<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by tsadude:
Lets put it this way. People were getting ripped off prior to the TSA being around. There is no doubt in my mind that people could have been in your bags even with locks because the old screening companies and airlines gave us bunches of master keys to all kinds of luggage and if you think that a soft sided bag cannot be slit open with a knife then your head is in the sand. The airlines have been fooling you guys for a long time.</font>
That's a very offensive comment. Yes someone can always physically cut or break open my luggage, but they don't because eventually they will be caught. The idea is to be in and out of the bag with no evidence of tampering. And I use a combination lock which CANNOT be opened without breaking it. (someone tried once, leaving it obviously bent).
I will always lock my luggage, period. When you get a false positive 30% (!) of the time, go ahead and cut them off; my luggage will be safe the other 70% of the time.
I also plan on attaching a note, with my cell phone number, stating "TSA, if you have to open this bag, call me at my cell phone and I will come and open the bag for you"
My question to tsadude is:
- Will you make a genuine effort to contact and wait for the passenger to observe you searching the luggage? I am willing to come back out to the ticketing desk, you can search it, and then seal it or whatever and then take it back inside. I am willing to arrive at the airport as far in advance (2-3 hours) as I need to for this.
- When your screening machine sees something "suspicious", do you guys just open up and look at only that item, or do you feel you have carte blanche to fondle everything in my bag including my toothbrush?
(Some article actually said "put your toothbrush in a ziploc bag so it won't get dirty").
- There should always be at least one screening machine in the front for those passengers who want a pre-inspection in their presence, and a locked bag.