TSA Tag Team
I was in line at the airport’s security checkpoint, waiting to go through the metal detectors. Since it was late at night, there was only one line open, but it wasn’t too bad since there were only five people in it. I was at the back of the line, and the two people in front of me were an elderly couple who were inexperienced flyers.
They were taking a bit of time getting undressed, taking out their liquids, etc., but I didn’t care since I had plenty of time to catch my flight. The line started moving, and the older gentleman scooted his bins up first. Out of nowhere, a middle-aged woman just cut into the space vacated by the older gentleman, separating him from his wife. You can tell that they were startled and a bit flustered.
However, they didn’t say anything because they were already intimidated by the whole checkpoint process. I didn’t have a problem confronting people, so I bravely stepped up to the plate. I tried to get the middle-aged woman’s attention. I said, “Excuse me, Miss”, but nothing happened, so I tried again, even louder. I knew I was loud enough since the three TSA agents on the other side and everyone else in line turned around to look at me.
However, the woman continued to play deaf, quickly putting her stuff in the bin and acting like she had done nothing wrong. By then, the older gentleman was at the front of the line, so I figured I’d just drop it. I didn’t want to get too worked up since I wanted to sleep on the flight, and at the end of the day, pushing the issue would just delay things for everyone.
I glared at the back of her head as she went through the metal detector, succumbing to my inability to fix things. Suddenly, as she exited the metal detector, a TSA agent stopped her before she could get to her belongings. At that moment, her karma was served—he pointed at the little glass box next to the metal detector, and she let out a loud “Really”?! She complied and entered the box.
A couple of minutes later, I was collecting my stuff on the other side of the checkpoint, and she was still in the box waiting to be searched. After putting on my shoes, an agent came by to collect my used bin. I looked up to say thanks and noticed it was the same guy who had stopped the woman. He broke out in a goofy grin and said under his breath, “Some people are just a bit too eager to get on the same flight as everybody else”.
I gave him a big grin of my own, took my suitcase off the belt, and happily proceeded to my terminal.