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Underwire bra dispute causes woman to miss her flight
First it was loose change in your pockets, then it was jewelry, and then it was shoes. For Jet Blue passenger Nancy Kates, it seems like bras might be the next thing to go in the airport security line. A big-busted woman, Kates was wearing a large underwire bra as she went through the security check at Oakland International Airport but when it set off the metal detector she was pulled aside by a TSA agent.Kates accuses the agent of getting a little too personal. "The woman touched my breast. I said, 'You can't do that,' " Kates said. "She said, 'We have to pat you down.' I said, 'You can't treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.' "
Refusing to be fondled, Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's surpervisor. Kates reminded the TSA agents that the Constitution bars unreasonable searches and that "scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable." She was offered a private room to have her pat-down, but Kates refused. Instead she asked if she could simply remove her bra, to which the TSA agent agreed. This isn't the first breast related TSA incident, but the whole escapade took 40 minutes and caused Kates to miss her flight. Jet Blue was nice enough to put her on another one.
Being a woman, I myself have had the bra pat-down several times, and I'm sure there are other fellow females on the Gadling team that have gone through the same experience. Normally such pat-downs are off limits to fingers; TSA agents only use the side of their hands. But all the same it's still a little unnerving. As Kates said, "If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear."
What are your thoughts? Is it humiliating to get a pat-down to make sure the underwire in your bra is what's setting off the metal detector?
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Filed under: United States, Airports, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 17)
Frank Aug 27th 2008 4:40PM
This is absolutely outrageous. The inspectors should be fired and the airline should be sued! Does the name, "Nancy Kates" sound like a muslim terrorist name to you? Sure doesn't sound like one to me! We know who our enemies are. Why do we continue to harrass innocent Americans like this?
Micha Aug 27th 2008 5:37PM
Frank, do you remember the Oklahoma City Bombing? Do you recall how everyone immediately assumed it was middle eastern terrorists behind it?
9/11 happened because our airport security was only looking for things that had already proven dangerous. Box cutters hadn't been used as a weapon, so no one cared. They weren't thinking ahead to what COULD proven dangerous in the future.
To assume that someone is safe because their name sounds American is courting a new disaster.
Cheniqua Aug 27th 2008 11:37PM
dude...most women don't wear underwire bras to push things up...they need the metal for the extra support and stability it provides...otherwise things bounce all over...not wearing a properly supportive bra can cause back pain, not something women want to deal with...so back off
another1 Aug 27th 2008 4:59PM
I was wanded for the metal clasp on the strap of my bra back in the seventies. Since then I wear underwires that use plastic instead of wire, easily available. Sometimes we can pick and choose our battles. With the airline industry the way it is these days, plastic creates one less battle.
Gwen Aug 27th 2008 4:52PM
B.S.! I wear an underwire, was asked very politely by a female agent if she could check it with the back of her hand, I said "yes," she did, and I went on my way. I'd rather be safe -- and if my underwire was setting off the buzzer, I had no problem letting them check it.
nofly Aug 27th 2008 4:41PM
It's gotten so you can't even avoid it by not flying. Machinery that sees thru clothes is being used at some subways on all passengers w/out informing them it's being used. This same technology can peer thru the walls of your house. Police State it is.
missymiss58 Aug 27th 2008 4:41PM
I just flew out of Dallas/Ft.Worth with my car keys and cell phone in my pockets and DID NOT set off the walk through alarm!! Some security!!! I even had nail clippers in my purse and still nothing! They really need to rethink there procedures!!
I too have been "felt up" by the security team by a "Random" seach, which was very degrading! If they need to recheck people can't they do it in private behind some kind of curtain or something? If I got felt up in public (on the street) I would be arrested, so what is the diffrence??
nofly Aug 27th 2008 4:44PM
It's gotten so you can't even avoid it by not flying. Machinery that sees thru clothes is being used at some subways on all passengers w/out informing them it's being used. This same technology can peer thru the walls of your house. Police State it is.
nofly Aug 27th 2008 4:43PM
It's gotten so you can't even avoid it by not flying. Machinery that sees thru clothes is being used at some subways on all passengers w/out informing them it's being used. This same technology can peer thru the walls of your house. Police State it is.
rbj100 Aug 27th 2008 4:50PM
just confirms the nickname of TSA - thousands standing around.
TSA is useless. anyone with half a brain can get anything thru the 'inspection'. its even easy to find ways around the screening checkpoint, and go unchecked onto your flight.
Loch Sep 22nd 2008 5:09PM
I agree, TSA is a joke. Unfortunatly it is a very expensive joke. Americans need to realize that the government only gives you the illusion of security. They cannot offer real security.
Hey you Aug 27th 2008 4:53PM
It's a system set up by your government. If you don't like it, take it out on them, not the TSA person. They are just doing their job. Some are not so professional, but some travellers are real jerks too. I saw one guy start screaming at a TSA person when she asked him to remove his laptop from the bag. She smiled through the whole thing and never lost her cool, even when he pushed her down and nearly broke her wrist. Give 'em a break. Welcome to travelling in the 21st century.
MakingHappyTeeth@aol.com Aug 27th 2008 4:56PM
I have no problem with the TSA checks. I do not ever take it personally because I know they have a job to do and that is to keep us as safe as possible. I appreciate it very much.
Anya Aug 27th 2008 4:58PM
As long as we are subject to TSA, there will be annoyances at the airport. So there are only two things to do: 1) change what you wear, what you carry, and how you behave at the airport, and 2) if you've missed something and trigger a search, grin and bear it. I have been traveling for years, but adjusted by switching to a non-underwire bra I only wear for travel, wearing shoes that are easy to take off, not wearing watches or jewelry through security, and not carrying-on items on the prohibited list. It's not fun, but it's what you have to do.
DMG196D2@AOL.COM Aug 27th 2008 5:03PM
With all the security issues at the airports, we as citizens should be prepared to undergo most anything. I dont see a problem with a female patting down a female. The more you make of a situation the worse youre gonna make it. Let them do their jobs and go on your way. NO need to miss your flight arguing. Where did it get her anyway??
Barb Aug 27th 2008 5:03PM
I am my older sisters guardian, both of us elderly,when she flew out of Pensacola a few years ago I needed to accompany her to the gate. She was not searched, I was! Pat down and all. Go figure
jerry Aug 27th 2008 5:06PM
The airlines didn't start all of this, the 9-11 terrorists did. And the airlines don't like it any better than we do. Wake up and grow up to life in 2008.
Let those who have such delicate sensitivities and "constitutional rights" hitch-hike.
Raven Aug 27th 2008 5:07PM
The same thing happened to me 4 years ago. Only the agent was a man. He wanted to pat me down. To which I replied.."Mister if you put your hands on me...planes won't be the only things flying around here". I was about to request a female agent...to get the matter settled quickly...and without any problems. So...to avoid more of this fiasco I don't use the underwire when I fly.
Micha Aug 27th 2008 5:14PM
Frank, do you remember the Oklahoma City Bombing? Do you recall how everyone immediately assumed it was middle eastern terrorists behind it?
9/11 happened because our airport security was only looking for things that had already proven dangerous. Box cutters hadn't been used as a weapon, so no one cared. They weren't thinking ahead to what COULD proven dangerous in the future.
To assume that someone is safe because their name sounds American is courting a new disaster.
Wanita Aug 27th 2008 5:14PM
My husband always sets off the alarms because he has wires in his chest from open heart surgery, and always has to open his shirt to show his scars and be scanned again.