Chrisinhouston

I just did a week's vacation in Rochester, NY and as I left I noticed the TSA smurfs there are contract labor from McNeil Security. Got home and opened my checked bag only to find that they had ransacked it! I put shoes, sandals and dirty laundry on the upper side with the zippered mesh panel.

So thanks to the TSA guys who dumped out my toiletries bag on to my dirty things and left everything all messy, nothing like storing my toothbrush next to my sweaty running shorts and beach sandals! And over on the clean side they unwrapped 2 bottles of wine that had been carefully wrapped in some clothing and placed in between all of the clothes for safety and just left them unwrapped. Thankfully they were not broken which is a compliment to the baggage handlers!

Called the McNeil customer service line and was given an apology and they asked for a picture with the particulars of the flight. Wouldn't it be nice if the TSA inspectors had to put some kind of ID in the bag as to who actually did the inspection?

Go here for a picture of the bag:
http://www.cellar.org/showthread.php...509#post747509

Slide101

Great idea to photograph it afterwards. In the future maybe all passengers should take BEFORE and AFTER photos of their luggage contents with a list of everything inside. For frequent travelers the list would probably be much the same.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

Why so they can put their colleague's name on it?? All you can do is file a claim for the costs involved. Even for petty amounts like a new tooth brush.

horseflesh

I've been thinking about building a tiny camera into my checked bag, so that when it gets opened the camera starts recording audio/video. It would be hilarious, infuriating, and terrifying to see what actually happens during checked bag screening.

You can get a tiny keychain sized camera for very little money:

http://www.google.com/search?q=type+3+keychain+camera

If you remove the camera from the case, it's extremely small... Doesn't have a great field of view unfortunately, but it should be small enough to conceal in many kinds of bags. The trick is rigging it to activate when the bag is opened.

okazon69

Would be not too difficult to do with a hard-shell suitcase....

loops

The really tricky part would be to have the camera uploading footage direct to web upon activation. Then you could get all that great live footage of the inside of a pocket, followed by a "day in the life" of a TSA baggage screener.

Slide101

Great idea loops. So far the ONLY proactive actions having an effect are photographs and videos -- well some audio too. I'm sure that's why the intimidation about taking photos and videotaping of the screeners (and some LEOS) and what they are doing to people. But there is no other way to truly protect ourselves while traveling. I have canceled or passed up 11 trips so far this year. I have one I have to do coming up but after that it will again be zip unless a dire emergency. MOst of those 11 trips would have involved two people. I might be just one person but I see that many others are also foregoing plane travel or even any travel except locally within driving distance. Might be why fewer scheduled routes.

chollie

I'm impressed that you actually were able to call and talk to a real person.

I have never understood why TSA takes 6 months to deny, sorry, investigate reports of theft and damage. Do they keep the tapes that long? Do they keep things like shift logs for that long, so that it is possible to determine who was working where?

If the reporting process was quick and simple and the investigations were timely, perhaps it would be possible to spot 'trouble' spots before they go on for weeks and months.

bajajoes

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@:-) I think there is such a camera that will transmit video/pictures wirelesly online BUT I don't know how to locate it.
IF anyone knows about this item please let the rest of us know.
It would be especially good for dealing with cops that don't know the law and confiscate cameras.

lostindallas

While going from Rochester NY back to Dallas I had the pleasure of being repacked by Mc Neil Security. Due to the small size of planes I had to pack a laptop in a check in bag. I took special consideration in how it was packed. I have moved sensitive items before.
When we got to O'Hare for a plane change many people observed a baggage handler with a mohawk trying to see how far he could throw luggage on the Tarmac. Not into a cart. On the pavement. This inlcuded bags owned by a member of the military. Since our connecting flight broke down before we could use it we had to change planes. I'm not sure if we had that handler at our plane. My empathy for the union of the Baggage Handlers is gone.
Needless to say when I opened my bag to unpack this morning ( after two plane breakdowns and being 3 hours lategetting in last night!) I found a damaged laptop. Had it for one month. Both parties claim no resposibility.
My question is: Where is the pride in doing your jobs and taking responsibility for your actions? A pilot sat there watching the handler throwing baggage from his plane. I'm the only one being held accountable. To pay for unprofessional people in the union airlines. Unions used to stand for pride in what you do. Where did that go?