So you don't have a doctor's note?

“THEY LET ME THROUGH IT’S THEIR FAULT I’M GONNA SUE YOU” and the person loses their job

That's not liability on the gate agent, its liability on the airline (which needs processes for adjudicating when to ask and to document the answer).

This is something that's supposed to happen during the ticket sale process, not the moment-before-you-get-on-the-plane.

It is literally not this agent's job to probe. And if she's worried about liability, harassing a woman who doesn't qualify for her investigation is a bigger liability concern, particularly if she delays the flight or tries to boot the passenger.

Sounds like it isn't hypothetical, pregnant liars ruining things for decent people, but the real acual people who implemented the shitty, unclear policy that requires TSA agents to just harass all visibly pregnant women.

Like, shit. Just add "if you're under 28 weeks you need documentation to prove that" to the policy, so the whole thing can't be foiled by an incredibly easy lie.

That's not how this works. She could also have been fat and not pregnant. She would obviously not be required to prove that in that circumstance.

The rules are clear, she was compliant, the airline agent wasn't.

Yes, its the shitty asshole liar, not the fact our entire system of recompense and accountability is fucking unhinged. I'm so glad we agree.

And keeping that system instead of any better social fprm, well, sometimes you gotta deprive innocent usually marginalized people of their autonomy; it's just a 'cost'. Cant beat a puppy to death without havin a few orgasms, amirite?

which is why the policy is dumb. it should be a document proving you're under 28w OR a doctor's note that says you're fine to fly.

You can't sue someone because you made a dumb choice and lied.

Liars are everywhere. And we all have to do our own duty (to ourselves) to spot it/set passwords/monitor bank receipts/ keep up to date/ etc.. No, it Doesn't make it right that there are so many con artists out there(and they should absolutely be held accountable) but in this case it’s their literal job to observe and hold to rules and maintain their sector: they can’t take that failure to hold to a rule in a reasonable way out on everyone else.

I try the ‘if this were a date’ metaphor to see who really is the irrational person in the situation.

This situation in dating would be like if a person went around to people saying ‘prove to me you’re not going to be a manipulative asshole’ and post ‘no manipulative assholes allowed’ on their profile as their strategy to weed out assholes. But really it’s just weaseling out of duty to set healthy boundaries or taking on any observational work when shit comes up. It’s lazy. That person would be seen as the one with the problem and shirking every personal responsibility to monitor their own life, looking for ways to pass their responsibility to their own happiness and security onto everyone else.

If it sounds like it would be insane if it were a dating strategy: they are in the wrong.

In this case the person is literally being paid to monitor and take responsibility over security and they still shirked their basic responsibility pushing it entirely on the target to prove to them that they are secure despite the paperwork (set by their own standard of rules) was not required.

if anything : anyone using that excuse of someone bucking the system should be talking to management to let them know the rules are not secure as they are. Perhaps they require passengers to hold the paper to say they are allowed to travel. eg: like they do with passports. A doctor’s note acknowledging they are pregnant and what week they are in so they can compare to the rules might do better here rather than the other way around.

I did that once at a birthday party. 21 weeks pregnant and someone asked when I was due. The look of horror was priceless. I had a good laugh and so did she. Her friends were in the toilets (ladies public bathroom) just about, or maybe did, wet themselves from laughing at the overheard conversation.

What are they going to do? Force you to provide an exact date and time of conception?

You greatly overestimate the competency of TSA rent-a-cops.

Though, the mentioned suggestion would absolutely fail considering most airports do x-rays now. Also, if you're pregnant, kinda want to disclose that due to the whole x-ray thing.

Being inconvenienced over nonexistent rules is disrespectful

It's easy to be chill when you don't consider other people's experiences to be valid.

Did you know that sometimes you can choose not to reply to people on the internet?

I thought I was going to die on a plane during depressurization once. My head literally felt like it was going to pop from my forehead and the pain was so immense I hunched over as to not cause panic in the aircraft.

