X-ray examination is the primary screening method for all accessible property (carry-ons). Random secondary screening of accessible property is a sound, prudent measure. Mandatory secondary screening for every single piece of accessible property is overkill. There are some people in my organization who advocate this, foolishly I might add. Please, let's not go there!

What exactly would this swabbing of the laptop involve? How long would my laptop be out of my possession? Is this ever done for PDAs, cell phones, DVD players, etc.?

I've had it done where they rub it with a cotton ball and then place the cotton ball in a machine that detects explosive traces. I think this is the swabbing test. Quick and painless.

What bothers me though is when screeners for no apparent reason manipulate my electronics without asking. Case in point: CVG I was bent over putting my shoes back on (no lane at the checkpoint). My laptop had cleared the machine and was still in the tray. My laptop bag was next to it. A screener (I'm assuming because it was a slow day) came up long after I had had a chance to leave (I was only there because I had to re-tie my shoes) and opened my laptop without asking (was she looking for a knife between the screen and keyboard?) then immediately shut it again. She didn't slam it closed or anything improper, but in the process of opening it, it came out of hibernate mode; reshutting it so fast kind of messed things up a bit.

Had she asked, I would have had her open it up and then return it to me so I could shut it down properly. Now I keep a much better eye on my gear.

Opening the laptop is part of the procedure. However, you hit on another one of my pet peeves. I tell my screeners to watch whether or not the laptop activates once it's opened. If it does, then ask the passenger if they would like to shut it down.

My only advice to you is to advise the screener to not close the laptop after they open it so you can shut it down properly (now that you know it is going to be opened anyway). If they give you any problem, then ask for a supervisor.

I've had my laptops ETD swiped so many times I just figure it's par for the course these days. There's no consistency to whether they do or not, and they pick both my IBM & Vaio (so no prejudice there ) It's gotten to the point I swear I can recognize that "look" when my laptop comes through the xray - I just right away say "it's mine, go ahead" as politely as I can. A minute or two later & I'm on my way. I don't recall having them open the laptop more than a couple times though

FWIW - I went through LAX about 2 hours after you in the same terminal and did not get selected and did have a laptop - which is too bad because I would love to tell them NO when they ask to swab my laptop and point to the green RT Security Cleared stamp on my BP.

Thanks. I know this screener didn't do it on purpose; she just probably hadn't been advised that it was an issue. I'm glad you are taking it up with your screeners.

That was the only time it has happened to me BTW. But I'm more vigilant now.

Hmm. Never had mine opened. They seem to swab around the seams/edges but do not open the lid. Not sure how I'd feel about that, as laptop-lid-latches are extremely fragile and I don't think TSA is prepared to compensate me for potential damage. Let alone the suspend, shut-down, reboot, and battery life issues.

I've also never had them pick it up without confirming it is mine first, and usually they seem to handle it with both hands (which is how I handle it).

Greetings from Amsterdam, where I'm still waiting for my room to be made available (yawn). Luckily there's an internet terminal in the executive lounge (nothing personal, but right now I'd rather be sleeping than surfing FT ).

Quick comments/thoughts:

* I've been through that particular lane before on numerous occasions & don't remember the machine going back/forth every single time for every single item. Also, our lane appeared to a) be the only really slow one; b) the only one where 5 laptops in a row got called for 'secondary'. My guess (and it's only a guess) is that the person looking at the screen was new, based on the above.

* That's the phrase the TSA folk used in our lane, so I thought I was going to get the full secondary screening, but they were just doing the 'swab' thing which was certainly better than the whole rigamarole, but confused others too, not just me, w/ phrasing (not the end of the world, btw). Heck, I automatically headed to the penalty box & she said no not there, over here, & then we headed to the swab machine. Didn't open laptops that I could tell (or at least mine).

* The laptops could have been because of what occurred over the weekend, but while I was there it was our lane that had 5 laptops in a row & other lanes had the regular take your shoes off/hold out your arms thing.

* I think auh2o wants something to happen so he can pull out his RT card; I'll just settle for beating him through the elite security line

Cheers.

Sharon

There are other possibilities I didn't mention. At my airport at least, we are in the process of cross-training screeners in checked baggage and checkpoint procedures. Until now, we specialized in one and maintained the minimum required proficiency in the other. Starting next month (October) we will all be full-fledged Jedi Knights and will rotate between checked baggage and checkpoint operations.

A distinct possibility is that screeners were being trained on checkpoint duties. The best way to train someone how to correctly perform ETD analysis of property is to do it on a continuous basis until the trainee masters the skill.

I'm just guessing. I don't see a big problem here; I'm just trying to give you and other members of this august forum some insights.

P.S. From the comments made thus far about screeners not always opening the laptops as part of the ETD screening process, seems to me that checkpoint screeners could use a little bit of re-training on correct procedures. Supervisors and Leads: what's your excuse for this?

I open the laptop everytime I have to check them. They aren't that fragile as I haven't broken one in three years of working for airport security.

My experiences have been the same.

You are more gentle than I, but that's not suprising as I'm a bit of a klutz!

Since 2000 I've broken at least 2 laptop latches and received one (used) laptop with a semi-broken latch that I eventually broke. Brands were Dell, Toshiba, and DEC, so my klutziness is not restricted to one particular latch. Oh well.

Last time I flew out of the United terminal at LAX in mid-July, they weren't enforcing SSSS procedures at all (at least for those of us who had the mark of doom on our boarding passes). Seemed like they were only pulling people out of line for WTMD beeps and "random" secondary screening.

Do they still check ID at the gate at T6/T7/T8? I'm thinking that might have something to do with the absence of SSSS.

Enjoy Amsterdam. Your laptop shouldn't even have to come out of your bag at Schiphol, so enjoy the refreshing change!