MCO Is currently a nightmare

[RustySpork]

I still don't get it. If the TSA agents manning the checkpoints thought there was a security incident, they should have locked down the checkpoint and not let anyone get closer to the airplanes. That's what they're there for.

I agree, I suspect they rushed in via the exit which only generally has one TSA employee.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Several people were told by TSA agents to go through without being screened after the incident occurred, not sure if that is true or not, but I could definitely see some people bypassing screening in the chaos. I read that all passengers in gates 70-129 then had to be brought back and rescreened before boarding?

 

[DisneyJoe]

From a friend who was there with her extended family, she was almost ready to be screened when it happened, but she hadn't been screened yet, it was a very loud noise, and many yelled RUN - so many did, including her. She took her child and was able to dash through and board the monorail which took her to the other side - if the guards there hadn't stopped everyone and told them to go back for screening, many could have boarded plans without being screened.

She was concerned about gunfire and her child being shot.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

From a friend who was there with her extended family, she was almost ready to be screened when it happened, but she hadn't been screened yet, it was a very loud noise, and many yelled RUN - so many did, including her. She took her child and was able to dash through and board the monorail which took her to the other side - if the guards there hadn't stopped everyone and told them to go back for screening, many could have boarded plans without being screened.

She was concerned about gunfire and her child being shot.

I can't imagine the trauma this caused to people who were in the immediate area.

This is exactly what I read from the media. At least if i'm not mistaken - TSA and other people told people to run, so they did, and every single person at the gates had to be brought back for re-screening.

 

[Weather_Lady]

From a friend who was there with her extended family, she was almost ready to be screened when it happened, but she hadn't been screened yet, it was a very loud noise, and many yelled RUN - so many did, including her. She took her child and was able to dash through and board the monorail which took her to the other side - if the guards there hadn't stopped everyone and told them to go back for screening, many could have boarded plans without being screened.

She was concerned about gunfire and her child being shot.

I'm sure that was why agents at the screening area were telling people to go ahead and run through - I don't wish for anyone here to ever have to hear what it sounds like when a body falls several floors and hits the ground, but it does sound like a gunshot. Your friend was doing what any sane person would do if they heard that noise in an airport.

 

[Tribal Prophet]

I'm sure that was why agents at the screening area were telling people to go ahead and run through - I don't wish for anyone here to ever have to hear what it sounds like when a body falls several floors and hits the ground, but it does sound like a gunshot. Your friend was doing what any sane person would do if they heard that noise in an airport.

I was there. Like others said, it was just chaos. People thought they heard a bomb go off, so they ran. TSA might have told some to run through for safety. It doesn’t matter, as they weren’t getting on the planes anyways. Everyone had to head back and be rescreened.

TSA working that day were amazing considering what they had seen (and the fact that they had to continue to do their jobs only a few feet from where their coworker had died). I mean the guy’s boot was still lying on the ground. Most people were understanding of the delays, but some passengers were exactly how you’d expect if you’ve read enough Disney stories (imagine the people who say “I wish my kid had cancer so they could skip the lines too” being told they screening was down because of a violent death that just happened.

The looks on some people’s faces who saw it happen though. Just pure white, mouths open, staring blankly ahead for hours. Poor kids who have to carry that with them for the rest of their lives.

 

[WDW Monorail]

Despite departing from MCO while the incident took place and witnessing the line to enter the secure area extending to the food court inbetween the A and B sides of the terminal, I have never spent to little time in a security line. Of course airsides 1 and 3 were unaffected so it took maybe 4-5 minutes to clear security at about 10:45am.

A week prior I flew from EWR and there were more TSA agents than there were passengers at the Terminal C C1 automated security checkpoint. It took less than 2 minutes to have my ID/boarding pass checked, backpack and body scanned despite being warned by the newscasters of long lines of 40 minutes to clear in to the secure area.

 

[RustySpork]

This seems very dangerous to me. If this had been a terror attack, I feel like doing what they did would have just made things worse. Do they have emergency exits in the immediate area that could have been used instead?

Everyone would have to evacuate using stairs, escalators, or elevators located on either side and/or through the center area into the food court. The area where the incident occurred is level 3 I believe.