It had happened a couple other times before this particular instance where the front of my head felt immense pressure during the planes decent. It also caused major headaches that lasted several days after the incident.

I looked it up after this event and made an immediate appointment with my doctor. Turns out some 10% of men can be affected by this where fluid builds up in your forehead "sinus pouches" I'll call them, and during the planes decent it will depressurize. During depressurization this fluid will push against your brain. You can see a similar action with a half filled waterbottle during this time. They implode a little bit. That's what was happening to my head.

My doctor prescribed me a nasal spray I need to take 30 minutes before take off to drain my sinus. It's worked ever since.

And adding to that: Depending on the flight you might be hours away from a suitable landing location with usually no medical personell or medical supplies beyond some band-aids available.

If something goes wrong, even unrelated to pressure, oxygen or cramped environment, you might be stuck up there for a very long time before you can get to a hospital.

I suppose the airlines want that for liability reasons. But I'm curious of 'why' pregnant women need a doctor's note and not, say, folks with heart conditions then. Are there other groups that require some authority figure to give them medical permission to fly or do we only not trust pregnant women to listen to their doctors?

The liability thing is definitely part of it but it ain't good news for anyone involved if that thing decides to pop out over the Pacific.

“Take your time, I’m pregnant”

All of that is well and good. But I'd still spend a teeny tiny bit of energy to say "Next time let me handle it, or back me up. I need a partner, not a ref." If mama's going in, help or get out of the way.

Yeah in most places airlines have zero obligation to actually put you on a flight. If you start to raise your voice, act upset, cause a scene, it nearly always results in your ticket(s) getting cancelled and airport security getting called. Don't let a braindead airline agent ruin your travel plans, it's not worth it

These aren't actually cops. They have as much authority as a mall rent-a-cop. They have no authority to make arrests. The most they can do is report you to the FTC (I think this is the right alphabet org.) and get you banned from flying.

I think meant agent like flight attendant, not like air marshall, although I would be okay with giving them this authority.

Getting on the airplane is way more important than feeling superior to a bottom-rung worker.

They also don’t want people giving birth on planes. Makes a bit of a mess and cleaning up delays the next flight

So? That’s what liability wavers are for.

I don’t buy that explanation. Why would that dose of radiation be more harmful to a more developed fetus?

The crew just doesn’t want to deal with a mother spontaneously giving birth, and the airline doesn’t want to deal with the paperwork of taking off with n passengers and landing with n+1. And no-one wants to find out the nationality of a baby born over the Atlantic.

Bullshit. The dose is so minimal as to be inconsequential.

after all that drama, an actual answer LOL

but still, fuck everything about flying

That's not it at all. It's mostly the acceleration and turbulence that can potentially damage the fetus, the same reason they shouldn't ride rollercoasters.

How long was the flight though? Were you staying within say... three hours of travel or was it crossing the Pacific or going to like...Florida...which are both over 7hrs? The flight length and where you're travelling to can be a factor in whether they ask for documentation or not.

Conservatives are a tax everyone else has to pay 😞

Also in the "factual but getting punched" category of responses would be: "No, I'm not saying you're a liar. You don't need to be a liar to still be in the wrong."

I've also heard people use it who weren't lying, they were simply incorrect, and conflating those two concepts.

Someone saying that is looking for a fight. I just say yes and try to block the punch.

Given what passes for a "truther" nowadays, I'd be more than happy to hear that 🙏

holy shit i noticed that… every customer service agent just assumes you’re lying and trying to scam them; there’s no benefit of the doubt… prove it or shut up and stop wasting company time

what ever happened to having a reputation for good customer service being a positive business attribute in and of itself?

That was trains going over 40km/h, not planes, wasn't it?

Its true, I've seen it happen with my own eyes.

This is true. I'm a doctor and got my medical degree from Giliad Holiness University Hospital and Church.