Should I complain?
 

When I flew from OAK to MDW the TSA searched both of my checked bags by hand. When I arrived at MDW and claimed the bags I discovered that the TSA failed to re-seal the bags. Though nothing was missing I am not happy that the agents failed to re-seal my bags because there was the potential for loss. Should I complain to the TSA about this? If so how do I go about it? What is TSA standard procedure in regards to resealing checked bags after a hand search?

What do you mean by re-seal?

Did you put the bags in a giant zip-lock bag or something?

Just kidding! :D

Please elaborate.

Steve

Definitely complain.

Bags should never be opened unless the passenger is present or expressly gives his/her consent to do so, regardless of what the current TSA policies are.

Complaints are the only way we are going to change these stupid policies, short of a well-deserved purge of the TSA's leaders.

100% checked baggage checks.

If you set off the alarm in the bagroom or baggage area, that bag MUST be opened and inspected.

If you think its a stupid policy then we will let whatever prohibited items thru and say the HELL with everyone and WHO CARES if there is a bomb in that checked bag.

Come on SPIFF, you need to use some common sense.

I said earlier in another thread, you will be AMAZED at the items we find in checked baggage.

Steve

So you think it is unreasonable to open bags only in front of the passenger? Why?
+

I am AMAZED
 

I am AMAZED - that air cargo is still not screened at all. Until something is done about this gaping security hole, stop trying to convince people that these very invasive procedures are TRULY making us safer.

And why can't America do what other countries do - checked luggage is only opened in the presence of the passenger, who then has the right to lock the bags?

This is EXACTLY why we find (high percentage of) stop-over flights and re-directed overseas inbound flights full of SERIOUSLY PROHIBITED ITEMS.

You are missing the point. I never said that bags should not be opened.

I said they should not be opened without their owner's presence or prior express consent.

Every airport is setup differently, some have bag rooms, others have stations within the check in station.

I can't say for certain about every airport in the world, but so far I have yet to see one that does not have the checked bag X-ray or hand insection immediately before the ticket counter. I have also seen many airports in the US that have the checked bag screening in the ticket counter area, but passengers are not allowed to see their bags in the screening area. This makes no sense to me - why can't I stand outside the area, then be called in if the bag needs to be opened, and then lock the bag after it clears?

I notice you don't seem to concerned about the air cargo that has no screening - what is the point of screening passenger bags until we screen cargo?

Like what?

Probibited items that are clearly stated that are prohibited.

Cargo does not fly with passengers.

Sorry, that's SSI. :D

Uh-oh. Better edit that last post. Cargo most definitely flies with passengers. On some routes, the cargo brings more money to the airline than the passengers do.

Just because it doesn't fly in a plane marked "UPS" or "FedEX" doesn't mean it's not cargo.

What do you think combi aircraft are for?

I have no problem with bags being opened, but I do think TSA could take more care resealing bags. I have one of those hard shell ski carriers. It's a pretty simple mechanism, just a hole that has to be lined up on the two halves of the shell and a simple hook put in. On two trips in the last year the bag was not closed correctly. I never have lost any skis or poles, but the bag has come in almost open in one case.

What they could possibly think was in there after an x-ray is beyond me, but that's a different question.

Time to re-enter reality
 

There is a tremendous amount of cargo on passenger aircraft that is not subjected to any screening. The early morning JFK-LHR flights carry much more cargo revenue than passenger revenue.

The amazing "logic" I have heard about this is that since you can't say for sure WHICH plane the cargo will be on, a terrorist would not want to blow it up. If terrorists could cause 5 or 10 planse from JFK to blow up at about the same time, do you really think they would care about the particular flight?

This is the kind of REAL security threat that is going on, but our government is too busy spending money on Iraq and developing new privacy-invading systems to bother with. We aren't upset by the TSA screeners, who are simply doing their job. We are upset with the wasted money and resources addressing non-existent problems.

How sadly misinformed you are.

Hope this isn't indicative of your airport security skill set.

