Originally Posted by
TWA884
Is there anything in the TSA's protocols against telling the passenger what the TSO is looking for in their bag?
A couple of months ago, my personal item, a
North Face Router Transit Backpack, was pulled out for manual inspection in the PreCheck lanes at LAX. It has many zippers and several compartments, so I offered to guide the TSO to the location of object of the search if he were to tell me what he was looking for (I had several Li-ion battery powered electronic devices in the backpack, including an HP Spectre x360 computer, rechargeable Beats noise-cancelling headphones and a Samsung 10,000 mAh portable cellphone charger).
I don't recall the exact answer, but he refused to tell me what he was looking for and proceeded to open just about every compartment, while constantly referring to the x-ray image on his computer monitor. Finally, he opened my Dopp kit and discontinued the search when apparently noticing a new, still in its paper wrapping, 5 oz. bar of soap.
He started repacking my bag. I asked to be allowed do it myself, as I can organize the contents to make the backpack less bulky and fit under the seat; he let me. However, when I inquired about what triggered the search - in order to avoid similar issues in the future - he wouldn't tell me.
I have never heard of a direct prohibition of communicating with a passenger about items in their bags during a bag check, actually, the opposite has always been the case in my experience. I like to talk to the passenger as I am doing a bag check, it helps to set their mind at ease, and sometimes they can help you locate something small, or find a specific compartment that holds the item you are looking for. The main prohibitions are for the passenger not to touch the bag or anything that is taken out of it during the bag check (which has been the case since roll out). As far as repacking, if it is one item I have removed, I usually place it back as close to the original position as possible, if I have to take several items out, I ask the passenger if they would like to repack the bag, or if they would like me to do it - recognizing that many frequent or business travelers pack their bag a certain way is just using common sense. Talking to a passenger while doing the bag check, asking questions, and just treating them like a human being will often make a bag check more efficient for both of us. I don't understand not telling you what the item was on the back end, you just watched the TSO take the item out of the bag and do some form of inspection on it - logic would dictate that you can see what I am looking at, why not tell you to remove any chance of confusion, as well as let you prepare differently in the future if you so desire.