Hi TSAMGR,

Thanks for asking about best practices. One thing that some airports have allowed in the past: putting your jacket (with nothing in the pockets) under your laptop for padding as it goes through the xray. At first, many airports allowed this, but the rules seem to have gotten stricter. If there's any flexibility left on this point it would be appreciated.

Also, I do think it's essential that screeners not use the threat of "You won't be flying anywhere today" lightly. At BWI, I used to hear this sentence all the time, when quibbling with the slightest point of procedure with a screener. I think you're already sensitive to this point, TSAMGR, so I'll assume your airports meet this request. In addition, it would be nice if screeners were advised not to needle passengers with condescending talk. The screeners I see sometimes get a kick out of picking on people who obviously dislike or object to the screening. I've had the experience of several screeners ganging up on me to tease me for the way I looked uncomfortable or unhappy about being sent to secondary.

I think passengers do better without the intervention of a hovering person right at the x-ray entrance. I prefer to be allowed to send the stuff down the chute myself. Right or wrong, I take offense (like I wasn't moving quickly enough or I did something wrong?) when there is a screener rearranging my bags, and especially when a screener lifts things out of my hands! I know that sometimes the arrangement needs to be fixed by a screener, but the least intervention necessary would be best.

my two cents.