Cancer Patient Not Allowed To Board Plane Due To Her Changed Appearance

[AvesPKS]

Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel (4/22, Curtis) reports, "Athena LaPera finally flew out of Orlando International Airport on Wednesday night, two days after the cancer patient said security screeners refused to let her board a plane because she no longer looks like her ID photographs. A paralegal for a Denver law firm, she said she has lost weight and her hair because of chemotherapy treatments since the photos were taken for her U.S. passport and Colorado drivers license. 'I feel very degraded and angry,' the 35-year-old mother of two said earlier Wednesday. 'I was discriminated against just on the basis of having cancer. I mean, I've already had both of my breasts removed. I've gone through full-blown cancer.' She spent most of Tuesday trying to resolve the issue only to be told by a federal Transportation Security Administration employee that she needed new photos and a doctor's note to explain her changed appearance. ... 'Homeland Security has a problem with its screening process,' she said before boarding Flight 677 to home. TSA and Frontier Airlines blamed private security guards -- frequently mistaken by travelers as TSA employees -- for bumping the woman and her teenage son. The name of the security firm could not be confirmed Wednesday." According to the Sentinel, "LaPera said she arrived at the airport two hours early Monday for the 9:20 p.m. Frontier Airlines flight to Denver. ... The first of three screeners looked at her passport and drivers license and claimed they belonged to someone else, she said. 'My hair is just beginning to grow in. I explained that to them,' LaPera said." The Sentinel goes on to report, "She then saw a TSA agent in uniform standing behind her. 'And I said, "I need to talk to a TSA supervisor,"' she said. When the supervisor arrived, LaPera said the woman told her it was too late at night, she didn't have the authority to do anything and to call TSA officials the next morning. On Tuesday her frustration grew when she tried to contact TSA officials to complain but was unable to reach any TSA officials in Central Florida. After reaching TSA's Washington headquarters, LaPera said the employee who took her call told her she needed a new photo and a doctor's note." The Sentinel adds, "TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover said agency screeners never check travelers' boarding passes or identification and do not give advice to private security hired by the airlines. TSA checks only for prohibited objects that could endanger a flight, she said. Stover acknowledged that a TSA employee in Washington may have advised LaPera to get a new photograph."

 

[GoPackGo]

This is a tough call.

While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
This is a tough call.



While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo
This is a tough call.



While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

This is a tough call.







While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

How would it matter it if wasn't really her in the ID.

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

This is a tough call.







While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

How would it matter it if wasn't really her in the ID.

Are you 12? Lets see...if it wasn't her and she was trying board an airplane ILLEGALLY then she should go to jail.

You see its fraud and illegal.

Try giving a fake ID to the Police when you get pulled over or when you try and get into a bar...see how that works when you are busted.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo



This is a tough call.















While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

How would it matter it if wasn't really her in the ID.

Are you 12? Lets see...if it wasn't her and she was trying board an airplane ILLEGALLY then she should go to jail.



You see its fraud and illegal.



Try giving a fake ID to the Police when you get pulled over or when you try and get into a bar...see how that works when you are busted.

How would her having a fake ID have effected the safity of the air plane?

 

[GoPackGo]

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo



This is a tough call.















While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

How would it matter it if wasn't really her in the ID.

Are you 12? Lets see...if it wasn't her and she was trying board an airplane ILLEGALLY then she should go to jail.



You see its fraud and illegal.



Try giving a fake ID to the Police when you get pulled over or when you try and get into a bar...see how that works when you are busted.

How would her having a fake ID have effected the safity of the air plane?

Lets see...maybe she's a terrorist...or a criminal...hmm maybe she has florida warrants and not allowed to leave...tons of reasons...

My goodness...this topic really isn't that hard.

 

[Spencer278]

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo

Originally posted by: Spencer278

Originally posted by: GoPackGo







This is a tough call.































While I sympathize, I must say that the TSA probably did the right thing.

What differnece does it make if the person looks like the person in the picture. It not like the ID lets the person do anything special.

Are you serious? The ID lets them get on a plane or drive a car, or cash a check..etc...etc...nothing special inded!

How would it matter it if wasn't really her in the ID.

