Upcoming TSA changes?

[sam_gordon]

I'm sitting as the Vegas airport waiting to go home. When I went through security, they asked everyone to pull out tablets as well as laptops. I asked if it was new (I didn't have to do so flying out here on Saturday) I was told yes and it would go into effect nationwide July 1. Any electronic larger than a cell phone would need to be pulled from your carryon.

My carryon also got selected for additional screening because I left some candy in the bag. The TSA agent doing the screening said it wasn't a big deal, but they're tightening up on what they're examining.

I know you have to take the above with a grain of salt and maybe they were on a power trip or whatever.

I will say ALL the TSA officers I've dealt with on this trip (coming and going) have been pleasant and easy to deal with.

 

[FCDub]

Before I had pre-check, I always had to pull my laptop out.

 

[sam_gordon]

Before I had pre-check, I always had to pull my laptop out.

I've had to pull my laptop out for years. What's new is they're (supposedly) adding tablets to items that need to come out of carryon.

Now that I think about it, I forgot to pull my 3-1-1 bag out.

 

[Sandi]

@sam_gordon were you in a regular security line or pre-chek? Thanks for the update.

 

[bop28]

Yes, screening seems to be tightening up. Two yrs ago, the TSA had a shocking 95% failure rate, allowing weapons and explosives through "dozens of the busiest airports". Here is one of several sources for that scary story. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...s-us-airports-allowed-weapons-through-n367851

 

[DVC-Don]

Couple of years ago we flew about Europe and every airport made us take out tablets in addition to laptops. That said I flew to Orlando last week and in precheck at the the Albany, NY airport I did not have to take either out.

 

[sam_gordon]

@sam_gordon were you in a regular security line or pre-chek? Thanks for the update.

Regular line.

On a side note, the regular line at Vegas was actually shorter than the precheck line.

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

Had not heard that it was going to be mandatory, but in the past Pads and Kindle rules changed from airport to airport with the agents at the airports where you had to take your pad out saying that it was or was going to become a national rule and the agents at the airports where you didn't have to take it out saying that it wasn't and they hadn't heard anything about it becoming a rule. I asked a number of times at both types of places and those were the responses that I got. I had the same issues back when I smoked, some airports tsa saying that it was perfectly fine to carry a butane lighter thru security and other airports tsa confiscating my lighter and telling me that it was totally against the rules.
The hard fast rule seems to be that while the vast majority of the TSA agents I come in contact with are polite and professional. quite a large number of them, and their supervisors, and their supervisors supevisors really aren't up and all the rules and regulations.

 

[georgina]

Regular line.

On a side note, the regular line at Vegas was actually shorter than the precheck line.

I would rather go through a longer pre-check line and have less things to take off, pull out and keep track of, and go through metal detector vs scanner, etc.

 

[sam_gordon]

I would rather go through a longer pre-check line and have less things to take off, pull out and keep track of, and go through metal detector vs scanner, etc.

OK.

 

[NotUrsula]

I would rather go through a longer pre-check line and have less things to take off, pull out and keep track of, and go through metal detector vs scanner, etc.

I agree. Unless there is just about NO ONE in the regular line, I'm going to prefer PreCheck, because it moves so much faster. I've had to go back to regular lines a few times recently when the Pre line was closed, and it always moves so much more slowly, what with all the folks having to half-way undress to get through it.

As to tablets being taken out, nope, not a new TSA rule, at least as far as Flyertalk knows, and if it was, they would be talking about it. Sounds to me like someone is getting officious and figuring that if they are dangerous on flights incoming from "high-risk" countries, then they must be dangerous here, too. This sort of thing is typical for TSA, where local supervisors often seem to get these ideas that if they impose random stricter-than-required rules, that somehow that makes their station a better performer. (DEN, in particular, is notorious for that sort of thing.)

 

[AngiTN]

DH got one of those TSA bags so all he has to do is open the bag. Though now with PreCheck we don't even have to do that. I guess if they go to this for all lines we'll get one for me. All I bring is my iPad Mini

Regular line.

On a side note, the regular line at Vegas was actually shorter than the precheck line.

