After the events of 9/11, all flight attendants were fingerprinted and received a new and thorough FBI background check.
Applicants applying to the TSA do not go through such an investigation. They receive a CREDIT CHECK, according to a former TSA agent, who's now commercial airline pilot.
A background that would disqualify an applicant from being a flight attendant would not prohibit a person from being employed by the TSA.
Bet that make you all feel so much safer now, huh?
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A flight attendant and cancer survivor has revealed her horror at being forced to show her prosthetic breast to a security agent during a pat-down at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Cathy Bossi from South Charlotte has been a flight attendant for over 30 years and has worked for U.S. Airways for the past 28 years.
She said she was asked to go through the full body-scanners at the airport in early August which she was reluctant to do because of fears of the radiation from the machine passing through her body.
The 3-year-breast cancer survivor agreed, but was then asked by two female Charlotte TSA agents to go to a private room for further screening, and they began what Ms Bossi described as an aggressive pat down.
She said they stopped when they got around to feeling her right breast - the one she had lost through her illness.
Ms Bossi said: 'She put her full hand on my breast and said, 'What is this?'. And I said, 'It's my prosthesis because I've had breast cancer.' And she said, 'Well, you'll need to show me that'.'
She was then apparently asked to remove the prosthetic breast from her bra and show it to the TSA agents.
'I did not take the name of the person at the time becaue it was just so horrific an experience, I couldn't believe someone had done that to me. I'm a flight attendant. I was just trying to get to work'.
Ms Bossi has since contacted the Legislative Affairs Team provided through her flight attendant union because she wants to see a crackdown on personal pat-downs.
'There are blowers and there are dogs out there that can sniff out bombs', she said. 'There's no reason to have somebody's hands touching your body parts.'
A TSA representative said although agents are allowed to ask to see and touch any passengers' prosthetic, they are not supposed to be removed and will investigate this matter.
Another woman is also comparing her experience at Lambert Airport in St. Louis to being sexually assaulted.
'There are blowers and there are dogs out there that can sniff out bombs'
When I got off a train going from Malaysia to Singapore, we had to go out of the train thru a fenced in area - outside the fence, there were cops with police dogs. They are looking for drugs. It was fairly efficient, though intimidating - we just walked thru to the station.
I've also seen the dogs being used in the airports in the US - they don't have to get that close to you.