Delta's new policy/procedure

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hall1343
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Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by hall1343 »

Delta Airlines has a new policy in place ("new" as in, "started in the last 2-3 weeks") that is apparently in response to the Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting. I flew Delta last week and when I checked my bag and declared an unloaded firearm, they said that I would pickup my bag from Delta's Baggage Claim office and that it would be "zipped tied closed". I said "huh... ok.... whatever." thinking that they would be putting zip ties through the zippers (as others here have done to know if/when someone opens their bag.

When I got to West Palm Beach (PBI) and went to the Delta Baggage Claim office I got there before my bag did so I gave the agent my bag # and told her what it looked like. She took 1 LARGE zip tie (about 24"-30" long) with her and shortly returned for another one. After several minutes she appeared with my bag (unfortunately I didnt get a picture of THIS one but I did when I finally got home). In PBI they simply went AROUND the girth of the back. Back in Columbus they went around the girth and length of the bag. Neither one prevented me from UNZIPPING the bag (with the zip ties on it) and removing both locked (and cabled) secure cases (one of which contained the knife I used to remove said zip ties).
Image

The return trip became a bit of a fiasco. We arrived at the airport 1.5 hours early, checked in and I waited at the ticketing counter for ~15 minutes and didnt hear anything so we made our way through TSA and to the gate where we remained until we eventually boarded (and checked 2 more bags) - and no, TSA isnt up by the ticket counter so I couldnt watch my bag get processed :cry: ). Once on the plane (and within 5-10 minutes of take off) a Delta Gate agent come on board and said that TSA needed me :evil: . That agent couldnt direct me to TSA so I headed back to find a TSA agent and, in the process, found a Sheriff's deputy we 'fast-walked' me to the TSA agent that I needed. TSA said that they had been asking Delta to page me for 45 minutes. He TOOK MY KEYS and opened the bag/case outside of my presence (which I politely pointed out was against Federal regulations and he agreed but said "thats how its done at PBI"). Needless to say I missed my flight that night...

The Deputy helped me to retrieve my bag (which Delta zip tied again) but he allowed me to inspect the contents before I left PBI for the evening. He agreed that what Delta does is stupid/pointless and even said that Delta now calls Deputy's to escort the passenger out of the terminal with their zip tied bag(s).

When I returned to the Delta counter at PBI the next morning (with zip ties still on!) the ticket agent asked me to remove them so she could start the "unloaded firearm" procedure over again. I asked her what I should remove the zip ties with since Delta put them on :wink: , her response was "I dont know - I dont have anything but these 2 inch scissors and they certainly wont work but we HAVE to get them off of there so you can remove the firearm for inspection." I told her that I could remove them if she agreed to allow me into the bag to retrieve be secured knife. "Um, ok, if you can do that." 30 seconds later I had the ties removed. :shock: After filling out the required paperwork we had the Delta Skycap escort me to the TSA office so it could be inspected immediately (once again, turning over the keys to an agent who agreed it was a Federal violation to do so) and TSA was happy. I had a quick conversation with her to see what could/should be done differently to avoid this hassle in the future - "Nothing, in fact... you dont have to remove the slide/barrel - just leave it in one piece and you can leave ammo in the mags (just no mags in the gun) and leave the mags in with the firearm. Our machine here just sucks and cant xray it well enough for us to tell if its unloaded. You did great though - have a nice day and a great flight!." It made me feel great that PBI knowingly violates the Federal law by taking people keys, can't xray firearms as well as other locations (CMH had no problem with my locked case and verifying the firearms status), and yet is the airport that President Trump lands at on a regular basis now. :?

When we finally returned to Columbus, the lady in the Delta Baggage Claim in CMH agreed that the zip ties are pointless and a waste of time (that it stops NOTHING).

