You may have heard some rumours about US airport security screeners harassing foreign visitors. You may be wondering if the rumours are true. Last week, another story concerning harasment by airport screeners just appeared in the US newspapers. All of which may be causing you some concern about your next visit to the USA.
In the most recent episode, a woman passenger, traveling with a little baby, claims that she was stopped, harassed and detained by airport security screeners simply because she had water in her baby's sippy cup. Her story appeared in many US newspapers.
The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency responsible for airport security, took the unusual action of issuing its rebuttal to the original story. It claims that the airport screeners simply told the woman that she was not permitted to carry any liquid through the security checkpoint including liquid inside a baby's cup. The woman responded by pouring the liquid on the floor in front of the security screeners. They barred her from passing through security until she cleaned it up with paper towels from a nearby ladies room.
I am not sure that this would constitute harassment? It sounds more like they were responding to a very rude individual.
I have traveled throughout the USA by air many times in the last few years. In my experience, most of the TSA employees are very professional, very polite and often quite friendly. Occasionally, I encounter a less friendly screener who is possibly having an off day. My only complaint is that the TSA screeners are often so overly security conscious and so bound by their rules and regulations that they do not take time to empathize with the inconveniences faced by the passengers.