Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,147
Just boarded IST-SFO (not connecting).
At check-in they asked about electronics. I said I had a laptop, but that I wanted to check it at the gate, and they were ok with that and let me proceed. No further checks at security as expected (via the direct lounge entrance).
At the gate (219, as is often used for security sensitive flights) they were doing a full security check on almost all passengers - exactly the same as for my flight to TLV a few weeks ago (shoes off, pat down, explosives swab, etc). I actually scored SSSS (extra screening) on my boarding pass and they didn't do anything extra so I presume everyone was getting the full treatment by default. A few people got lesser treatment based on something on their boarding pass (Precheck-ish?) but the number was small.
When they saw I had a laptop in my bag they then took me over to another desk where they were checking them. I had purchased a cheap laptop bag last night for protection, but after some discussion they decided it was better not to use it. Instead they individually wrapped all items (for me, laptop, tablet) in bubblewrap bags, affixed hand-filled "rush" luggage tags, and then put them into a hard-sided suitcase (standard ~30" suitcases, not anything special) which had large Turkish Airlines labels on them.
The person in front of me had a SLR camera and an iPad and got exactly the same treatment.
Other than being slow, the process worked, and I've got at least some confidence my items will get to San Francisco safely. I'll report back after I arrive in SFO as to what they procedure is there...
Apparently there are 20 flights per day that are affected, including both US and UK flight.