The longer PreCheck line still moves much faster than the shorter non-PreCheck line.
We found a very long PreCheck line at MCO on Tuesday night.
The good thing, well, for us, they pulled more agents over to get the passengers checked in. Closed lines for the regular checks. So they went from 2 to 4 agents just in the few minutes we were in line.
And the bag check portion is much faster. We got through in 5 min, leaving folks who were in line next to us n the non PreCheck area still waiting to get through.

 

[DebbieB]

Could be because of the new rules regarding electronics on some flights from foreign countries. On those flights, you can't even put anything larger than a cellphone in a carryon. So having to pull it out at security is better than checking it.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/21/news/airline-electronics-ban-explainer/index.html

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Had not heard that it was going to be mandatory, but in the past Pads and Kindle rules changed from airport to airport with the agents at the airports where you had to take your pad out saying that it was or was going to become a national rule and the agents at the airports where you didn't have to take it out saying that it wasn't and they hadn't heard anything about it becoming a rule. I asked a number of times at both types of places and those were the responses that I got. I had the same issues back when I smoked, some airports tsa saying that it was perfectly fine to carry a butane lighter thru security and other airports tsa confiscating my lighter and telling me that it was totally against the rules.
The hard fast rule seems to be that while the vast majority of the TSA agents I come in contact with are polite and professional. quite a large number of them, and their supervisors, and their supervisors supevisors really aren't up and all the rules and regulations.

I've had my Kindle since July 2015. In that time I've flown to Baltimore from Kansas City and from Baltimore to Kansas City (in April, July and August 2016), to Los Angeles from Kansas City (on my way to Hawaii) (September 2016), from Honolulu to Los Angeles (on my way to Minneapolis and on to Kansas City in September 2016), to Denver from Kansas City (March 2017) and to Kansas City from Denver (March 2017). I've never been questioned regarding my Kindle (which is in a magnetic closure case) which has always remained in my carry on that goes through the x-ray machine.

I should also mention from July 2015-mid December 2015 my husband flew back and forth from Kansas City to Houston every two weeks and from beginning of January 2016-mid August 2016 from Kansas City to Baltimore every two weeks. He always had a 8 inch tablet in his carry on with no case on it through the x-ray machine and he never had anything said to him.

My guess is the TSA agents you dealt with had no clue what they were talking about or it could be an issue with specific TSA agents.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Could be because of the new rules regarding electronics on some flights from foreign countries. On those flights, you can't even put anything larger than a cellphone in a carryon. So having to pull it out at security is better than checking it.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/21/news/airline-electronics-ban-explainer/index.html

I'm not so certain at this time (especially with no press release information out there) I would apply what the OP is speaking about and connecting it with banning larger electronics (in terms of the U.S. rules) from Cairo, Egypt; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; and Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which are flights operated by EgyptAir, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines that fly direct to the U.S.

 

[stitchlovestink]

For years, when I have traveled with a laptop, I didn't have to take it out of the case as long as the laptop was the only thing in the case. I learned a long time ago to put the charging cables in my carry-on bag and it was super easy taking the laptop through sTSA security....just lut it in a bin in its case!
Interesting to see if that changes next time I travel.

 

[joelkfla]

The new Secretary of Homeland Security has said on CNN that the threat of explosives hidden in laptops and other mid-sized electronic devices is what keeps him awake most at nights. He said he would not hesitate to expand the carry-on ban to include all flights if intelligence warrants it. "People will just have to read a book or talk to their kids," he added (quote may not be verbatim.)

 

[AngiTN]

The new Secretary of Homeland Security has said on CNN that the threat of explosives hidden in laptops and other mid-sized electronic devices is what keeps him awake most at nights. He said he would not hesitate to expand the carry-on ban to include all flights if intelligence warrants it. "People will just have to read a book or talk to their kids," he added (quote may not be verbatim.)

One thing that I don't understand, why ban them in the cabin but not in the cargo hold? If they were going to be used to explode wouldn't they be as dangerous underneath as in the cabin?

 

[DVC-Don]

One thing that I don't understand, why ban them in the cabin but not in the cargo hold? If they were going to be used to explode wouldn't they be as dangerous underneath as in the cabin?

All luggage in the cargo hold is x-rayed and sometimes searched prior to loading.

 

[AngiTN]

All luggage in the cargo hold is x-rayed and sometimes searched prior to loading.

But isn't the same done to bags being brought on the plane?