Young Boy Harassed at Philadelphia Airport

posted on Feb 17 by Stacy in the Disability News, Opinion and Discussion category

Born 16 weeks prematurely 4 year old Ryan Thomas is developmentally delayed. He had just started walking last March when his family planned a trip to Disney World to celebrate his birthday. At the Philadelphia International Airport the TSA screener forced young Ryan to remove his braces and walk through the metal detector without the aid of his Mother. Ryans father asked to speak to a supervisor before they boarded their flight. It is reported that the supervisor stood by the screener.

An apology finally came last week from TSA’s security director Bob Ellis. The Philadelphia Inquirer was told that the boy should have been swabbed for traces of explosives in a private screening area in place of the action that was taken. The TSA has an official blog with a public forum sections. Travelers have cited previous problems when the agency made disabled people remove leg braces. In one incident in 2008, a woman in Seattle had to remove her braces and “stumble through the magnetometer.”