TSA & Locks

[disneyag]

In the past few years, I've checked bags in Austin, Boston, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Honolulu, Newark, Fort Lauderdale---I've never had my TSA locks cut off. They have been opened, however.

 

[aubriee]

This is not true for all airports. At DFW, if you do self check-in, you are instructed to take your bags directly to an area where TSA takes your bags. I have experienced this many times and they say the following: do you have any liquids, flammables, firearms or explosives in your luggage? Have you removed all locks? Then they take your bags and you go through security.

I have never had locks on my bags, but I have seen them make other passengers remove theirs.

At DFW, TSA often takes bags after the airline weighs and tags them. It really just depends on what time you are flying out. TSA agents at DFW will ask you to remove the locks, even if they are TSA approved.

You cannot take golf clubs as a carry-on.

Baggage check, what happens behind the scenes, is done by TSA. I have known people who have had items stolen from their bags between the time it leaves them and arrives in baggage claim at their destination. Sadly, it does happen.

I too fly out of DFW. You are right, they usually tell you to make sure that all locks are off. The one time they didn't catch it, we had TSA locks on both of our bags. When we got to Florida and got our bags back, both TSA locks had been removed and not replaced. Now we just use the zip ties. We use the bright colored ones you get at Home Depot. About 1/3 of the time they've been cut off and replaced with solid black ones, but at least they replace them most of the time.

 

[arthuruscg]

If there is a fire arm in the same bag as your clubs, you can have the bag locked the entire time and will almost guarantee the airline will not loose your bag.

I can not post links yet, soo.... go to the TSA website and search for "Firearms & Ammunition"

 

[CPT Tripss]

I use zip ties on my luggage for two reasons . . . to (hopefully) prevent it from accidently unzipping and to know if the smurfs have invaded it.

Too many times I have found a replacement zip tie, or no zip tie, and no note saying the luggage had undergone an invasion. So much for SOP.

 

[Jcricket Fan]

We fly from BDL (Hartford) on Delta.

We stop at the Delta counter/kiosk to have our bag weighed and have the id strip of where we are going put on. We then carry the bag a few feet away from the Delta counter and give the bag over to the TSA who has a big scanning machine there.

TSA asks if we have locks on the bags and tell them just cable ties they say great no problem and off we (people) go through security of our own!

No problems with this system so far.
Peace.
Colleen

 

[eliza61]

Thanks to the moderator!

As a TSA baggage officer, we are not supposed to tell a passenger to remove a lock from a bag. If we need to get into a locked bag, we do first attempt to find a key for that lock before removing the lock. If it's a TSA lock, we have a specialized set of keys to use.

The zip-ties, cable ties, or whatever you want to call them are FANTASTIC to use. We generally have a HUGE supply of them on hand to re-lock your bag if we need to remove them.

As far as the posters who've said that the airline doesn't accept bags, they DO. Even if you have to take your bags to the X-ray machine, you've still stopped at the airline's desk first for them to accept the bag and tag it.

If we do ask you to remove a lock, you are more than welcome to wait for your bag to be processed. When it has finished being processed, you are then welcome to lock it for the rest of its journey. Once it's been processed at the original airport's TSA scanner, it will not go through another scanner *UNLESS you're going international*.


And for the poster who said "Where? for a checked bag, airlines weigh them, tag them and then turn around and put them on the conveyor belt to that magical place below the belly of the plane? Where is the tsa agency coming into play? The conveyor belt takes the bags to a TSA screening location. By government mandate, any bag that goes into an aircraft, be it belly storage or on board, must be screened by TSA.

thanks I was trying to figure out where in the checked baggage relay did the tsa agent come into play. Let me ask, when a bag is checked and put on the conveyor belt if you have to open it do you have to go get the passenger to unlock?

 

[bumbershoot]

I have experienced this many times and they say the following: do you have any liquids, flammables, firearms or explosives in your luggage? Have you removed all locks?

Isn't that amazing how different airports are. I have NEVER been asked about locks, and I haven't had the other questions for YEARS. I was just thinking about that on a recent flight, that they don't ask the questions anymore. Nor do they ask the "has the luggage been in your control, did someone else touch your bags" type of questions. MCO, SEA, LAX, SNA, SAN...none of 'em have asked those questions. Alaska, SW, Jet Blue, Virgin America are the airlines I use (figured I'd mention that since it's those employees who ask the questions).


One does wonder what the point of TSA approving locks was, if their people might tend to tell you to remove them! ("tend to" was used b/c the TSA person here said they aren't supposed to, but obviously some are indeed saying it!)

 

[dudspizza]

thanks I was trying to figure out where in the checked baggage relay did the tsa agent come into play. Let me ask, when a bag is checked and put on the conveyor belt if you have to open it do you have to go get the passenger to unlock?

no they don't.... they will unlock it if they can find the key, otherwise it gets cut off..... they are supposed to put a paper in your bag saying it was searched, but I am not sure that happens every time.

OP, I use TSA approved locks every time I travel. I use them more for the security of knowing my luggage won't come open, so zip ties would work also. I travel will a rolling bowling bag and would hate to see my bowling balls rolling down the tarmac!

For the TSA agent, you say people can stay and watch the inspection and then re-lock their luggage..... my dad tried to help a TSA agent in Reno put his stuff back in since the bowling balls had be carefully packed.... the TSA agent about came unstuck and told my dad that once it is in TSA's hand the passenger cannot touch it...... he said if my dad tried again he would have to start the entire process over again.... he wasn't a very pleasant man!

Happy travels everyone!

