Originally Posted by GJS - yow (Post 16343858)

There is nothing 'random' about the secondary searches, despite what CATSA tries to tell you. Some are selected because they meet some target requirements for additional attention; others are selected from non-target groups to make it appear that there is no targeting.

Originally Posted by hazcaddy (Post 16346150)

That mat in fact insulates you from the rebar in the floor's concrete, which used to set off too many false alarms in the wands.

Whether you're going domestic or X-border, they have them all across this country. It was only a CATSA guy at YYG who took the time to tell me why they have these rubber mats.

Originally Posted by klparrot (Post 16350297)

Not sure what mat you're talking about, but I'm sure encampbe was referring to the mat at the entrance to the security lines, which, when stepped on, randomly lights up either a left- or right-pointing arrow on an attached sign, directing you to either the regular security line or the line for more thorough screening. There are no wands anywhere nearby at this point.

Originally Posted by dave0823 (Post 16341866)

Is it just me or a coincidence that for the past 5 weeks clearing domestic security in YYZ, I was randomly tagged for a secondary search 4 times? Although I travel every week, I have rarely been tagged for secondary search (and no, I did not have 'SSSSS' printed on my boarding pass) until now, but lately it seems to be stepped up. It happens when entering the metal detector and it 'randomly' goes off to alert TSA to perform a secondary search.

Have others seen the same?