Originally Posted by TWA4Ever
No items are "surrendered" when the owner of same has no idea they are being taken, is not informed in a timely manner, and is not even in the same room! Something removed from your luggage without your consent is either "confiscated" (government-speak) or "stolen" (normal-people-speak).
You probably aren't interested anyway, but here it goes:
At the screening checkpoint, you
should be given several options on how you can keep a prohibited item. Keep in mind that illegal items such as narcotics, certain martial arts weapons and firearms fall under a different category and will be confiscated by a
law enforcement officer not a screener. The options for keeping a prohibited item are:
1. Return to the airline ticket counter with the prohibited item to have it checked in. Some airlines will package it for you, others will require you to check in an additional piece of luggage. If you already met your limit for checked baggage, you may incur an additional cost for additional luggage. That's airline policy not TSA policy. Most passengers refuse this offer because they don't want to go stand in line at the ticket counter again and then go back into another line for security.
2. Give the prohibited item to a non-travelling companion. The problem here is that most people who drop off passengers usually leave right away.
3. Take the prohibited item back to your car. Of course, this is only practical if you live in the departure city and drove your car to the airport.
4. Mail the item. Some airports offer a mailing service. This is not the same as the US Post Office, so you're going to pay extra for that service. Most passengers reject this offer because it costs around $7 to mail a $2 pair of scissors. Of course, if the item is expensive, such as a torch or cigar lighter, then this may be a worthwhile option.
5. Surrender the item to TSA. We place it in an amnesty box. However, once you surrender the item, you cannot get it back. It's a one-time and final action. Some supervisors have been known to temporarily hold items for people who are not travelling but are instead escorting underaged minors or elderly parents to the gate. This is a violation of TSA policy, and some supervisors see this as a customer courtesy. I refuse to hold anything for anyone. I've been burned by people who later made outrageous claims, so this is one area where I stick to the absolute letter of the law.
As I said, you're probably not interested in these options because to you (and most other people) the inconvenience of properly disposing a prohibited item is not worth the extra hassle. So it's easier to accuse TSA of confiscating the item.
If TSA screeners are not giving you these options, then you have a valid complaint, and I urge you to complain in writing to the airport FSD, airport manager, airline station manager and/or your Congressional representative.
Checked baggage falls under a different category. To you, this may seem like I'm splitting hairs; however, here's my perspective. When you check your bag in or hand it to a TSA screener, you should either
be asked or there should be
signs posted advising you that matches and lighters are prohibited from transport inside of checked luggage. If there are signs posted, the screener (or airline representative) is not obligated to ask you if you have these items in your baggage. By law, you've been advised. Nonetheless, I have my screeners still ask the question. If matches or lighters are discovered inside your checked luggage, they are automatically confiscated by TSA screeners. These are the
only items that screeners are allowed to confiscate automatically. With everything else, either an airline representative or law enforcement officer is notified, depending on the item. For example, if hazardous material is found, such as a bottle of liquid bleach or non-toiletry aerosol can, an airline ground security coordinator, or GSC, is notified. The airline GSC is authorized to remove hazmat from passenger bags, TSA screeners
are not (except for the two items I mentioned above). At this point, we cannot control how the airlines handle this. Most of the airlines I work with notify the passenger either immediately or in writing afterwards about the hazardous material removed from their bag. Again, not all airlines follow the same policy. If the item is an undeclared firearm, illegal drugs or other illegal/dangerous item, the LEO will confiscate it and the passenger
will be notified immediately. That's because these situations normally end in an arrest because a crime has been committed.
Naysayers will attack this post accusing me of splitting hairs. It's your responsibility to make sure your bags are packed properly. The TSA web site publishes a list of what you may and may not take with you and which items you can and cannot place in checked baggage. IMHO, it appears that it's easier for people to dodge personal responsibility by blaming TSA screeners. This is a trend in our society, so I'm not surprised that people don't own up to their own actions. We've been following generally these same policies for three years now. Of all people who should know these policies, I thought frequent flyers would know better. But then again, that's an assumption on my part.
Just telling it like it is. None of this is meant to be personal.