I got this from a member who got the information verbally at TSA.
Useful for insulin pump users who travel to know:
"Wanted to send this to you direct. TSA will be starting their new security procedures on Friday. If you beep on the metal detector or if they see your pump they will swab your hands and pump and you will have to go thru the New Agressive pat down. They won't be wanding any more except for some special conditions and pumpers don't fit this condition."
The terrorists have apparently won. If I have to be put through an aggressive pat down to fly because I am a diabetic with an insulin pump, I just won’t fly. This is absolutely ridiculous!
Agree, Michelle, they have won. Swabbing hands & pump isn’t enough of an intrusion, but to be aggressively patted down as well. I remember when there were civil rights. We’re now assumed guilty until proven innocent.
This is pretty much the treatment I received last month even though my pump did NOT set off the detector either time… they swabbed my hands, and my pump, and searched me.
I fly 3-4 times a month on average. I also use an Animas ping, which has always set off the alarms during screening. I used to check my bg, bolus a tiny amount if necessary, remove the pump, place it in a baggie and then ask for a hand inspection, which is currently still allowed, but found that it is just far easier for me to place it in my carry-on bag for the few minutes it takes to pass through security. I then put it back on while putting my shoes back on in the security area, or in the restroom, which for me is far less desirable from a sanitary standpoint.
As far as I can tell, here are the current guidelines. Of course it’s definitely possible that they will change tomorrow or at any point in the future.
TSA Guidelines for Travelers with Disabilities and Medical Conditions (Diabetes Section)
Wow. My pump (Minimed 722) doesn’t set off the alarm. A TSA agent once told me that if I hid it in a pocket, they wouldn’t keep pulling me out to be swabbed. That’s worked for me for the past year.
I don’t pump, but just flew through Ft. Lauderdale, FL a la the New Rules. Ugh! I usually ask for my case with my meter, syringes and insulin vials to be hand inspected rather than go through x-ray as it has killed past meters. This apparently set off the total security treatment. I got the full body scan, a pretty rude pat-down, and then they swabbed the entire contents of my kit and the vials–including the tops! They also did some kind of new scan with a lightbox on the vials separately. The whole mess was handed back to me with God knows how many germs on it. The only thing they let me do was handle the syringes myself. Geez.
At O’Hare in Chicago, they barely glanced at the kit and rushed me through the metal detector only. Go figure!
I find that security at the larger airports easier to deal with than the smaller ones. I assume it’s due to a combination of more people to deal with, and the agents being more accustomed to seeing people with pumps simply because more people come through the larger airport. Some smaller airport agents have never seen a pump before, and they have no idea what they should do. As a result, they tend to be a little more aggressive as far as taking precautions. I always carry a copy of the TSA guidelines with me. Sometimes dealing with security is a hassle, but then again, I’d rather be safe…
I travel alot. I put my Omnipod PDM, Dexcom receiver, cell phone in my back pack with all my other supplies. Not once qustioned. I’ll let you know how next week goes.
This is exactly my experience, too. My guess is the airports in larger towns aren’t really going to enforce this because of the time it takes but small-town airports will jump at the chance to do an “aggressive pat-down” (I mean, really? Aggressive? Like, I’m going to get fondled?) and at swabbing things for explosives. Fortunately I live in a big city and rarely travel to smaller towns, so I’m hoping I’m cool. I also wear a pod which makes my chances of getting fondled by TSA folks very slim.
Ask for a pat down. They cannot MAKE you walk through. People with metal in their head and those in wheelchairs can’t - they make an accomodation. They will do the same for you if you ask.
That’s weird that you Ping sets the detector off a lot. I don’t travel as much as you but I travel fairly frequently and my Ping has only set off the detector one time. I did have to go through a pretty thorough search when it did though.
