TSA looks for laptop case that can clear security

[straitman]

Maybe some common sense being applied at last.

TSA looks for laptop case that can clear security

 

[oz_mark]

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. If they manage to find a suitable design, I would hope that other countries will consider accepting them as well.

I fear, though, that each country will require its own 'special feature' to allw them to be used!

 

[straitman]

I fear, though, that each country will require its own 'special feature' to allw them to be used!

I wouldn't expect anything less.

 

[simongr]

Given that the requirement to remove the laptop is already airport/country specific along wit the liquids bans etc. I have no expectation that this will be other than a waste of time.

I just wonder how laptops become more dangerous just before the laptop out of the bag rule came in. I think it was brought in around the same time that knives/sharps were banned - rules themselves that are being slightly relaxed.

This is the same vein as introducing ridiculous bans to be seen to be improving security - this is doing something to be seen to reduce the burden. I wonder if any of the head honchos at the TSA have shares in Targus....

The laptop is the least of my problems after shoes (sometimes not all times), liquids, belts, coins, pens - habe your BP with not in your jacket pocket...

And all those people with their $500 Tumi laptop bags are sure to dump them for this....

 

[oz_mark]

I just wonder how laptops become more dangerous just before the laptop out of the bag rule came in. I think it was brought in around the same time that knives/sharps were banned - rules themselves that are being slightly relaxed.

Would have been the same time, given that the alleged problem is that by leaving the laptop in the bag can hide other things such as knives.

 

[straitman]

Given that the requirement to remove the laptop is already airport/country specific along wit the liquids bans etc. I have no expectation that this will be other than a waste of time.

I just wonder how laptops become more dangerous just before the laptop out of the bag rule came in. I think it was brought in around the same time that knives/sharps were banned - rules themselves that are being slightly relaxed.

This is the same vein as introducing ridiculous bans to be seen to be improving security - this is doing something to be seen to reduce the burden. I wonder if any of the head honchos at the TSA have shares in Targus....

The laptop is the least of my problems after shoes (sometimes not all times), liquids, belts, coins, pens - habe your BP with not in your jacket pocket...

And all those people with their $500 Tumi laptop bags are sure to dump them for this....

simongr,

Good to see that you have such a positive attitude to an attempt, however misguided, to make things work a little better.

 

[Arthur Hodgson]

Would have been the same time, given that the alleged problem is that by leaving the laptop in the bag can hide other things such as knives.

Strange that LHR has just changed its rules, so that you don't have to take your laptop out of its bag.

Nice to have such consistency.

 

[serfty]

Maybe the UK now has better equipment ...

 

[simongr]

simongr,

Good to see that you have such a positive attitude to an attempt, however misguided, to make things work a little better.

Actually I dont this as an attempt to make things work better. As with all things TSA it seems like something being done to address a public concern rather than improve safety.

The TSA and their restrictions serve a great purpose in making some travellers and non-travellers feel safer - irrespective of whether they actually make travel safer.

This then is the reverse of that - people complaining about the trials of security checks so they try and do something to be seen to be making things better without making a jot of difference.

Seems strange that if I agree with a corporation I am an apologist and if I disagree with teh TSA I am negative - can't win at the moment..

 

[straitman]

Seems strange that if I agree with a corporation I am an apologist and if I disagree with teh TSA I am negative - can't win at the moment..

simongr,

Maybe I'm just pragmatic as I see that there are positives and negatives in most situations. I see this one as an admission that the current laptop rules are not achieving anything realistic and so it is a first small step back toward some equilibrium.

 

[rwatts]

Maybe I'm just pragmatic as I see that there are positives and negatives in most situations. I see this one as an admission that the current laptop rules are not achieving anything realistic and so it is a first small step back toward some equilibrium.

When I travel with a laptop (or two) I generally have lots of cables, spare batteries, external HDD, etc. After removing the laptop for screening I then chuck anything I'm carrying on my person into the laptop bag. Often I'm through the WTMD while they've stopped the conveyor and still looking at the bag. Personally it often looks like the makings of a bomb to me on the screen but I'm sure they know what they're doing because I never get pulled aside domestically (except for residue testing). In comparison the laptop itself looks positively benign.

Remember when you had to remove batteries from laptops ? I know my Toshiba at the time was a complete bugger to remove the battery and I'm sure many others were too. That soon stopped.

Richard.

 

[NM]

When I travel with a laptop (or two) I generally have lots of cables, spare batteries, external HDD, etc. After removing the laptop for screening I then chuck anything I'm carrying on my person into the laptop bag. Often I'm through the WTMD while they've stopped the conveyor and still looking at the bag. Personally it often looks like the makings of a bomb to me on the screen but I'm sure they know what they're doing because I never get pulled aside domestically (except for residue testing). In comparison the laptop itself looks positively benign..

this is also my experience. Last time through KUL I was screened once just after immigration processing with no issues, and then again at the gate (as is usual process at KUL) and the screener wanted to visually inspect all the cables I had in my bag.

