Originally Posted by
CyBeR
As for screening-on-arrival; I dunno what the deal is on the side of TSA. Here at AMS we have arriving pax coming into the same areas as departing pax. I have never seen screening happen on arriving pax. Maybe it happens on some specific origins, but not as a general matter of policy. You see, they were screened before they got on the plane that brought them there and the plane that brought them there appears to have not been taken over by tewwowists. Must be ok then, right?
It's because of the way some US airports are configured.
You clear immigration, go through the baggage claim area, clear customs, re-check baggage, if any. Then you have to go through the sterile area either to leave the airport entirely or to catch a connecting flight.
Between deplaning and entering the sterile area, you have potentially had access to your checked bags. You may have removed a forbidden item from your checked bag. That's why you have to be treated like someone who just arrived at the airport overland - you have to be screened before re-entering the sterile area.
It's really nasty if you've bought liquids (liquor) at duty-free and carried it on. Now you have to put it in your checked bag before re-checking it. If you didn't check bags or if you didn't know this is how the setup at this particular airport works, you will have to surrender your duty-free at the checkpoint - whether you are leaving the airport completely or connecting to another flight.
Going through TSA on arrival because it is the only way to leave the airport is a real nuisance, and can be a trap for unwary duty-free shoppers.