In the future (since I'll probably be visiting PBI regularly since my grandchildren live there now) I'll put a note on my case along with the orange tag telling the TSA agent that i'll be waiting outside their door for them before I proceed through the TSA checkpoint en route to the gate.
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WY_Not
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by WY_Not »

You are not having nearly enough fun with these idiots. Arrive plenty early and then flat out refuse to turn over the keys or allow the firearm/case out of your presence until it is locked again. Force them to follow the law. :twisted:
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by sd790 »

That's a crazy experience. Thanks for sharing it. I heard Cam Edwards talking about Delta's new policy last week. It's just another reason to not fly.
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by Cosmos »

If you have to fly back to PBI, I suggest using a different airline to avoid the extra hassle. Unless you want to have some fun as others suggested.
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hall1343
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by hall1343 »

It's not really any more hassle flying INTO PBI with Delta than flying into another destination with Delta. The extra hassle with Delta and PBI is flying out (because apparently their scanning equipment sucks as much as their inability to follow the law).

Also, just as a reminder to anyone flying into any destination in Florida (via Delta or any other airline) - Florida does NOT allow carrying inside ANY part of the airport (sterile or non-steril).
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by gaptrick »

Trouble is, it won't be fun when they say we don't give a #$%&, miss your flight if you want...
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hall1343
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by hall1343 »

So I reached out to the NRA-ILA to see if they could help "encourage" PBI to follow the Federal Regulations. I've also reached out to the TSA (who has forwarded my concern on to the manager of TSA at PBI - no response from them yet.

Here is the NRA-ILA's response:

Thank you for contacting us on this. TSA regulations while written in one way are applied with a wide range of divergence and discretion based on regional issues and the physical space provided at individual airports. In short they are allowed a certain amount of room to “wing it”. We have tried to address this before and the change of administration alone is not likely to alter this situation because of physical layouts in certain airports. If you have not encountered this procedure elsewhere it is likely because the Palm Beach FL airport is a notorious hub for gun smuggling into Latin America and anyone using that airport while traveling with a gun will get “special attention”. While we are not satisfied with the current situation hopefully this clarifies the issues somewhat for you.
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by ArmedAviator »

Sadly it's true about the TSA regional "winging it" nonsense. It is incredibly annoying.

Sounds like this would have been an issue on any airline in PBI, not just Delta. I'd still make them follow the same law that we have to abide by as well although you'll be inconveniencing yourself far more than the TSA goons.

The zip ties thing is awfully silly, though. You should intentionally point out to them after they take the time to zip tie it closed with an "oh wait, let me pull something out that I forgot" and prove that it doesn't help. Just do it for the laughs.
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hall1343
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by hall1343 »

ArmedAviator wrote: The zip ties thing is awfully silly, though. You should intentionally point out to them after they take the time to zip tie it closed with an "oh wait, let me pull something out that I forgot" and prove that it doesn't help. Just do it for the laughs.
Yup, that was EXACTLY what I did JUST TO PROVE THE POINT the next morning - "You guys zipped tied this closed and now YOU want in it and YOU can't get in (with your silly little "sewing kit scissors" but **I** can get in there for you using something contained in there." :lol:

It made me feel a LITTLE better about the entire fiasco.... :mrgreen:
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by WY_Not »

And would be worth it if one is flying on really low cost ticket going somewhere you don't have to be. If I was in FL I'd have no issues spending a hundred or two on a ticket to do this just to screw with them. Then explain to the ticket counter that you missed your flight because you refused to commit a criminal act. Then call the local LEOs and explain to them that you have a couple of people here committing crimes; you pay for 911, you might as well make use of it. Then tell all of this to the local news (if they'll listen).

Or really ramp up the fun and get a group of people to do this.
gaptrick wrote:Trouble is, it won't be fun when they say we don't give a #$%&, miss your flight if you want...
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Re: Delta's new policy/procedure

Post by dustymedic »

I've been avoiding Delta for years because of lousy customer service and flight schedules that didn't meet mine. I guess I have another reason to avoid them///
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