Westminster resident Jack Norris said he feels like a “second-class citizen,” every time he goes to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
“I?d rather go through hell than go through BWI airport,” said Norris, who is a frequent traveler
Norris, 69, has found himself in a situation familiar to many people who have orthopedic transplants ? the humiliation of the airport security line.
He said he has been harassed and molested as he tries to make his way through airport security because his two hip replacements keep setting off metal detectors.
Norris wants BWI and other airports to create a program allowing people with hip replacements, prosthetic implants and other transplants to register with the Transportation Security Administration to avoid being humiliated in airport security lines.
While the TSA is not considering such a program, it does have certain regulations governing how security workers should conduct searches of people with medical issues, said Amy Kudwa, TSA spokeswoman.
The TSA asks people with pacemakers, defibrillators and other metal implants to alert the screener to the existence of the device and ask the screener to be “discreet” when searching them.
Screeners are supposed to offer people with implants a private screening and passengers can also opt for a “pat-down” inspection, Kudwa said.
“We make every effort to make sure customers with special needs are treated well,” she said.
“… Screeners do need tosee and touch prosthetic devices as part of the screening.”
Researchers found that patients with implants are five times more likely to be stopped and searched post-Sept. 11 than they were before, according to a 2004 study by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
About 70 percent of device wearers surveyed had not been informed by authorities that their implants could set off security devices at all.
