Way back in 2008, then-newbie ProPublica reporter Michael Grabell submitted a public records request for filed complaints made against the TSA. But maybe the TSA was too busy strip-searching senior citizens and evacuating airports over unchecked babies to respond, because it wasn't until this week that Grabell received 87 pages of documented TSA-directed ire. Hey, we thought getting through baggage claim took forever!
While the four-year-old files show a number of complaints we've come to expect the TSA to amass—one complainant said her wheelchair-bound elderly mother fell at Orlando International Airport after being asked to walk through security, while another noted that agents screaming at passengers at San Francisco International Airport had humiliated his blind nephew—some of the complaints were far more entertaining. We've picked ten gems for your sampling pleasure:
- "Writer is complaining that she believes that her abnormally low weight is the reason she gets checked more often than her sister who is normal weight."
- "Writer would like to know if TSA has souvenirs for her aviation collection."
- "Writer tried to open one of his bags and found that it locked on its own with the keys inside. He would like to know if there's any way to open the bag or should he just break it."
- "Writer would like to have an update on the Capuchin monkey detected by the airport x-ray machine."
- 2/28/2008 Consumer writes in regards to receiving a copy of the video "seven signs of terrorism" and would like to know where to order it.
- "Consumer is traveling to Memphis MEM from Minneapolis Airport MSP and would like to talk to someone by phone in regards to traveling with a fugitive from justice."
- "Consumer concerned about bird droppings at Dothan Airport DHN. Asking if they comply with game regulations and only shoot the birds allowed, can they bring an air rifle into the facility to do so."
- "Writer would like an explanation of why first class passengers are given special treatment when each passenger is paying the same amount of money."
- "Writer would like to know if he is allowed to take a urine sample as a carry-on and how would it be packaged."
- "Writer would like to know who is in charge of the TSA."
When Grabell asked the TSA about the time lapse in the files' release, a statement put out by spokeswoman Lorie Dankers apologized for the delay, noting that the agency receives an average of over 800 requests annually. "TSA currently is working on 12 requests that are more than three years old," the statement said. "The agency is working diligently to finalize and respond to these requests." Meanwhile, no word on whether 2008's complaint forms featured similar instructions to the ones customers receive these days.
