorough screening and there are some rare instances when leg braces may need to be removed. However, this would happen while the passenger was seated and not before they walked through the metal detector.
Blogger Bob
TSA Blog Team
