Clever Frequent Fliers Using Wheelchairs To Skip Security Lines Legally

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:42:36 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote:

DevilsPGD wrote:

The fix is pretty simple: Stop letting wheelchairs bypass the security
line. There's little reason that they can't wait in line along with
everyone else, and get screened in order.

I agree. It's extremely annoying to work your way up through a long security
line, dump all your stuff on the belt and just as you are about to walk through
the scanner, have someone in a chair cut in front of the line, take 10 minutes
to get out of the chair, find their bording pass and work their way through.

I imagine it is, except that isn't how it's done.

There's usually a special wheelchair security point.

You can't get through a normal security point with a wheelchair.

Bill wrote:

I imagine it is, except that isn't how it's done.

There's usually a special wheelchair security point.

You can't get through a normal security point with a wheelchair.

I imagine it can vary from airport to airport, but I travel a lot and can attest
that it does work as I described at a number of airports. It's to the point now
where I won't use certain lanes even if the line is short as inevitably a chair
will show up.

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 09:14:23 -0600, Robert Neville
wrote:

Bill wrote:

I imagine it is, except that isn't how it's done.

There's usually a special wheelchair security point.

You can't get through a normal security point with a wheelchair.

I imagine it can vary from airport to airport, but I travel a lot and can attest
that it does work as I described at a number of airports.

I've never seen that.

You can't get some wheelchair passengers through a standard security
gate.

What you do sometimes get is ordinary passengers being passed through
the specially built wheelchair screening units because there are fewer
wheelchair passengers than expected.

If you wish to avoid those then that's your privilege.

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:26:42 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

How people are handled once the reach the front of the line is a
different situation entirely and can be handled at that time as needed.

No.

Wheelchair passengers sometimes need a cubical to be searched in.

There won't be room for one at every security point.

Right, so they'll be directed to the correct line. That's trivial.

--
The nice thing about standards, there is enough for everyone to have their own.

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:13:17 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:26:42 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

How people are handled once the reach the front of the line is a
different situation entirely and can be handled at that time as needed.

No.

Wheelchair passengers sometimes need a cubical to be searched in.

There won't be room for one at every security point.

Right, so they'll be directed to the correct line. That's trivial.

That's how it's done now.

What's your problem with it?

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:13:17 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:26:42 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

How people are handled once the reach the front of the line is a
different situation entirely and can be handled at that time as needed.

No.

Wheelchair passengers sometimes need a cubical to be searched in.

There won't be room for one at every security point.

Right, so they'll be directed to the correct line. That's trivial.

That's how it's done now.

What's your problem with it?

I object to the fact that people can and do pretend to need a wheelchair
to bypass the line, despite the fact that they didn't need a wheelchair
to get to the airport and otherwise don't use or own/rent/posses a
wheelchair in daily life.

I also object to people being forced to show a need, so to me, the
solution is to remove the benefit (bypassing the line) so that abusers
have no incentive to abuse the system.

--
The nice thing about standards, there is enough for everyone to have their own.

On Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:35:37 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:13:17 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

In the last episode of ,
Bill said:

On Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:26:42 -0700, DevilsPGD
wrote:

How people are handled once the reach the front of the line is a
different situation entirely and can be handled at that time as needed.

No.

Wheelchair passengers sometimes need a cubical to be searched in.

There won't be room for one at every security point.

Right, so they'll be directed to the correct line. That's trivial.

That's how it's done now.

What's your problem with it?

I object to the fact that people can and do pretend to need a wheelchair
to bypass the line, despite the fact that they didn't need a wheelchair
to get to the airport and otherwise don't use or own/rent/posses a
wheelchair in daily life.

So do I.

And in the UK and a fair bit of Europe you have to produce
documentation to prove your entitlement.

Fortunately there is a Europe wide disability ID system known as 'The
Blue Badge Scheme'. Many airport and airlines ask to see your 'blue
badge' at check-in to prove your entitlement to a wheelchair...

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabled...ort/dg_4001061

I also object to people being forced to show a need, so to me, the
solution is to remove the benefit (bypassing the line) so that abusers
have no incentive to abuse the system.

The problem there is technical.

Wheelchair capable security checking stations are larger and need
special facilities and building those costs money.

As the check-in time is the same for everyone I don't see how
wheelchair users get an advantage.

Or is a couple of extra minutes drinking expensive bad coffee that
important to you?

DevilsPGD wrote:

I object to the fact that people can and do pretend to need a
wheelchair to bypass the line,

I also object to people being forced to show a need, so to me,
the solution is to remove the benefit (bypassing the line) so
that abusers have no incentive to abuse the system.

The only abuse in this whole situation is being done to the flying
public by increasingly onerous, maniacal, punative, expensive and
ridiculous screening procedures and carriage rules implimented by the
gov't under the guise of the TSA (Transportation Screwing Agency).

Bill wrote:

I also object to people being forced to show a need, so to me,
the solution is to remove the benefit (bypassing the line) so
that abusers have no incentive to abuse the system.

The problem there is technical.

No it's not.

As I've said before, you can't have the porters that push the
wheelchairs get tied up in the security lines along with the people
they're pushing around. The porters are getting paid by the hour, and
it makes no sense to tie them up in the security lines.

Why do you not acknowledge that?

On Tue, 16 Oct 2012 10:16:32 -0400, Fly Guy wrote:

Bill wrote:

I also object to people being forced to show a need, so to me,
the solution is to remove the benefit (bypassing the line) so
that abusers have no incentive to abuse the system.

The problem there is technical.

No it's not.

As I've said before, you can't have the porters that push the
wheelchairs get tied up in the security lines along with the people
they're pushing around. The porters are getting paid by the hour, and
it makes no sense to tie them up in the security lines.

Why do you not acknowledge that?

Oh I agree that this is a major factor.

But another factor is the limited number of security stations that can
handle wheelchair passengers.

Airports are just not designed to make things 'fair' for travelers.

But life isn't designed to make things fair either.

Live with it...