What was your most embarrassing airport/airplane experience? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Gaby Martino , Consultant, on Quora:
I travel for work a lot. like a LOT. At least every other week. Usually I get off the plane at my destination, get in a cab and have to go straight to a meeting with no time to change, so I have to fly in business professional attire. Generally that means (for me at least) slacks and a blouse or blazer. My most recent trip however, was to Miami, and it was going to be H-O-T. So I wore a nice skirt and sheer black pantyhose. Sensible, one would assume? I get to TSA screening, take out my laptop, place my carefully prepacked quart sized bag of liquids, etc like the seasoned traveler I am, in the bins, place my briefcase on the conveyer belt, go into the scary tube to be scanned. Then it happens.
“Ma’am, please step to the side” the bored looking but still polite TSA lady commands.
I am shocked. ME?? I am 5′1″ and the least dangerous looking person ever. I comply. She gestures at the body scanner read out. my groin area is lit up like a Christmas tree. It looks like I am smuggling hamsters or something in there.
“Ma’am do you have anything under you skirt” she asks in a leading way.
My southern debutante upbringing is horrified. “Oh my goodness. NO!”
“Would you like a pat down here or in private?” Well the entire retinue of business men behind me are already hoping for a show of me getting fondled so I opted for the private pat down.
They go through a whole ‘I am going to use the back of my hand like thats any better than groping you with the front of my hand’ schpiel and finally she finishes and of course, I am not hiding hamsters or anything else illegal or dangerous. The TSA lady leans in, like we are girlfriends and are whispering beauty secrets, and goes “A lot of times Pantyhose and Spanx or other compression type clothing make it look like you are smuggling things under your clothing. The scanner cannot detect them correctly. That is probably why it flagged you.”
So I got flagged at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, the world’s busiest airport, for wearing PANTYHOSE. I am so glad the skies are safer because ladies trying to be fashionable or trying to look slimmer by wearing Spanx get pulled aside and patted down.
So from now on I keep my pantyhose (or spanx, because sometimes girls gotta wear em too!) in my briefcase and put them on in the ladies room AFTER TSA screening.
And tomorrow I have an appointment for TSA Pre Check so I never ever have to worry about it again.
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