Originally Posted by
Mr. Elliott
I am what you would call a road warrior, yet I have never had any problems going through the WTMD because of my belt, why, because I always take my belt off and put in my carry-on along with everything else in my pockets, including my wallet. The less you have on you that could cause any problems with screening, the faster you get through screening and less chances of being patted down.
I can count on one hand the amount of times I have been patted down or have had my carry-on luggage opened for inspection by the TSA over the past few years, and that’s from flying over a million miles on AA alone since 9-11. Why, because I play by their rules, it keeps them happy and I am less stressed out because of it, argue with the TSA and they can make life more difficult and possibly delay you enough to miss your flight.
Mr. Elliott
By the same token, I have never taken off my belt when going through security. It is the same belt I always wear when traveling (for comfort). That belt has never set off an alarm at PHX, SNA, LAX, BUR, SAN, SEA, ABQ, ONT, OAK, MHT, JFK, EWR, ORD, MDW, DFW, and several others. At some point, I have to know why the belt that has never set off any alarm in about, oh, hundreds of trips over the last few years now needs to come off.
Did I miss the story about how someone hapless "terrorist" threatened to take down a plane by removing his belt and letting his pants drop?