Airport security

I  just went through security at terminal 2 and terminal 3 Sydney airport. All staff (6) are untrained in understanding that people with pacemakers can not go through scanner. I am standing there, shoes off,  waiting to be told where to go for a frisk, and staff are telling me to walk through the scanner! I'm standing there, shaking my head saying "no". Then finally, a female came to frisk, and luckily when I asked her to change her gloves before touching me, she was ok about it. Warning, don't trust airport staff with your heart. (I'm  100% paced and sensitive to magnets, good on you if you have a pacemaker and plow through, this is a warning to other). 

5 Comments

scanner

by Tracey_E - 2022-06-09 09:52:09

Current advice from the device manufacturers is that it is safe for us to walk through. If you prefer not to that's your prerogative, however it doesn't sound to me like they are improperly trained. It's been 5+ years since advice to us was not to walk through. 

also

by Tracey_E - 2022-06-09 09:53:18

If it was a 3D scanner, the one where you stand on the footprints and raise your arms, they do not use magnets. Those are xray technology and have always been safe for us. 

Fear no airport

by Gotrhythm - 2022-06-09 17:19:18

Check out the post "Airport travel" by Skigrl3. Just a few posts below yours. You'll see a discussion of this issue of airport security, with input from people from several countries.

Mainly, I hope you'll realize you are not alone in having a pacemaker or being 100% paced.

Everyone's pacemaker is sensitive to magnets, but at Tracey says, the 3D scanners have no magnets. Ergo, no problem.

As for being 100% paced, well, airport security holds no risks there either. Partly because of the scanning equipment, partly because you pacemaker's programming has ways to recover in the unlikely chance that something could momentarily pertube it.

For comparrison,think about computers. Remember how in the old days a power failure could be a disaster and cause you to lose anything you were working on? But these days, at worst there's a momentary flicker of the screen, and then everthing goes on without even a hiccup? Sometimes you notice the room lights flicker, but nothing changes on the computer at all. Our modern pacemakers are like that.

 

Airport

by ROBO Pop - 2022-06-15 18:28:20

I found the guy in airport security frisking me was higher risk to...well never mind.

You should have gotten a booklet along with your device that spells out that it is safe to go through airport security. If you didn't get that booklet contact you dr and ask for one or contact the mfr and you'll get one at no charge

100 percent

by dwelch - 2022-06-25 02:06:32

100 percent paced does not necesarily mean 100% dependent.  And magnets are not going to stop the device they will put it in battery mode which fixes the rate somewhere safe/normal.  The fields in those machines are not that strong, they would have to be significantly larger, think MRI.

Im 100% paced for over 30 years.  Walked through them before, no problem.  Even had one or two wand me over the device, no affect.  If you go through a metal detector and it sets it off (been there done that), then explain then despite their lack of knowledge, etc, they might give a lecture as they pat you down.  

For metal detectors, jsut tell them get the pat down.  For the xray ones even if you tell them they will just say it is safe and send you through.

You know you're wired when...

Your old device becomes a paper weight for your desk.

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