We'll see how much clout the airport shops have (those that market electronics). They're either going to have to start ensuring that anything they sell is fully charged or they're going to have to try to operate like duty free - pax buys the item and picks it up in a sealed bag at the gate.

The most disturbing thing about this is that now that it's started, I don't see anyway TSA will back off to a more 'relaxed' attitude in the future. That can only mean a wider expansion - perhaps they decided to force our overseas friends to implement it first, then they'll expand it to the US in the interests of uniformity and greater security.

Either that or Chertoff is about to roll out a new, $$$ device that coincidentally happens to be a super-duper 'electronics screener'. Think of the $$ potential: foreign airports would be forced to buy these devices, not only for checkpoints but for baggage screening. The alternative would be forced manual inspections or loss of US flyover/landing privileges.

TV news is reporting today that this will be for flights to the USA from Europe, the MidEast, and Africa.

BA, for one, say that you won't make your *scheduled* flight with a dead gadget, but they can re-book you on a later flight after you've found a way to charge the pig and boot it up.

or swapped your little bomb for an identical looking ordinary device. :D

I haven't heard of something as idiotic as this for a long while.

All my upcoming flights to the US are from the Americas so I might almost find this funny.

Fortunately, it looks like US travelers (flying from/within the US) might be spared this. It's just been announced (such timing) that TSA knows a company that has a new electronic device screener ready to roll out to all baggage and checkpoint screening areas.

Foreign airports don't have to buy and install these US devices at all checkpoints and baggage screening areas that handle US-bound or US-overfly flights. Foreign airports are free to continue to use the manual method to power up and verify all electronic devices in checked or carry-on bags.

This is good news for some US airports. Not all airports have much in the way of a place to hang out before security - most people want to clear security before relaxing and killing time for their flights.

I don't know if I've ever seen charging stations pre-security at some of the airports I've flown out of - they're all in the sterile areas. There are a few outlets outside security.

Device going boom at security upon power-up could cause a fair deal of carnage too. Except now TSA minions have exposure (pun fully intended) to to this risk (rather than just the aircraft crew and pax).

Not to mention - such an incident would most likely shut down the airport (or at least the terminal) for quite some time. Imagine the chaos that a shutdown of, oh, say LHR T5 could cause.

As someone said earlier-idiots.

So Iranians travelling via KUL won't have any problems?

Don't have to imagine it, just look at past headlines when Things Went Wrong (volcano, baggage problems, liquid bombs, sandwich strike...)

So exactly 50% of my flights then.

How long can this possibly last? How long will every airline put up with using valuable staff time rebooking anyone who forgot, lost, broke or left behind their charger and/or adapter, every connecting passenger whose seat charger didn't work, every family with a teenager who got carried away on minecraft in the car on the way to the airport, every passenger like my mom who only has a charged phone when she wants to call someone (and then waits an hour to make the call), everyone whose iphone to ipad is getting old and drops from 70% to 0% with no notice, etc.

But then, I guess the TSA can use this to justify a budget increase so they can hire extra security to break up fist fights at power points...

o_O this is crazy if I need to fly to the USA and my phone discharges then I will be forced to throw away 600+ dollars worth of electronics??? It's one thing to throw away five bucks worth of drinks...

Does this effect all electronic devices? On a recent trip to the UK, I nearly bought an old video game console at a retro game store since it was a very good price. I didn't have the power converter on me, would have configured it when I got to the US. So if I do that on my next trip, my console would be confiscated because I didn't have the power cables to turn it on? Or because I didn't have a TV to attach the console to? I wouldn't trust it in checked baggage because it's valuable and I want to keep it with me.

So are we at the point where we need to Fedex our belongings to ourselves before fly?

This is all a strong-arm marketing ploy to force airports worldwide to buy new devices from a TSA-backed company (with a former DHS employee on the Board, surprise, surprise).

TSA has very recently announced that they have a company ready to supply devices (at a special jacked-up extortionate price just for taxpayers here and abroad, plus no doubt a premium for quicker delivery) that is designed to screen electronic devices for traces of explosives and drugs.

This is manna from heaven for this TSA-backed company - these devices will not only be installed at all checkpoints, they'll have to be installed in all baggage screening areas.

Non-US countries do not HAVE to buy these devices, of course, but if any of their flights go directly to or fly over the US, their only other alternative is to manually power up all phones, laptops and tablets, whether they are in carry-on or checked bags.

Seriously...what do you think they're going to do?

It's sad they're getting more excuses to meddle with medical devices like insulin pumps, CPAPS, and the like.

I am also looking for some information similar to this. I travel often with a very small PC (Intel NUC) which I don't care for the idea of having to pack in checked baggage since I am rather fond of it. Experience says that it will likely not make it to my final destination if it goes in checked baggage. I always have the power adapter with me but I cannot imagine security allowing me to plug it in, turn it on and show it working on one of their monitors. I understand they are handling battery operated electronics by having you turn them on but nothing seems to be said about electronics which need an outlet.

In Europe, various non-European airlines do provide an opportunity/reminder to recharge before attempting to board and/or complete screening.

In part, there is more of a passenger"right to leave" screening in Europe to secure valuable, legitimate property rights at various EU airports than there is in the US today. The US has pretty much gutted the "right to leave" the security screening process to secure legitimate property rights and thereby attacked property rights via that. Fortunately, the US doesn't have jurisdiction to deny basic rights to persons in most foreign countries with flights to the US, and so the foreign airlines and foreign airports and governments have to balance how they placate the US with how they abide by their own legal regimes.