I'm both furious and embarrassed.

Returning from TPE T2 on KA last week, I was looking forward to getting into the More lounge. Girlfriend wanted some food and a bit of a lie down, she's not feeling too well.

Chose MPO lane for check-in, I noticed they're all EVA agents. My agent mentioned "看行李" - I took her literally and watched my baggage drop into the belt and walked out.

My girlfriend saw a monitor near what appears at the end of the row of our check-in counter with a video feed of the video belt. She asked what's it for. I stopped for a moment or two and said it appears to be an oversized counter, and walked on.

All was well until our phones started ringing as we passed through passport control. There's a sign saying we're not to use mobile phones in passport control, so we took it outside. It was the EVA agent who tore into me immediately "why didn't you 看行李!", and told me that airport security would like to open my suitcase.

I tore back into her saying I had no idea where the fxxk I was meant to look, but pointed out we're past that now. I walked back to the passport control supervisor's counter, where the agent collected me and walked me out after signing about four or five log books, voided my exit stamp and confiscated my boarding pass.

On my way out I noticed another victim, except this time they managed to stop the passenger before he cleared passport control.

I was walked back to the monitor at the end of the check-in row where a security officer stood up (I didn't notice there before) who had my suitcase (lock uncut) and told me to open it. He just wanted to see every aerosol can that day, that's all. After passing a cursory look at my aerosols (a can of Rexona and a can of shaving cream that I carried with me from HKG and have passed HKIA screening) I was allowed to continue on my way.

My agent passed me a new boarding pass then stormed off. I was not in speaking terms with her. I had half a mind to complain about her attitude and her lack of care in explaining the 看行李 instruction to me, but given its an outsourced agent I knew it'll have minimal effect.

I asked the laid-back security guard what precisely were passengers expected to do with security screening. He said we aren't meant to walk off to passport control until we saw our luggage pass through the monitor without being yanked off. I pointed out the monitor is installed at the end of the check-in row, not in front of each counter - were we expected to race our luggage before it gets to his monitor? He said yes.

I didn't see this in T1 when I left TPE in December last year. I carried the same aerosols and I don't remember seeing the monitors in T1.

Is this a silly way of baggage screening or what?
What happens in other airports? I don't see this procedure in HKG, Australian international and domestic or other SEA airports. I know in the US they may cut locks under these circumstances, but they could also ask the passenger to unlock and unpack the suitcase in question.


Edit 1:51AM - Girlfriend and I remember a couple of passengers' names getting called before the plane took off, wonder if it is the same thing. Also when we collected our baggage back in HKG (locks uncut), we also saw a few bags tagged "UNLOADED - do not load" and apparently opened - we wondered if they were victims on a previous flight the passenger gave pre-boarding consent for the bags to be opened without them but they didn't make loading on their own flights anyway.