Are you 12? Lets see...if it wasn't her and she was trying board an airplane ILLEGALLY then she should go to jail.







You see its fraud and illegal.







Try giving a fake ID to the Police when you get pulled over or when you try and get into a bar...see how that works when you are busted.

How would her having a fake ID have effected the safity of the air plane?

Lets see...maybe she's a terrorist...or a criminal...hmm maybe she has florida warrants and not allowed to leave...tons of reasons...



My goodness...this topic really isn't that hard.

So terrorist can't get an ID?


Edit: stupid fusetalk adding blank lines

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Damn this is lame. The woman doesn't look like her picture due to loss of hair and weight loss. All you have to do is look at the frame of her face to see that it's the same person. Another option is to cover the hair in the photo. Haven't we had enough BS by *sic* airline security?

Take another picture and a note from the doctor?! BS . . . she should just fly another airline b/c that one is poo.

 

[dahunan]

Originally posted by: BaliBabyDoc
Damn this is lame. The woman doesn't look like her picture due to loss of hair and weight loss. All you have to do is look at the frame of her face to see that it's the same person. Another option is to cover the hair in the photo. Haven't we had enough BS by *sic* airline security?

Take another picture and a note from the doctor?! BS . . . she should just fly another airline b/c that one is poo.

Do Federal Screeners need more than a GED?

 

[UltraQuiet]

So the argument here is that even though you don't look like your picture ID that shouldn't stop you from getting on a plane? Is that really your argument? What exactly is the point of having a picture ID then?

They did exactly the right thing by not letting her on the plane.

 

[chess9]

Let's see, this is a case of poor judgment by an arm of the U.S. government. Normally, one would expect Libertarians and conservatives to be howling about the intrusiveness of government. Instead, political orthodoxy has been stood on its head thanks to the Neocons and their ability to conflate patriotism with blind obedience to authority. Do conservatives actually know WHAT they believe? Or, do no true conservatives exist in America?

Really, this is so lame I don't understand why it's even an issue. The private security firm and TSA screwed up badly. America is not being made safer by such boneheaded decisions.

Good grief...quit acting like we've been spared from another mass killer.

-Robert

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: chess9
Let's see, this is a case of poor judgment by an arm of the U.S. government. Normally, one would expect Libertarians and conservatives to be howling about the intrusiveness of government. Instead, political orthodoxy has been stood on its head thanks to the Neocons and their ability to conflate patriotism with blind obedience to authority. Do conservatives actually know WHAT they believe? Or, do no true conservatives exist in America?

Really, this is so lame I don't understand why it's even an issue. The private security firm and TSA screwed up badly. America is not being made safer by such boneheaded decisions.

Good grief...quit acting like we've been spared from another mass killer.

-Robert

My Hereos, they saved us from the Terrorist Cancer Lady.

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: dahunan

Originally posted by: BaliBabyDoc
Damn this is lame. The woman doesn't look like her picture due to loss of hair and weight loss. All you have to do is look at the frame of her face to see that it's the same person. Another option is to cover the hair in the photo. Haven't we had enough BS by *sic* airline security?

Take another picture and a note from the doctor?! BS . . . she should just fly another airline b/c that one is poo.

Do Federal Screeners need more than a GED?

Actually many TSA employees have a Masters and a few at DFW have a PhD. TSA does not screen IDs. That is done by a private company before luggage is accepted for screening. "Federal Screeners" are not the issue here.

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: chess9
Let's see, this is a case of poor judgment by an arm of the U.S. government. Normally, one would expect Libertarians and conservatives to be howling about the intrusiveness of government. Instead, political orthodoxy has been stood on its head thanks to the Neocons and their ability to conflate patriotism with blind obedience to authority. Do conservatives actually know WHAT they believe? Or, do no true conservatives exist in America?

Really, this is so lame I don't understand why it's even an issue. The private security firm and TSA screwed up badly. America is not being made safer by such boneheaded decisions.

Good grief...quit acting like we've been spared from another mass killer.

-Robert

My Hereos, they saved us from the Terrorist Cancer Lady.

The have saved a lot of asses that you will never hear about. Trust me on that one. Might have even been your own, that is if you fly.

 

[klah]

"You can't professionalize unless you federalize"