Duds

 

[bytheblood]

Isn't that amazing how different airports are. I have NEVER been asked about locks, and I haven't had the other questions for YEARS. I was just thinking about that on a recent flight, that they don't ask the questions anymore. Nor do they ask the "has the luggage been in your control, did someone else touch your bags" type of questions. MCO, SEA, LAX, SNA, SAN...none of 'em have asked those questions. Alaska, SW, Jet Blue, Virgin America are the airlines I use (figured I'd mention that since it's those employees who ask the questions).


One does wonder what the point of TSA approving locks was, if their people might tend to tell you to remove them! ("tend to" was used b/c the TSA person here said they aren't supposed to, but obviously some are indeed saying it!)

I really think it boils down to no consistency. For those most part, most TSA agents have no idea what is stated out on their website, what is allowed, what isn't and what is protocol.

My sister flew with a butane lighter, which she was not supposed to, and the TSA agent took it out out of her bag, laughed and put it right back in. Yet they had a fit over a book of safety matches.

 

[bytheblood]

This thread was very helpful to me. We will go with zip ties of we ever have a bag we need to lock.

 

[Carriemel]

For the TSA agent, you say people can stay and watch the inspection and then re-lock their luggage..... my dad tried to help a TSA agent in Reno put his stuff back in since the bowling balls had be carefully packed.... the TSA agent about came unstuck and told my dad that once it is in TSA's hand the passenger cannot touch it...... he said if my dad tried again he would have to start the entire process over again.... he wasn't a very pleasant man!

Happy travels everyone!

Duds

Well, that is true...passengers are not allowed to help repack their bags. The ONLY exception is parachutes. But that's a whole 'nother animal there. You would be able to give a key/lock to the officer for locking purposes.

 

[aubriee]

This thread was very helpful to me. We will go with zip ties of we ever have a bag we need to lock.

I noticed you fly out of DFW like we do. I hate to tell you but sometimes even the zip ties get cut off. Sometimes they are replaced with solid black ones and a note left in the bag that it was searched, but occasionally we've had the bright colored zip ties cut off and they were not replaced, nor was a note put in the bag. Those are usually the times we've had something come up missing out of the bag.

 

[bytheblood]

I noticed you fly out of DFW like we do. I hate to tell you but sometimes even the zip ties get cut off. Sometimes they are replaced with solid black ones and a note left in the bag that it was searched, but occasionally we've had the bright colored zip ties cut off and they were not replaced, nor was a note put in the bag. Those are usually the times we've had something come up missing out of the bag.

Thanks for that note. The only time I can see us doing that is when we travel with clubs or something awkward sized like that.

 

[bytheblood]

Where? for a checked bag, airlines weigh them, tag them and then turn around and put them on the conveyor belt to that magical place below the belly of the plane? Where is the tsa agency coming into play?

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is pretty commonplace in Dallas. The process is pretty much the same every time we travel.

1- Check-in at the airline desk
2- Bags are weighed and tagged by the airline
3- We are instructed to carry our bags about 25 feet behind the counter to a TSA area where they will x-ray/scan them straightaway
4 - Then we go through the security check-point with our carry-on bags

 

[Vijoge]

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is pretty commonplace in Dallas. The process is pretty much the same every time we travel.

1- Check-in at the airline desk
2- Bags are weighed and tagged by the airline
3- We are instructed to carry our bags about 25 feet behind the counter to a TSA area where they will x-ray/scan them straightaway
4 - Then we go through the security check-point with our carry-on bags

This was our experience at LAX also.

 

[dudspizza]

Well, that is true...passengers are not allowed to help repack their bags. The ONLY exception is parachutes. But that's a whole 'nother animal there. You would be able to give a key/lock to the officer for locking purposes.

It is too bad that some TSA agents can have no respect for other peoples property. Our bowling balls were packed very carefully to ensure they were not damaged and that they didn't shift around and rip open the bag..... the TSA agent just tossed everything in the bag and would not let me dad repack them carefully...... this same TSA agent noticed his supervisor coming while he was inspecting our bag and quickly clipped on his tie....... one of those agents that gives the rest a bad name...

 

[aubriee]

I really think it boils down to no consistency. For those most part, most TSA agents have no idea what is stated out on their website, what is allowed, what isn't and what is protocol.

My sister flew with a butane lighter, which she was not supposed to, and the TSA agent took it out out of her bag, laughed and put it right back in. Yet they had a fit over a book of safety matches.

Wow, is that ever true. I posted about this when it happened, but May 2008 I decided to see if I could do carryon only for 8 nights at WDW. I thought I was being so careful. When I went through security in Dallas my carryon got pulled for a visual check and I thought, 'oh no what did I mess up on'. They asked if it was my bag and then unzipped it. Sorry but I don't go anywhere overnight without my own bath products. I had placed my shower gel, lotion, and spray in my 3-1-1 bag, but had a sandwich size zip lock full of bath salts. The TSA agent was fascinated with those bath salts. He opened them, smelled them, and ran the wand with the cloth over them and into them, then checked to see if they were explosives. I explained they were just bath salts and he basically told me to shut up and let him do his job. I was very polite, but he was very rude for no reason. He finally called a coworker over to look at them and she said she didn't know if they were allowed either. They finally called a supervisor over who looked at them, gave the other two TSA officers a strange look and said "they're fine, let her go". All that trouble over a quart bag of really nice smelling bath salts. What was really funny though is when I got into my room at WDW and unpacked, I found I had left a small travel size mascara, a small bottle of cleansing oil, and an eye cream in my makeup bag. They didn't say a word about any of those. They were too concerned about my bath salts

 

[CPT Tripss]

Snip
All that trouble over a quart bag of really nice smelling bath salts. What was really funny though is when I got into my room at WDW and unpacked, I found I had left a small travel size mascara, a small bottle of cleansing oil, and an eye cream in my makeup bag. They didn't say a word about any of those. They were too concerned about my bath salts

Well, maybe they realized that mascara and eye cream aren't dangerous unless ingested . . .