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-   Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-security-issues-686/)
-   -   Must be a Zip-Loc (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/practical-travel-safety-security-issues/1197832-must-zip-loc.html)

GUWonder Mar 24, 2011 5:08 am


Originally Posted by barbell (Post 16090977)
"Rules" made up on the spot for no apparent reason, nor measurable increase in security on the whim of heightened security just instituted that day?

Yeah, it happens at every checkpoint, at every airport, every day.

Remember, you have NO IDEA what they see, and only they can protect America from the next bomb. :rolleyes:

Having seen the TSA get all excited over a diaper or two in collapsible strollers sent through the x-ray machines, nothing with these TSA clowns really surprises me. Wait until the TSA is weaned off federally-funded milk, then the TSA will be shrieking worse than any baby in a plane who has just been weaned off breast-milk.

kipper Mar 24, 2011 6:51 am


Originally Posted by BubbaLoop (Post 16091935)
ZipLock bags have been proven to prevent explosions. ;)

I have a particular problem with the baggies. Zip top bags of this exact size are simply not available in my part of the world. There are zip top bags, sold by the size of their sides (not volume), none of them are square, and obviously they look different and therefore dangerous to the astute TSO at the frontline.

Iīve tried all sorts of compensation tactics, and been scolded for:

1. Using a 23 x 17 cm baggie (wrong size, not square).
2. Using a torn baggie (old one I got in the US and reused until in tatters).
3. Using a durable non-disposable baggie which holds 960 mLs (I measured!), is transparent and has a real zipper on top. (not zip top baggie = bad).
4. Using a sandwich baggie (no zip top, but exactly 1 L volume, square size, like a US ZipLock).

My problems only decreased after SSSS disappeared and I stopped taking the baggie out.

Have you tried to order them from amazon.com or some such that would ship to you?

BubbaLoop Mar 24, 2011 6:58 am


Originally Posted by kipper (Post 16092438)
Have you tried to order them from amazon.com or some such that would ship to you?

1. I refuse to pay US$ 20-30 shipping and wait 6-8 weeks to get plastic baggies just to please the TSA. Give me a break. There is nothing superior about US-purchased baggies versus our non-square ones, or the non-disposable one, or a non-zip top (unless of course they now plan to keep us safe against leaks).
2. Amazon does not sell taxable products abroad - mostly just books can be bought from Amazon here. Many other countries, like Canada, have separate Amazon sites, with a different, shorter, product list.

Caradoc Mar 24, 2011 7:00 am


Originally Posted by kipper (Post 16092438)
Have you tried to order them from amazon.com or some such that would ship to you?

Seriously?

Why should someone have to order specially-sized bags (not locally available) just because the dimwitted high-school drop-outs in the blue shirts can't understand metric?

Especially when the whole 3-1-1 rule is fundamentally flawed in the first place?

BubbaLoop Mar 24, 2011 7:02 am


Originally Posted by Caradoc (Post 16092485)
Seriously?

Why should someone have to order specially-sized bags (not locally available) just because the dimwitted high-school drop-outs in the blue shirts can't understand metric?

Especially when the whole 3-1-1 rule is fundamentally flawed in the first place?

^ And there is that, too.

kipper Mar 24, 2011 7:09 am


Originally Posted by Caradoc (Post 16092485)
Seriously?

Why should someone have to order specially-sized bags (not locally available) just because the dimwitted high-school drop-outs in the blue shirts can't understand metric?

Especially when the whole 3-1-1 rule is fundamentally flawed in the first place?

I'm simply offering another solution to the "problem." Other solutions, if they don't want to be "scolded for" their solutions, include buying a box the next time they're in the US, or asking someone in the US to ship them a box.

I'm not saying the rule isn't flawed, or that they shouldn't continue to use their methods. However, I'm making other suggestions, rather than just whining about the problem and the rule.

Caradoc Mar 24, 2011 7:13 am


Originally Posted by kipper (Post 16092524)
I'm not saying the rule isn't flawed, or that they shouldn't continue to use their methods. However, I'm making other suggestions, rather than just whining about the problem and the rule.

I'd much rather see the TSA eliminated and airport security returned to 9/10/2001 standards.

Another alternative would be to fire every last employee of the TSA who makes up bogus rules like the one mentioned in the OP.

Boggie Dog Mar 24, 2011 7:15 am


Originally Posted by chollie (Post 16091012)
Interesting. I came through LAS on Tuesday. A couple ahead of me had to 'surrender' their LGAs because both of them had their items in regular ziploc bags - but the gallon size, not the quart size. The TSO explained that the problem wasn't the size or quantity of the LGAs, it was the size of the baggie. :rolleyes:

The only LGAs I happened to have on me were eye drops and a chapstick. I often have them in a snack-sized baggie, but fortunately this time I had them in a quart-size baggie (ran out of the small size) or I might have had to surrender my LGAs too.

