Thank you mods for relocating as appropriate!
Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
Would you consider that what the Red Coat told you was not actually the truth? I would more likely suspect an covert illegal law enforcement type search by TSA for something that was not identified correctly at the point of origin.
Originally Posted by
BeachBum770
You need to keep in mind that there may have been information brought to TSA's attention about potential issues with a passenger that required a law enforcement screening of the bags. Don't always believe the reason that is given when it comes to issues like the one described.
This is a good point, which I had not considered. I do think that the red coat was just telling us what she herself had been told - she seemed as confused as all the passengers and genuinely apologetic for the delay, willing to help, etc. I actually wanted to give her a DL JWD certificate but didn't see her again after collecting my bag.
Originally Posted by
The Situation
Given that the scanning is done in the lobby at BDL and customers have to bring their checked bags directly to the screening machines where the TSA agents scan them (because BDL=not helpful), there is zero possibility that those bags weren't initially screened. Something had to have occurred or there was some sort of tip that something (like drugs) may have been introduced after the screening or that TSA was concerned they missed.
Yeah, the BDL screening has always seemed ridiculous to me, especially because there is a perfectly functional belt behind the check in counters. But...this was also part of the BDL TSA incompetence I referenced in my OP. After getting my bag tagged by DL, I went to the TSA drop area where all four TSA agents were just standing around talking. I offered them my bag, and they told me to just leave it on the mat in front of the scanner (said mat being basically in the middle of the walkway in front of the ticket counters). I plopped it there next to another bag and started to walk away, then realized the TSA guys had no intent of actually doing anything with it. So I just kind of hung out across the way for a good 2-3 minutes watching my bag and others sit ignored and unattended.
Eventually one of the TSA guys started collecting the bags and dragging them into the screening area, but at that point I was done watching them so I never saw if they actually sent the bags through the machine. I wouldn't put it past them to have just slung the bags straight down to sortation because they couldn't be bothered to start up the scanner.