TSA and locks
 

Has anyone else experienced the following:
- Checked Bag has TSA approved lock -closed at time of hand over at counter.
- Bag has been searched by TSA - got their nice little Card inside the bag.
- NO lock on bag on arrival at destination!

This is now my fourth flight where this has happened since December.

Are TSA lcoks just a waste of time (all locks get cut off anyway??)
I they open the locks - Where do all these locks go??


Thanks
Eugen J. Dolan

When I have bothered locking my luggage my TSA locks have always remained in place.

When I have lost locks (2 times), they appear to have been torn off because part of the zipper was broken as well. In both cases there was nothing missing in the contents and nothing was disturbed (like someone had looked for something).

I assume the locks were caught on something during handling or on the plane itself.

I started using luggage with integrated TSA locks about a year ago. No problems since then. But I didn't have many problems before either.

Moving this to the Travel Safety/Security Forum.

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

TSA approved locks share much in common with TSA, they both suggest security while doing little to provide real security.

I travel with a 70lb tool chest and attempted to use TSA approved locks. The most they lasted was about two trips before failing.

The baggage handling equipment slaps luggage around (think of an oversized paddle here), goes through the sorting process which has the luggage dropping down onto another conveyor belt, before being delivered to the luggage carts.

TSA approved locks aren't built well enough to withstand the rigors of baggage handling. Couple that to lazy TSOs who can't/won't get the keys to unlock the locks, cutting the locks off of the luggage and you have the situation you currently find yourself in today.

The question for TSA and TSOs is:

How are we, the traveling public supposed to secure our luggage against theft when we have few available options (TSA approved locks or nothing)?

Suggest using real locks, and taking your luggage over to the oversized luggage area and telling them that you want the locks locked after the x-ray process. This is a pain, but pretty much the only way you can pretty much guarantee a secure piece of luggage.:mad::td::(

I have seen this happen. When the bag is placed on the conveyer belt we are required to place it face down, wheels up, because sometimes the wheels will roll and the bag can/will easily get jammed in the system, and once a pile up starts - usually where no one can easily reach it - it can cause a major problem. If you put the bag wheels down the airline baggage employees usually come up and yell at you (at SAT, anyways).

Where the locks, and often zipper tabs, get ripped off is where different conveyer belts meet. It very rare, and depends on a few things, such as how far down the zipper tabs and lock hang, and where they sit on the bag., and so on.

I've actually been able to save a few bags once they get caught like that - hit the emergency stop on the conveyer belt - but once it happens it usually takes place in just a few seconds.

AM is correct. I fought part of that battle before giving up on locks. At this point even simple things like getting TSA to put wire ties back on is impossible at times.

Your only option is to file a claim with the TSA for the cost of the locks.

I have seen several solutions for the exact same situation you describe.

I have seem people use the TSA approved lock to "lock" their more durable locks. Various ways I have seen this.

I have seen people use the TSA approved - not sure what to call it - strap. It wraps around the tool case/luggage, through a handle so it stays in place, and snaps together. It is a combination lock and looks sort oflike a belt. It is very strong. Not sure if you have seen this.

Edit: if I were to lock any of my luggage, I would use the strap. If that matters to you.

The locks have not been torn off- in fact is still the same bag the locks were removed.

The straps sound like a good idea - has anyone else had experience with them - much more expensive than locks alone

Used the straps in conjunction with TSA approved locks. Straps held up for around ten trips before having the latching mechanism get damaged and the strap lost.:( Did it, done it, been there. ;)

Did use it and it too eventually failed. When using real locks, they held up for many, many trips.:(

I've had more problems with the TSA locks themselves not working (the lock not locking) then locks going missing.

I've had the indicator on my lock show as opened about 5 times in 3 years. I've never had a note left.

I’ve only lost one lock. In 2006 leaving YYZ for JFK on an AE flight. The lock, and the zip the lock was attached to, came off somewhere between putting it on the baggage belt after CBP and the bag getting to the plane. The lock was snapped and the zip was ripped off. Before the door was closed, the ground crew handed the flight attendant a plastic bag to give me. The bag had the contents of the opened compartment and the remains of the zip and lock.

AA paid QF to repair the bag once I returned home.

Strange...like you there are some men that fly with their tool case every week. I know cause I see them. Their straps last....

But regardless, the best I have seen is a nylon or canvas "jacket" that fits over the took case, leaving just the handle sticking out. When I opened that, the case was held by the strap.

The strap with the embedded TSA lock I have found for about $15 US on various web-sites.

I had a lock cut off once...but they were nice enough to tape the pieces to the TSA card before they stuck the card in my bag.

I had a second checked bag on that trip which had the same type of lock, but it wasn't cut off - I'm guessing the first bag was opened because it contained, among other things, safety boots and a small belt pouch w/a flashlight and a multi-tool while the other bag just had boring old clothes and toiletries.