Guiding a dive group of 83 people through security screening heading to the Cayman Islands, including 15 people with disabilities, can be stressful on both sides of the X-ray conveyer belt.
Having to do it twice because of a rescheduled flight could have been unnerving for the members of the Denver Adaptive Divers (DAD), if not for the help of Denver International Airport (DEN) TSA Manager Nahzat Bellagh and the passenger support specialists (PSS) and officers who volunteered to help.
DAD, a specialized scuba diving training program providing open water diver certification to people with disabilities, was confronted with a last-minute change in plans at the gate when bad weather forced the cancellation and rebooking of their flight until the next day.
“It was such a stressful day and much of it was out of our control,” said Ray Brienza, one of the DAD certified instructors, “but for all the chaos of the trip, the TSA team in Denver was fabulous. They were such a great help to our group and even came to the gate to make sure everything was good.”
While DAD’s administrators hustled to secure last-minute hotel accommodations close to the airport for the group, Bellagh started working on his own plan B. Once the new flight was booked, he worked fast to brief a second PSS team with the group’s requirements which included travelers in wheelchairs and scooters.
“I had less than two hours to put the team together and made sure they knew what the expectation was,” said Bellagh. “I was in constant conversation with the team lead and made it happen. Our officers are extremely flexible and always willing to help when needed.”
The initial notification about DAD’s specific needs or their PSS request didn’t get to the DEN screening operations the usual way, however.
“We were not aware of TSA Cares,” said DAD Co-founder, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director John Sherman. He didn’t know PSS officers, who have received specialized training to effectively assist and communicate with individuals with disabilities or medical conditions, were available to help his group. “We’ve flown to dive destinations for years and didn’t know such a resource existed.”
Instead, an ad hoc, TSA word-of-mouth referral system helped connect the group to DEN leadership. A TSA employee (who had a relative on the DAD support staff and was aware of the PSS service) contacted another employee who was positioned to alert DEN Stakeholder Manager Carie Muirhead. Muirhead communicated the request to DEN screening operations, and Bellagh picked up the assignment from there.
Out of the 15 adaptive divers along for this year’s Cayman trip, 13 were certifying for their first open water dive.
“It takes thousands of volunteer hours to prepare an adaptive diver for the experience,” said Sherman of the dedication and passion of the staff and students.
The disabled individual is first introduced to scuba diving in a controlled pool setting. If that experience goes well, hours of training can lead to an open water dive alongside an instructor. DAD fundraises, provides scholarships to qualified participants and takes numerous dive trips throughout the year, but for those 15 divers, all that mattered was this Cayman adventure.
To help them reach their destination, TSA Officers Jason Blair, Laura Pawlik, Karen Klein and Jazmine Padilla, and Supervisory Officers Zachary Johnson and Traci Elpers volunteered on short notice and provided an excellent customer experience the group appreciated.
On the second pass through security the next day, the anxious divers were pumped and ready to get going.
“The group was directed to an existing opened lane; however, we kept them together and directed other passengers to other lanes until DAD was through screening,” explained Bellagh.
Although successfully moving through TSA security is a small part of the DAD’s experience, the smooth journey through the DEN checkpoint reduced travel stress and helped amp up the excitement and enthusiasm of the participants. The officers were touched as well.
“The mother of a passenger who was recently paralyzed from the neck down asked for assistance,” said Johnson. “He hadn’t flown since his injury. I assured her I would assist him and make screening as easy and simple as possible. I could tell he was very nervous, so I took my time and explained everything to put him at ease.”
When asked about his PSS service, Johnson said, “The world is becoming a selfish place. People need to remember how to treat one another. TSM Bellagh has always come to me for these groups because he knows I take pride in them and always provide good outcomes.”
“Every officer involved in the screening process stated the group was extremely appreciative of what TSA DEN did for them,” said Bellagh. “They felt like they were a part of the adventure with the group and had a strong sense of achievement by helping them.”
Sherman said DAD will seek out PSS support whenever possible from now on.
“Having a friendly face going through security is important for our group. Officers went the extra mile and escorted us to the gate. It was tremendously helpful, and we look forward to contacting TSA Cares in the future.”
By Karen Robicheaux, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs