Which is usually followed by an extremely slow walk with your laptop as they run it through the X-ray scanner again. I think they get a bonus if you miss your flight.
Michael
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TSA Airport Security Checkpoints
- Thread starter nashville man
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Which is usually followed by an extremely slow walk with your laptop as they run it through the X-ray scanner again. I think they get a bonus if you miss your flight.
Michael
10 times in a year? wow...I love how absolute you are....Wow...try FIFTY flights last year here........and yes, it needs to come out at many airports. I don't pull it out until they ask...and yes - there are many TSA idiots that don't care what TSA compliant means, they want it out....
The 13" does NOT need to be taken out. If it is in a bag with a bunch of other things, then yes, it does. If it is in a case by itself, with nothing else in with it, it does NOT need to be taken out.
BL.
Well, I was just sharing my experience. Congrats on your extensive travel experience, but no need to get huffy. According to TSA guidelines, the 11" MBA would not need to be taken out. Now if some TSA agents don't follow that, then yeah, sucks to deal with them. However, officially, it doesn't have to be taken out of your luggage. Just make sure that there's nothing else above or below the laptop that would obscure the X-ray (like wires, chargers, metal clips/zippers on the bag, etc).
50 times in a year? wow...I love how absolute you are....Wow...try TWO HUNDRED FORTY-THREE flights last year here. AND, when I'm not traveling, I pass through TSA daily to get to my office. Someone can always one-up you when you attempt to speak in an authoritative manner...
There are multiple documented sources from TSA's communication portals, that clearly state that the 11" can stay in any bag. Bring a print out of the rules, and push to be screened per protocol if a screener wants the laptop out of the suitcase. An extensive thread on FlyerTalk confirms that there has been very little inconsistency regarding the 11" staying in one's luggage.
If you want consistency, make it happen. You'll win every time with the correct documentation and a discussion with the supervisor/3-striper. The administration doesn't teach the front lines small details like this; be it the fact that NEXUS cards are valid forms of ID or that small computers can stay in luggage, they will only learn the rules when passengers make them do so. If you're not persistent, they have no incentive to learn their policies. Of course, one should always fill out a comment card before exiting the checkpoint when possible.
If you're really the seasoned traveler that you seem to think you are, you should know that it is good to do your part to make screening better for your fellow passengers, and yourself. So don't just bend over to let TSOs act out of line; do something about it.
The point is, per policy, the 11" doesn't need to come out of any bag. It can be buried in a heap of clothes in a duffel or 22" roller. It is treated by the same rules as netbooks.
The 13" is treated like any normal sized notebook. Out of the bag and into a bin, unless it is only contained in a "checkpoint friendly" case/bag. If it's in my rollaboard, it has to come out... always.
sorry, I'm not pulling out any documentation at at TSA checkpoint - that's ridiculous and I don't have time to be a nerd...Usually by the time I get to TSA after a hard day, I don't have time to play "occupy wall street"...I'll throw it in the rubbermaid and have no problems...
and you might read a bit before you start trashing my posts....the person in front of me was being sanctimonious and dogmatic with 10 flights, the only point I was trying to make....
and you might read a bit before you start trashing my posts....the person in front of me was being sanctimonious and dogmatic with 10 flights, the only point I was trying to make....
Don't complain about inconsistencies if you're willing to put up with them. Pointing out the rule on a sheet of paper one in twenty times certainly takes less time than pulling out/replacing a computer from your carryon twenty times without question.
You call them idiots, yet abide by their incorrect rules. Seems strange...
And you seemed to be attempting to be sanctimonious and dogmatic with fifty. We all have places to go. Some of us just have to do it more often.
please point out where I'm upset about any inconsistencies...I don't mind, they just are...idiots when they enforce their own rules, but OK with me..I'm not fighting windmills and waving paper in front of a uniform when I've got to catch a plane .....over a laptop....are you for real?
and you point out my fifty and then point out you have more?
rave on captain...
"Three striper" - LOL
and you point out my fifty and then point out you have more?
rave on captain...
"Three striper" - LOL
Hate to say it, but you prove a point...
The point being that a wise old man once said "Those who sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither."
Yes, it is over something petty like a laptop, but that doesn't take away the fact that if the TSA violates their own guidelines, they are literally putting themselves above the law; and that is NOT cool, no matter where you are, nor how early or late you may be for your flight.
That's why I can't wait for my next 30 hours and check ride. then for short flights, I won't have to worry about the TSA again.
BL.
agreed.... and thanks for fighting that fight for me...I've got better things to do with my time when I'm late for a flight than "standing up" for the masses...again, are you guys for real that would argue with a uniform over a friggin laptop? I'm done here.....
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Unless you have a TSA approved laptop bag your laptop must come out. It's easy enough to do and frankly if I'm behind someone who is obviously carrying a laptop and doesn't take it out, I let them know. 5 seconds of your time will save everyone the hassle of having to wait for the TSA to tell you what to do and worse yet, take you aside and search your stuff.
Amen.
Which is why on a recent flight out of LAX, I spoke to the supervisor after clearing security, because the TSA dude didn't want to take a Nexus card as ID. He wanted to see my passport. I respectfully declined and explained what it was, and eventually I won out. I simply told the supervisor that the staff should be better aware on what is valid and what is not.
As for laptops needing to be screened - you can take steps to ensure consistency, but sometimes you have to look at the time taken to demand such consistency and whether it's much more or less than the time taken to actually pull the laptop out of the bag in the first place.
With all due respect, Jessica, that's the whole point of this thread: If you consider the 11" MacBook Air a laptop, TSA's own documentation says it can stay in the bag.
If you're behind me in line, telling me I have to remove my MBA from the bag, I'm going to politely tell you to mind your own business.
I often carry a 15" MBP in an InCase sleeve and "helpful" people behind me in line - perhaps you! - sometimes tell me to take the laptop out of the sleeve, which contains nothing but the laptop. The last time I actually did that was back in 2003, with a brand new PowerBook. The TSA screener then threw a shoe on top of it.
The challenge here is TSA and their evident lack of consistency.
This is certainly true for everything regarding screening: opting-out, etc. However, it appears that there is very little inconsistency regarding the netbook rule. I've made my way through two more checkpoints this morning; the 11" stayed in the suitcase, and nobody batted an eye. I have a printout of the rule in a folder, but have not yet had to take it out.
ROFL. The TSA can't arrest you. They're simply bag screeners with a blue shirt and a metal 'badge' to make them appear more law enforcement like.
Yes. I would. Keep in mind that someone carrying a laptop and campaign funds for Ron Paul was stopped and interrogated by the TSA without due process or any reasons for suspicion, other than that the TSA agent was in uniform. There is a huge thread about it here if you'd like to look it up. I'm no Ron Paul fan, but his guy was in the right and the TSA in the wrong for that incident.
Even if the tiniest, most minuscule freedom that I have is given up for the semblance of safety, then nothing is stopping them from taking any of my other freedoms, nor me giving up those freedoms. If not, where would it stop? my body? My child's body? Not going to happen.
By all means, be happy with giving up your freedoms. When they are all gone, there won't be anyone to blame but yourself for being complacent in that act.
BL.
Ah, I always forget, TSA are not actual police, lol. Either way, I always comply, DON'T cause a scene is my way of travel. If they get ridiculous, then yeah, that's the time to complain and hopefully curb their actions, but that's about it.
Like most law enforcement agencies (of which the TSA is one), it depends on who is trying to do the the arresting. The security screeners certainly cannot arrest you as they are not law enforcement officers. TSA Air Marshals can arrest you because they are sworn LEOs.
A TSA screener usually has a sworn LEO at the gate anyways, so it's not like you'd be able to just turn up your nose and walk through in the first place.
Ron Paul...unbelievable...the minute one of you guys in a TSA line starts screaming about his rights and waving paper around with rules on it, and delay me from getting thru the line, watch your back, you may get hit with my Air from behind...
Sheesh....
Sheesh....
LOL at this thread. I fly every week, and no i would not argue with TSA agents. It is completely inconsistent between airports, and I don't plan "arguing with TSA" time into my itineraries. At one particular airport i have seen them pull a MBA 11 in out and run it back through the scanner separate from the carryon, as well as an iPad. Is it right? Probably not, but please don't make me miss my flight.
This is absolutely guaranteed to expedite your travels. :roll eyes:
Do you also threaten violence to people that forget to take off their belts, or those who put 101mL of shampoo through the x-ray? They must slow you down all the time...
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