(first off I am not familiar with forums so I don't know how to do the quotes, links, etc.)

Anyway, go to tsa.gov and on the right side of the page is "permitted and prohibited items" scroll down and you'll see a brochure that summarizes most things. Alcohol is on the first page..No more than 5 liters per person and high alcohol like Bacardi 151 is not allowed.

As for hairspray, go to faa.gov and look under "travelers" at the top-right.
On the left side, click "Flying safe" Look under "Hazerdous Materials Carried by Passengers and CrewMembers."
Basically it says don't bring more than 16 oz. for toiletries. There are cans of hairspray that are much larger.

As for the books and papers....nothing personal to lawyers..I was only using an example...But in reality, they are hard to see thru. What are ya' gonna do? The TSA doesn't have time to look at the text..don't worry. Those things are better carried on anyway. They can't be replaced and aren't covered under baggage liabilty.

ROFLMAO!!!

translation?

It means Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off

>>The TSA doesn't have time to look at the text..don't worry.

Depends on who's doing the search and how dishonest, incompetent and/or unhurried they are.

Last December TSA-PHX got into my TSA-locked duffle, ripped open a sealed but unaddressed Priority Mail envelope, left its contents scattered throughout the bag damaged (among other things). Dot was red (indicating TSA-key use) and they left the love note. This envelope was a millimeter or less thick, contained nothing but paper: no way did it alarm the XRM.

I use indicator TSA locks and unusual-coloured zip ties both, depending on what I must check that trip and which luggage I'm using. Sometimes they do a neat search and replace the zip ties with white or black ones, other times they leave exterior pockets unzipped, compression straps loose or gone, etc.

To OP: nothing's dependable. Use what you like, and hope for the best. If you can manage with only carry-on, better still. Gute Reise!

I am certainly not defending all of TSA..I have seen sloppy searches, but I have also seen attempts to contact customers.

You're really kidding yourself if you think using a TSA lock entails an iota of accountability on the part of screeners.

As you must know by now, that is considered SSI.

Yes, we've discussed the problem about master keys many times in this forum. But bag theft is much easier than that:

In the past year, twice I had Tumi TSA-approved locks stolen on the outbound. International flights from SFO, once via JFK, once via MIA. It didn't seem like the bags were opened, just the locks removed.

I did write to TSA both times and got a 'not our fault' letter back.

Sylvia

Actually, I did have the TSA page me because of the locks on my bags. I was transporting 2 firearms and ammo in two different bags. Yes, I declared them to the TA and then locked the red card inside the case. Problem is TSA wanted to eyeball the firearms because the CTX automatically identified the gun and flagged the bag it was in. The bag (case) in question was a Pelican 1550 secured by two combination Master Locks. Inside the guns were in their original manufacturers' case each secured with keyed Master Locks which is also the lock I used to secure the small Pelican holding the ammo in the other bag. Each gun also had a trigger lock. Since there was no way for them to get into the gun case, they paged me to return to the ticket counter.

Don't you know the TSO wanted me to open the cases so that he could take everything into the back for screening? Yeah, that didn't happen! I gave him the option to either inspect the items right then and there or call an airport cop and explain why he needed unfettered access to firearms AND ammunition in a "secure" section of the airport. He wasn't budging so I flagged down an airport cop and explained the situation. He gave the TSO a death stare and then told me he would personally walk everything into the back, oversee the screening and then lock the cases as they should be. He even gave me his card and badge number to boot if there were any issues upon arrival. ^ Everything arrived safe, sound and secrued.

Now that's stickin' to your guns, jonesing.

Excellent service from a REAL officer. I have met more than a few LEO's who are equally disgusted with the TSA charade. You can even see it in their faces whenever they are observing a screener trying to play cop.

In any case, I'm glad you stood your ground. Cheers to the officer for stepping in and making sure things were done right! ^

Certainly agree with you, essxjay, but the combination of red-dot lock plus love note does help to implicate them!

Not that it will get your stuff back, but supports a paper trail if you lose anything valuable enough to pursue other recompense, such as insurance. I've never had a major theft from checked baggage, but several times have had items damaged or destroyed, then repacked outside their protective cases, etc. An indicator lock (now I also take dated "before" photos) helped establish my own due diligence.

A supervisor at PDX refused to give me a complaint form (during the time TSA website forms left the required personal info unsecured), relented when I asked "So you're telling me that some ordinary thief is in possession of both a TSA key and a stack of official TSA search notices?"

Well to each their own, I guess.

If I had a choice between fighting the TSA over a theft claim with the ability to say I had a TSA lock, versus I had no lock or only a zip tie, I would certainly choose the former. The claim form specifically asks "If this was a Checked Baggage incident, Why do you believe that TSA was Responsible?" Seems to me I could respond "because I had a TSA lock and the only people who can open TSA locks are the TSA." Now, I realize there is really no truth to that statement, but it's a lot better than saying nothing in response. It's a minor inconvenience for what could be the difference between getting a claim approved or denied. It's no panacea, but I'm not sure why you would refuse something that can only help.

The TSA is sole defense counsel, judge and jury. You, the plaintiff, are SOL with your implications. No appeals allowed.

It's not for TSA, it's for travel or homeowner's insurance.

TSA's only response to any complaint I've made was to once tell me they had no record of the case number they'd given me.

The travel insurance company eventually did compensate my loss, but naturally wanted to make sure I'd first attempted to recover from parties who'd actually handled my stuff before reaching into their pocket. Since I had both the triggered lock and the love note, the airline could not have been liable as far as they were concerned. After their adjuster was similarly stonewalled by TSA, they paid up with apologies for the delay.