I wish the local news would cover things like this. Make an attempt to contact the LAS FSD. Explain on the evening news that there have been reports from the field of 'heightened' attention to baggie size and style at the LAS airport. Provide a few anecdotal examples, then ask the FSD for a comment (none will be given, of course). Close with a comment wondering about what dastardly sort of potential threat has just been narrowly averted by the LAS FSD's timely directive.

I wonder if anyone working for TSA is surprised when the public calls them stupid?

Caradoc Mar 24, 2011 7:22 am


Originally Posted by Boggie Dog (Post 16092556)
I wonder if anyone working for TSA is surprised when the public calls them stupid?

Some of the posters here who claim to be TSA seem inordinately proud of that.

ND Sol Mar 24, 2011 7:58 am


Originally Posted by chollie (Post 16091417)
Also, OP indicated it is some kind of special LAS FSD directive - elevated threat level, no doubt. :rolleyes:

Except in very limited circumstances, the FSD may not unilaterally change the TSA SOP to make it more restrictive. For example:


4.3.19. EXERCISE OF FSD DISCRETION

Situations may arise which merit a temporary, short-term deviation from established security procedures. Where an articulable risk-based assessment supports a temporary deviation from such procedures, an FSD only (or the Acting FSD) has the authority to proceed as good judgment warrants.

A. An FSD (or Acting FSD) must be prepared to provide a well-reasoned justification for any deviation. For instance, where the presence at the checkpoint of an elected official or other trustworthy person of notoriety has the potential of creating a distraction that might lessen security, escort of the passenger and accompanying family members directly into the sterile area might be justified.

B. An FSD (or Acting FSD) should not exercise the discretion to deviate from established procedures where any doubt exists that aviation safety or national security might be compromised. Where such doubt exists, prior approval of the Area Director should be obtained.

PhlyingRPh Mar 24, 2011 8:06 am


Originally Posted by InkUnderNails (Post 16091964)
My Kippie bag has remained in by carry on for over a year with 3-4 RT's every month. Not a word has been said. Zilch, zero, nada. That may change on my next flight. I will apologize for forgetting, and run it through. Until then, it stays in my bag.

I would urge everyone to keep their ziploc bags inside their carry-ons. The WTMD screen jockeys obviously don't care about them and therefore omitting to take it out of ones bag means that one is in full compliance with TSA regulations.

Besides, if the ziploc bag is removed from your carry on, there is a chance you will forget it in the filthy, grey plastic tub.

Boggie Dog Mar 24, 2011 8:49 am

We need a list of FSD phone numbers so when some TSA employee pulls this local rule stuff we can say "Ok, give me a moment so I can call your FSD and we will see about this local rule."

I suggest a new thread pinned to the top of TS/S for FSD contact info.

BubbaLoop Mar 24, 2011 10:25 am


Originally Posted by kipper (Post 16092524)
I'm simply offering another solution to the "problem." Other solutions, if they don't want to be "scolded for" their solutions, include buying a box the next time they're in the US, or asking someone in the US to ship them a box.

I'm not saying the rule isn't flawed, or that they shouldn't continue to use their methods. However, I'm making other suggestions, rather than just whining about the problem and the rule.

I understand you are just trying to list options. However, you should understand that my problem illustrates that of many foreign travelers. I provided a number of perfectly reasonable substitutes for the US ZipLock (including a used US ZipLock purchased one of the few times I had the time to visit a supermarket), but had trouble with all of them. Should I really have to go to unreasonable levels of action because these rules and the people enforcing them are so stupid?

The truth is that every time a TSO complains to a foreigner about the size of a metric bag or any other ridiculous thing we donīt have to deal with when traveling in the rest of the World, the US looses more tourism money. I myself only go there for business currently, despite the fact that I have extensive family and friends there.

exbayern Mar 24, 2011 10:34 am


Originally Posted by kipper (Post 16092524)
I'm simply offering another solution to the "problem." Other solutions, if they don't want to be "scolded for" their solutions, include buying a box the next time they're in the US, or asking someone in the US to ship them a box.

I'm not saying the rule isn't flawed, or that they shouldn't continue to use their methods. However, I'm making other suggestions, rather than just whining about the problem and the rule.

TSA needs to realise that the US is not the only country in the world, that the US relies on overseas visitors, and that the vast majority of the world with a handful of exceptions utilizes the metric system.

There are still reports of TSA documentation reflecting 3.0 oz instead of 3.4 oz even though the sizing was standardized to the more common worldwide measurement of 100ml.

Unfortunately we have seen many times from TSA as well as from some of their representatives here that what is done outside the US is not being considered as a viable option (not just referring to plastic bag size).

That sort of ignorance and arrogance is just another reason why people here are frustrated.

FrequentishFlyer Mar 24, 2011 10:37 am

Count me another one surprised that they're still taking them out of the carry-on -- I haven't removed in months and haven't been called on it at 6 different airports.


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