Midland Int’l Airport Claims Travelers ‘Enjoy’ TSA Enhanced Pat Down
With the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) “enhanced pat down” screening process last week many travelers have complained that they feel violated by the TSA Transportation Security Officer’s (TSO) touching their body.
With the new ‘enhanced pat down’ TSOs are allowed to placed their hands, palms forward, between a travelers legs, touch a woman’s breasts, feel under a male’s genitals and essentially anywhere else they see fit to inspect travelers for contraband items. As complaints about this new TSA procedure spread throughout various news outlets, one story stood out.
This story does not stand out because of the passenger complaint … but because of the response to a passenger complaint by the airport itself.
Midland-Odessa’s NewsWest 9 reported on one passenger, Beverly Ferguson, flying from Midland International Airport (MAF) stating “I was violated, I have never felt so humiliated in all my life,” after she claims a TSA TSO felt under her dress, then felt her from back to front with her arms and legs spread open.
While this passenger’s complaint is aimed at the TSA, Marvin Esterly, the Director of Midland International Airport, directly responded it. Mr. Esterly responded by stating “I think this is the first time that I’ve heard of anybody that didn’t enjoy the experience, coming through the terminal building, and of course, we’re concerned about that.”
Quite honestly … it is just astounding that an airport director can even begin to think that passengers “enjoy the experience.” If anyone believes passengers “enjoy the experience,” be they TSA administrators, TSOs, airport administrators, etc, they should reevaluate their view of the industry they are working in.
Mr. Esterly’s comment shows how disconnected many in the commercial air travel industry from their passengers, who are their customers … and his comment just leaves me pretty darn close to speechless.
Happy Flying!
Speechless is about right, which seems to be the public response to this absolute disgusting violation of freedom. How come we aren’t more p**sed off about this? I would think we would be planning protests or something by now…
Yes. Yes. I’m sure we’ll enjoy the cavity searches as well.
Too absurd? Give it time.
It’s -all- worth it to save one life from the evil doers.
Think of a strip club: the performers dressed as law enforcement officers have lots of admirers, who would give anything to get an ‘enhanced pat down’. Now if the director of MAF was before this position the director of a strip club (or is a frequent visitor of this kind of establishment), he might not be able to make the difference between the 2 kinds of uniforms.
Either that, or the TSA employees at MAF are professional strippers who round their income working for the TSA, in which case, after the ‘enhanced pat down’ they might throw in a special strip number 🙂
If the latter’s the case, then I think the airport’s number of customers will skyroket within a few days 🙂
Isn’t this headline misleading? The whole quote which is in this article is from the airport manager, who is basically saying “everyone likes our airport except for this security process, which is generating our only complaints about the entire airport visit.”
You have to read the entire sentence. He’s NOT saying people enjoy the pat-downs.
Readers: try A little harder. Fish: don’t take stuff out of context just to role people up.
Patti,
The whole quote, as reported by NewsWest9 is what I have in my post. You can read the NewsWest9 story here – http://bit.ly/cS1EIY
I have searched and cannot find the complete quote as you have posted above. Can you please post a link to the entire quote?
Thank you.
Happy Flying!
-Fish