A 10-year-old girl from San Diego said she was left feeling uncomfortable after a U.S. Transportation Security Administration agent at an airport patted her down for nearly two minutes after she forgot her juice box in a carry-on bag.
The incident happened over the Christmas break when the Payne family was taking a plane back home from North Carolina. Vendela Payne, 10, said she had mistakenly forgotten her juice box in a carry-on bag in the security line. That was when Vendela was flagged for extra screening and was patted down by a female agent for almost two minutes, and her father, Kevin Payne, caught the whole thing on his cellphone.
Payne told KNSD News he’s all for extra security at airports, but the pat down was a little too long and left both him and his daughter feeling uneasy.
“It was an uncomfortable situation, Payne told KNSD.
Vendela agreed.
“I know it’s to keep everybody on the plane safe, but [the agent] kept patting me down. Pat down, pat down. It was like, over and over.”
A representative for the USTSA did not reply to the comments made by the Payne family.
Vendela said she hopes in the future agents will focus on those who are trying to harm others on planes and not focus their attention on children.
According to the USTSA website “TSA officers will work with parents to resolve any alarms at the checkpoint.” The website also states “TSA has modified screening procedures for children 12 and under that reduce the likelihood of pat-down screening.” No mention of the modified screening process was given.
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