I didn't bother removing mine from its case at PHX. It went through with no issues on 10/28. We'll see how ORD handles it at 4am on Halloween. I'm not removing mine unless asked since I'm usually busy opting out of the backscatters and already have my laptop out. Cumbersome enough as it is.

I spoke too soon. It had to come out at PBI this morning.

Please keep comments to practical matters
 

Like, your actual experiences with CPAP at various airports; practical advice etc.

thanks

squeakr

co Mod TS/S

99 times out of 100 it does not have to come out of the bag.

I thought I read somewhere that:

* if you take it out of the bag, it will be fine, it won't need extra screening
* if you leave it in the bag and they have problems seeing it on the xray, then they will have to rescan it, etc.

I just take mine out of the bag, so I don't have to worry about potential rescanning.

Kept mine in the bag @ SJC, but they wanted the compressor unit outside the case at PHL.

Just like with PHX T4 on a busy Friday evening, ORD T2 was no problem at 4am this morning. Left in the case like I always do.

I have a ResMed S9 and in the case everything is nicely separated so that when placed flat on the belt all the relevant parts can be clearly seen. That may help.

Have been traveling with a Fisher Paykel for over 10 years, and I have always had to remove it from the case.

Just got a a resmed S9 with humidifier. Am hoping I can just place the opened case flat on the belt and not have to take it out. Am traveling over Christmas, so we shall see!!

You can chose to believe what you want to believe, even without any direct proof or evidence. That is your decision. Do so knowing that such beliefs color your conclusions.

But to state again, CPAPs are required to come out of their case, and yes, I am aware many TSOs do not enforce it, and I am aware that some TSOs are mistaken regarding policy.

I didn't even unzip it. Just laid it down so it would obviously proceed smoothly along the belt without being knocked over.

Once through the WTMD at ORD and waiting for my things to come through, I could stare directly at the monitors the TSO was watching (they're actually angled perfectly for viewing by everyone waiting for their own things). She (and I) clearly saw the S9 and H5i laying flat. She stared at it for about 5 seconds and then moved on to the next bag.

I can't wait to see how LHR, TXL and CDG treat it over the winter holidays myself!

Thanks for the reply, I will try that also. What a pain!!

Sorry about the following rant!! (I always get choisen for the inhanced pat-down due to a knee replacment. When will they ever stop picking on seniors or handicaped people???? Why is my artificial knee a "threat" every time I fly. My husband is in a wheelchair. Here we are with computer, CPAP, knee replacemnt and wheelchair.) Just be greatful you are not next in line behind us.

For about a year now (which pretty much corresponds with the OP of this thread, I was told by a few TSOs that it was no longer required to remove the CPAP from the case, and so I stopped doing it.

I have been fine for a year, but yesterday a TSO in SEA informed me that it must be removed from the case, and re-scanned it. I asked if that was a universal policy or just at SEA. She just said, "They have to be removed from their case."

I replied, "That's funny, because when I went through a different checkpoint at SEA yesterday, I was not asked to remove it from the case*. I haven't been asked to remove it for a year or so." She asked which checkpoint, and I told her Checkpoint 5. She didn't say anything.

*Absolutely true. I had a delayed flight that was going to cause a misconnect, so I rescheduled on a direct flight the next morning.

So I'm asking for an update. For the past year, have you been told to remove or not remove your CPAP, and have you seen any recent changes lately? Or is this just a rogue agent?

Rogue agent. You do not have to remove them anymore. I got the same line once in the past year from an LGA TSO at Christmas, but did not have an issue at LGA the Labor Day before that.

Late edit: I originally misread this post/had a brain disconnect. My LGA incident was them wanting to swipe down the CPAP as a matter of course. My understanding was that they only swiped it down if they could not get a clear image. At that point, I was always putting my CPAP in a bin by itself.

Are you absolutely sure? Because TSA seems to think they still need to come out of the bag.

I only got my CPAP in February, but I've always automatically taken the machine out of its bag and placed it in a bin (on top of a plastic sheet). To date it's never been pulled for rescreening/swabbing. No one at any checkpoint I've gone through has said anything about leaving it in the bag.

No one is ever "sure" about anything, but after being told at multiple airports by multiple TSOs that I no longer needed to remove my CPAP, I stopped, and this is the first time I've heard anything to the contrary in nearly a year. <shrug>

And it is a little disgusting that those black rubber flaps that brush everyone's shoes can potentially rub against the hose connection port on my machine. Hopefully there are enough x-rays to sterilize the flaps.