<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BearX220:
[B]But we never left a "sterile" area -- from the time we left the aircraft on arrival at SEA, through immigration and the baggage hall and the Customs gantlet, we were secure and sterile and airside as anything. We'd been "sterilized" when we went airside at Heathrow ten hours prior. And when you exit Customs at the South Satellite you are still in a "sterile" zone until you get off the automated train back at the main terminal. The security folks we encountered were just re-sterilizing us for no apparent reason... (and this innovation is definitely post-9/11).
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You've illustrated the reason right there. You (you being any passenger or person who is reclaiming checked luggage, not you personally) had contact with your
checked baggage in which you could have quite legally packed items that would be prohibited in the secure area. You could then unpack these items in the luggage claim/customs area and take them into the airside secure area.
Example:
You flew from Frankfurt to SEA (not that there is a flight from FRA to SEA). At FRA, you checked your handgun/knife/can of mace/meat cleaver/sharp instrument as checked baggage. When you reclaim your checked baggage to clear customs at the South Satellite, you could unpack your handgun/knife/can of mace/meat cleaver/sharp instrument and, in the absence of (effective) security, take it with you into the airside secure area.
[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 02-20-2002).]