Originally Posted by jkhuggins

(I'm assuming you mean "baggage check", right?)

So, I know absolutely nothing about the baggage check / inspection area at the San Diego airport. Consequently, I don't know if having the logjam in baggage claim --- which might just as easily affect all passengers with checked bags, not just those with books that trip the scanners --- would be better or worse than having the logjam at the passenger checkpoints.

Sure, having the logjam at the checkpoints slows down the process of getting people to their designated gates, and creates a vulnerable target (though we've seen TSA not care about that issue in the past). On the other hand, having the logjam in baggage check slows down the process of getting bags to their designated gates, which could result either in flight delays or in luggage being separated from passengers, neither of which is desirable.

I could see either scenario being less desirable than the other, so I'm not ready to jump to the conclusion that a checkpoint logjam is a "better" result.