[Blindtlk] Blind Flyer Rights

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

Some of your questions are answered in an article in the May 2017  Braille 
Monitor:
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1705/bm170504.htm

If canes have significant metal parts, they will set off metal detectors. I 
suppose some folding canes
might do this, but I'm not sure. There is a long-standing misconception that 
even the solid fiberglass canes will set off a metal detector. They do, 
after all, have a metal tip. In most cases you can expect that your cane 
will be taken from you and run separately through the TSA's machines. They 
are pretty good about taking your hands and guiding you through their metal 
detector or the millimeter-wave scanner. No two airport experiences are 
exactly alike. Just be calm and follow instructions as much as possible. At 
least that's my advice.



Lloyd Rasmussen, Kensington, MD
http://lras.home.sprynet.com
-----Original Message----- 
From: Ellana Crew via blindtlk
Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2017 6:14 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Ellana Crew
Subject: [Blindtlk] Blind Flyer Rights

Hello there,

Does anybody have any definitive information about what the rights of blind 
flyers really are? I have heard so many mixed messages online and I would 
like to know for sure, especially if you can provide sources such as links 
to where this information is documented.

I'm fairly certain blind travelers have the right to keep the canes with 
them in the plane during the entire flight process as long as it is flat on 
the ground between the seat in the wall of the fuselage, but what about 
security? Is there an official stance on this? I have been told by some that 
I am not obligated to go through the metal detector without my cane, and I 
have heard that canes must be put through the scanner and given back to me 
before I am allowed to go through the metal detector with my cane safely 
returned to my hand, but I have heard others say that the canes will set off 
metal detectors and must be put through the scanners and I must walk through 
the metal detector without it. Even more confusing still, I have also heard 
some say that you can go through the metal detector with your cane but that 
there is a hand device they will use to scan the cane once you are through 
the metal detector. I have also heard someone mention that straight canes 
can go through the metal detector with you and will not set it off, but that 
folding canes will likely set off the metal detector and would likely have 
to be put through the scanner or scanned with the hand device after you go 
through the metal detector.

Does anybody know for certain what my rights are in security in regards to 
my cane? Do I have the right to go through the metal detector using my cane? 
Will my straight cane set off the metal detector? What about folding canes? 
If my cane sets off the metal detector, will I have to go through the metal 
detector again without it? Am I allowed to wait until my cane has gone 
through the scanner and has been safely returned to my hand before I stepped 
through the metal detector? Or are they supposed to let me go through with 
my cane and then scan my cane by hand somehow? Where can I find any 
documentation of these rights if there are any? I would very much like to 
have very definitive answers from people who know for certain so that I can 
firstly be more confident in my discussions with security agents, be more 
aware of my rights in general, and keep it as a reference for anybody else 
who may not know their rights as well.

Ellana Crew, Vice President
Maryland Association of Blind Students
Website: nfbmd.org/students
Facebook: facebook.com/mdabs.federation
Twitter: @MDABS_NFB

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the 
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles 
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; 
blindness is not what holds you back.
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