Not saying I approve of TSA tactics or lack of courtesy, but I had a horrendous treatment from UKians at Heatherow when my daughter passed away. No sympathy no help. I had to wait in queue to check in, to go through security while weeping inconsolably. The concourse full of laughing young women embarking on May Day holiday was too much and if not for the extra staff on duty to deal with the overload of travellers, I would have been left standing their sobbing for several hours. Even Continental - Virgin would not let me into lounge unless I paid £50.

When my English husband and I arrived on American soil Dulles near Washington DC, immigration officer immediately took my husband out of foreign travellers queue and they checked him through quickly and provided escort to get us quickly through baggage collection and customs.

Courtesy is a variable by individual and situation. Though I found most of the people at Heatherow on that horrible day unhelpful, I do not think them monsters. They just did not know what to do with or for me.

I blame the systems and lack of training... not the people.