jpmcdonough

Well, after 40 flights this year, that's a new one. At SAN at Terminal 2. The TSO wanted to examine my watch. I watched her very carefully as she examined my Rolex.

NOS for everyone. They opened the WTMD line for 2 seconds and closed it again. I guess you are supposed to take off your watch and rings going through the NOS. It's not a large watch.

I feel much safer knowing the watch plot is being defeated.

Emeraldcity

I NEVER remove those items nor should you.
When they want to examine them after I go through the NOS, I show them my wrist and they look at it, I never remove the Rolex or my rings...... And I travel through terminals 1 & 2 in SAN.

jpmcdonough

Good to know. I had only had someone instruct me to take my watch off once before, going through security entering a courthouse in Texas. I was there to be a juror, but I felt like a criminal. Or an airline passenger.

oboshoe

My answer is always "No"

TSA SOP does not require removing of Jewelry (which is what a watch is)

I've always refused to remove my watch, although they are allowed to look at while I'm wearing it.

If push comes to shove and I'm not allowed to pass till they examine it (off my wrist), my plan is to ask them to summon a LEO to supervise.

To many thieves in TSA ranks to trust them with a watch that cost more than they earn in a year in salary.

Now having said that, if you are dumb enough to walk into whole body X-Ray Chamber, and you are wearing a gold watch, there is cause for concern. As I understand it, gold jewelry intensifies your radiation dose on the skin around the gold item. (But I have never stepped into one of those and I never will)

PhoenixRev

I never go through the NoS, but even if I did, I would never consent to taking off my wedding and engagement bands. They can inspect the bands before I walk through the scanners and then check them again afterward, but I would be raising hell if they told me that I had to remove them as a condition for flying.

N1120A

I had a watch stolen at a courthouse checkpoint here in L.A. After that, I refuse to put it through the X-Ray. I take it off, hold it in my hand and they don't bug me.

exerda

The few times I haven't been able to self-select lanes without NoS, I have had the TSOs fuss at me for refusing to remove my watch.

One guy wouldn't let me even use the NoS until I removed it (yes, this earned a complaint to the TSA, and he also claimed there was no opt-out). Another berated me for not following instructions and did an ETD swab of my watch plus felt under the band with his fingers.

What a waste of taxpayer $$ and passengers' time.

jpmcdonough

I had not realized that they had escalated to watches. I guess the DFW TSA is still laid back by comparison.

As an aside, another first. I got the 'we inspected your bag' notification but my TSA-approved lock was not destroyed.

bniu

don't know about DFW but not surprised they're relatively laid back. Texans are far less likely to be over confrontational. I know from experience in AUS that many of the TSA folks are very nice and the rest are all quite courteous. They simply do their jobs and are great at turning a big problem into no problem at all.

FriendlySkies

At that rate, it sounds like opting-out would have been much faster than being scanned.

wormhole

The only time I have gone through a NoS is at CVG back in April and I never thought to take my watch off. The TSO on the exit side just asked me what brand it was. That caught me off guard and my mind went blank, so I had to look at it to answer him. I was never asked to remove it and the TSO did not do anything with it. It is a large watch (Casio G-shock), but has never set off a WTMD, so I never gave it a thought going through the NoS.

oldpenny16

I was 'asked' to remove a medical ID bracelet that is not removable. There is no clasp.

JumboD

If you are offering them up for inspection, perhaps moving them one finger to your right would be in order?

atk5015

Just went through DFW C/P E?(Continental gates) last week. NOS was open and TSA was instructing everyone to remove all items, including watches and jewelry. You were allowed to hold your "wallet or cash" in your hands as you went through screening. My ring and watch never set off WTMD but I locked everything up in my carry-on.

Of course, I opted out and didn't alarm WTMD while walking through.

Global_Hi_Flyer

Easier to pocket than an iPad.