Originally Posted by TSOguy
No, no it doesn't. Per SOP, gloves only have to be changed when they're dirty or torn, or changed/cleaned when the ETD alarms.

Hmm, maybe if you have to travel by air, it's best to pack only old clothes that you can wash once you arrive at your destination (most hotels have washing machines). You can throw out your clothing once you get home if the suitcase has been searched.

I know people who will not bring anything of value when they fly. They don't want things stolen. They wear fake worthless jewelry and only get local currency once they arrive at their destination. If you are on a business trip, FedEx your luggage ahead of time. Make it harder for the TSA to steal!

The gloves are to "protect" the screener, not the passenger. That's why they can paw through soiled underwear in one bag, and not change gloves for the next.... it's also why they've been seen wearing gloves while using a urinal and then going back to screening bags without either washing or changing gloves.

Or when requested by the passenger. Never forget that one.

Would the baggage-inspection TSO be required to comply with a passenger's WRITTEN request to change gloves if they're not present in person - for instance a notice attached to the lock, latch, and (additionally) on multiple sheets of papers INSIDE the luggage?

This is what is known as the "ring of Gyges" test

"or when requested by the passenger". As though you're there...

Well, this thread has certainly made me feel better... Pawing with soiled hands through my stuff, LOL...*sigh*

Not much time or energy yet, but I'm washing every item in that suitcase before I wear it...luckily I carried some stuff in my carry on...and did one small wash so far...

What a ridiculous thread. People's bags have been inspected and opened long before the TSA ever existed. You're about ready to get onto a plane with seats that are rarely cleaned and breathe in recirculated air with 150 complete strangers for the next several hours but your main concern is that your bag was inspected by gloves that may not be new? Do you realize how filthy a bag bin is to begin with? Do you realize how many ramp agents will touch your bag as well? Do you open your bag and then immediately go and wash your hands before touching any of the contents inside?

Comparing this "invasion" to being robbed is completely asinine. How many signs are posted before you even step into the airport clearly stating that all bags are subject to search? You voluntarily checked in your bag and accepted the fact that it can be searched. Get over it.

I flew for many years before TSA. My bags were always locked and I never had one returned to me unlocked or missing a lock. This was obviously also pre-TSA locks. Yes, I know how easy it is for baggage handlers to open and re-seal nylon zippers, but since my bags have always had metal zippers, if the lock wasn't tampered with and the contents were intact, I was confident that my bag hadn't been opened.

Also never had anything stolen from my bags, or damaged by outside handling (opened and left open inside the bag) and I never had someone else's belongings show up in my bags.

I will guarantee that if my clothes are searched after a week of work, they will be cleaner after the search than they were before. The gloves will also need to be changed, so the next search gets clean gloves. Win-win.

If anyone finds a bright pink Allison Daley henley in their suitcase that went thru DFW this past Tues, I would very much like it back...

Because the TSA would be perfectly willing to let passengers stand in the baggage room and instruct screeners to change gloves before handling any items in that bag.

You should send in an application to John Pistole--if you haven't already secretly done so and been hired to wear the Plastic Badge of Unlimited Power.

As long as we're playing the facts game, here's a fact for you. I flew dozens of times before 9/11 on family trips (I was in high school for 9/11). I almost always had at least one, and sometimes two family members with me. We always locked our bags, and never once was a lock taken off or a bag opened. I have family who've been regular business travelers since the 1970s, and they also never had a bag forcibly unlocked until the TSA came along.

So, no, despite your TSApologist tendencies, I won't get over it. Baggage was not an issue in 9/11, and it's highly unlikely that anyone would choose such a predictable route going forward, so why (aside from exerting more control over the flying public) would the TSA need to manually open and search bags randomly? Bags that flag in the scanner are one thing, but the opening of "random" bags leaves entirely too much room for a screener to decide that he/she likes the look of the headphones that the passenger foolishly left in their checked luggage, does a "random" check, and takes those noise-cancelling Bose headphones home with them.

Ah, of course...another one. Yes, because I disagree with you I must certainly either work for the TSA or applying with the TSA. Congratulations, you were in high school during 9/11 and flew plenty of times before. Guess what? Me too.

You really expect complete privacy because you put a little lock on your bag? Oh, darn...a 0.5" lock on a bag...it's impossible to open! As I said before, bags were always subject to search at any time long before the TSA. You're so concerned about a TSO stealing something out of your bag when in reality your bag is most vulnerable to theft when it is waiting to be claimed.

(bolding mine)

Do you have a cite for that?

IMHO, it is most 'vulnerable' when it is out of my sight and in the hands of people who have xrays to determine the bag's contents and authority to cut the lock and rifle the bag at any time, with no responsibility to even ensure that all (safe) contents are returned to the bag and the bag is resecured. (I'm referring to missing content like a pink shirt or added contents like clothing and an alarm clock that didn't belong to me. By 'resecuring', I mean not cutting zipper pulls and breaking a zipper on when removing a TSA-approved lock).

I am well aware that there have been theft rings operating in baggage claim areas (PHX has been particularly reluctant to address this issue), but baggage claim thefts are 'speculative' - a thief grabs a bag and hopes there's something worth stealing inside (and that they didn't just grab the bag right in front of the owner).

Baggage handlers are also 'speculative' thieves - they don't know until they open and rifle a bag if there's anything worth stealing inside.

TSOs, unlike baggage handlers and baggage claim thieves, have both the Xray and the unquestioned authority to open and rifle any bag at any time. An experienced TSO has a pretty good idea before opening the bag whether or not there's something to steal, and if there is, where it is in the bag.

A baggage handler seen cutting a lock or rifling an open bag is suspicious and may be questioned; a TSO, never. It's his/her job.

No, I do not have a source to cite. However, where are you getting the impression that an experienced TSO will know whether or not there is something to steal to begin with? While I understand your point that a baggage handler opening a bag is suspicious at all times, there are plenty of times as well where your bag can be easily be opened by a baggage handler without anyone seeing.

They typically have two people per bulk loaded bin and one in a RJ. In some cases, the person in the bin is solely responsible for loading it and no other functions until push. There is plenty of time in between loading while the person is just sitting in the bin with bags with no one watching.

The thing is...yes, there are thieves out there but the majority of employees are not out there to steal. Having said that, I cannot ever remember a time where it was ever recommended that you put items of significant value into a checked bag.

It's not "items of significant value" that bother me. It's the fact that I can't get a couple minis of Woodford Reserve into a checked bag without having them mysteriously disappear and a TSA inspection sheet being in their place. I'm not dumb enough to put a Faberge egg into a checked bag, but it would be really nice if the empty Nalgene water bottle I checked was still in there when I got to my hotel.

And to my earlier comment, no, I didn't say that you work for the TSA. I did, however, suggest that you should send in an application if you haven't done so already. Pistole loves to hire people who believe that we should all be grateful for the opportunity to sacrifice personal liberties and Constitutional rights in exchange for a false sense of security.