Originally Posted by Section 107

I answered and then clarified the answer to these questions just a few posts earlier. But.....

A search by a TSO is an administrative search. Therefore, such a search as you propose by a TSO could only legally happen if ALL persons in the parking lot were also being searched. A TSO has no authority to arbitrarily stop individual persons and demand/conduct a search.

However, such a search could legally be conducted by the TSA through an employee who is a law enforcement officer (LEO such as a FAM or certain TSIs) for selected individual persons in a parking lot IF the LEO can articulate a reason.

Similarly, airport police officers cannot randomly stop an individual outside the secured areas without a reason, either.