Originally Posted by
Vidiot
There's ream upon ream of advice here, some contradictory, but here's what I'm planning to do:
[snip]
--Insist that my belongings be brought to me or within my sight;
Originally Posted by
baliktad
Having opted out many times at several airports, this is the action that consistently causes me the most grief. I believe this is because TSO's do not receive any guidance or training about this aspect of checkpoint screening. They know they have to change their gloves when asked, and will begrudgingly do so if you press the issue, but ensuring your items are safely within your eyesight is rarely, if ever, acknowledged by front line TSO's.
Last time I flew out of JFK everyone was being directed through the backscatter machine. A woman in front of me was already waiting for an opt-out screening, so I told the TSO I would be opting out and simply waited on the pre-screening side, my belongings binned and on the table ready to go on the belt, and told others to go past me. Pax seemed confused/bemused, and it was a bit awkward, but as the wait for a female screener was at least 10 minutes I avoided losing sight of my things for that time. TSOs didn't seem to think this approach was a problem, and when a screener was finally available, only then did I let my things pass through the X-ray.
Previously at the same checkpoint I'd had confrontations when insisting that I watch my property when I let it go through the X-ray before a screener was free to pat me down.