I do not think removing my laptop slows down the screening process much at all. I cannot see the benefit in having a specific laptop bag for travelling through the USA - especially as its unlikely to have the features of my current Samsonite roller briefcase that I generally use. I can whip out my laptop into a plastic tray in less time than the conveyor can accept new screening candidates, so no real benefits for me.

And in the last few years of travelling, I have only been delayed any more than 5 mins at any airport security screening on one occasion that I can remember - MIA on a Saturday morning before their latest terminal upgrades. And that would have been less than 15 mins total queue time anyway.

I think there are probably better things for the TSA to investigate as ways to improve security and the travel experience at the same time.

 

[Evan]

I don't mind pulling my notebook out al all, atleast compared to takeing my shoes off ! now that really annoys me... runners and they still want them off in LHR often, now i can't wear slip on's and so i tie my laces and it just takes so lung to take them off and put them on... notebook out and in no real issues.

E

 

[rwatts]

This article delawareonline ¦ The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. ¦ Make sense of airport security makes some good points on the inconsistencies of security screening around the world. For example:

At Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport -- where security measures are perhaps the tightest in the world -- you do not have to remove your laptop computer. And get this -- you also don't have to remove liquids or your shoes. You do have to remove your coat and the usual loose change, keys, etc.

Richard.

 

[medhead]

There was a follow up to this in the IT section of today's Australian. Sorry I can't find a link on hte news website.

Basically, the TSA has introduced accepting non-removal of laptops in certain bags. The bags have to allow them to know that the laptop isn't masking anything.

But the downside is they've introduced it before October, as was expected so there are either none of the new bags in stock with stores or they have sold out.

All this is from memory, I'll track down the full story at work tomorrow, if anyone is interested.

 

[simongr]

That would be interesting medhead - I am considering a slight bag change in the near future. I may not be going to the US much in the future but given we do copy lot of restrictions here, there might be some global usage...

 

[pyffii]

New Protocol for Laptops

Good news for road warriors. As of this past Saturday (Aug. 16), you no longer had to remove your laptop from its bag when going through airport security. But you probably had to invest in a new bag to meet the requirements.
In order to be considered checkpoint friendly, the bag needs:
* A designated laptop-only section.
* The laptop-only section to completely unfold to lay flat on the X-ray belt.
* No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section.
* No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section.
* Nothing packed in the laptop-only section except the laptop.
The TSA is not endorsing any particular manufacturer, saying it expects the majority of the new bags that meet the standards to be available for purchase soon. One company, Pathfinder Luggage, is taking preorders. There are a few bags currently on the market that meet the standards, according to the TSA, including sleeve-like carrying cases without pockets or zippers. Basically, the bags "must provide a clear and unobstructed X-ray image of the laptop."

 

[simongr]

Thanks for that - I am still seeing no real benefit. Now instead of removing the laptop I have to open the bag and remember to pack everything else outside of the laptop only section.

 

[mainly tailfirst]

Thanks for that - I am still seeing no real benefit. Now instead of removing the laptop I have to open the bag and remember to pack everything else outside of the laptop only section.

Yep. Great case of "See, See! We are loosening the restrictions and being reasonable about this!" while being basically of no benefit.

Well they're trying something I guess. Silly me expected something practical.

mt

 

[medhead]

The story in Australian IT doesn't even have this much detail on the actual laptop bags, so I won't bother scanning it.

It does say that they had 40 prototype submitting for testing from 60 manufacturers. However, the TSA is not certifying any bags, just setting standards. It sounds like you could still be asked to remove the laptop depending on the individual at the security screening point.

Also it mentions that the TSA has an "Evolution of Security" blog for anyone who wishs to submit their opinion.

New Protocol for Laptops

Good news for road warriors. As of this past Saturday (Aug. 16), you no longer had to remove your laptop from its bag when going through airport security. But you probably had to invest in a new bag to meet the requirements.
In order to be considered checkpoint friendly, the bag needs:
* A designated laptop-only section.
* The laptop-only section to completely unfold to lay flat on the X-ray belt.
* No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section.
* No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section.
* Nothing packed in the laptop-only section except the laptop.
The TSA is not endorsing any particular manufacturer, saying it expects the majority of the new bags that meet the standards to be available for purchase soon. One company, Pathfinder Luggage, is taking preorders. There are a few bags currently on the market that meet the standards, according to the TSA, including sleeve-like carrying cases without pockets or zippers. Basically, the bags "must provide a clear and unobstructed X-ray image of the laptop."