Millions of pounds of cargo fly on passenger aircraft everyday in the USA.

If you have read any of the "please stop bashing TSA" threads, you will see that many of the TSA personnel who post here believe that their only job is to "protect us from terrorists", and not to be accountable to the public for acting appropriately as public servants. Thus, when they finish rifling through your stuff, they don't care one whit what happens afterward (oh and you might recall that not only do they not care what happens afterward, some of them might just 'disappear' some of your stuff in the bargain). (And no, I'm not accusing ALL TSA of doing this.)

different mindsets. the "please stop bashing TSA" threads and "please bash TSA" threads are polar opposites.

some believe in screening passengers/items as their primary "mission". customer service comes second. hopefully not a distant second, but YMMV. others however, are more concerned with customer service over everything else.

the bag should've been closed, and i surely hope that it wasn't intentional to leave such a bag open. especially with a checked bag, but i'm missing the connection between not closing the bag and a general feeling of not being held accountable to the public.

Because it is the institutional mindset of the TSA that it is accountable to nobody. That mindset is evident from Stone on down throughout management.

At some point (BOS for example), the front-line screeners develop the same mindset/attitude of non-accountability as the management.

The open bag is yet another example of either laziness or incompetence. Given the billions of dollars that the TSA wastes and the "Professionalism" we were promised by Tom Daschle when he created this joke of an agency, neither is acceptable.

Sorry I am not aware of this during my day to day routine.

I literally stay 10 feet away from the jetliner and see NO cargo other than luggage being loaded in the belly of the airliner.

Possibly other airlines in different airports do this? In our airport we strictly have PASSENGER and we have CARGO airliners. No in between.

Are you joking? :eek:

Have you never watched cargo being loaded onto airplanes?

Passenger airlines carry cargo in the holds all the time and have done so for years. It is a very, very profitable part of their business (perhaps the only profitable part depending on the airline).

Then you must be working in a smaller airport that is only serviced by smaller airplanes (narrowbodies and RJs). Widebody aircraft carry cargo all the time -- they are in part designed to be able to do this.

Narrowbody jets and RJs also carry cargo. Have you ever heard of small package counter-to-counter service? How tough would it be to cram some C4 into a small box? Apparently a lot easier than funding REAL security measures.

In addition to cargo, virtually every US passenger jet carries unscreened US mail. I routinely see both being loaded on aircraft on which I'm flying. What airport do you work at?

Like others have said, you must work at a very small, underserved airport:

http://www.aa.com/content/businessPrograms/cargo.jhtml

http://www.aacargo.com/

American stopped flying cargo-only planes nearly 20 years ago yet last year AA's cargo total was over 2 billion cargo ton miles for $558 million of revenue. All other airlines are similar. In fact, of the legacy airlines, only NW still operates cargo-exclusive aircraft. The others fly cargo in the bellies of the passenger aircraft.

I'm not sure you're looking for it. It might be right under your nose. But then again, since it isn't being screened, of course you might ignore it, and rightfully so. :)

Cargo on PAX Jets IS Screened
 

duplicate

Depending on location TSA is involved with CARGO... but in my neck of the woods within my terminal, I am unaware of cargo being flown with passengers.

They might ship these items via morning time or what not, but I do not work during those hours so I cannot say.

I am going to ask about cargo tomorrow.

But as far as US MAIL goes... there is a new contract talks with the US MAIL and AIRLINER's for using X-RAY machines.

again assuming it was intentional.

i understand your leaning to that conclusion, but i hardly (IMHO) think that "we're not accountable" stretches to every single employee.

like before, YMMV.

Even cargo you might ship goes on pax aircraft
 

Greetings -

I was in a small town in the Pacific Northwest (on a trip) and had a package sent to me via one of the "two" major next day services. The package was delayed because of weather. The next day I was advised it would be coming into the local airport via air and the company's local station told me I could meet the driver at the airport at a certain time.

Being a small airport, it didn't take much to figure out what *commercial* flight it was coming in one, being I was provided the time it would arrive and where the package got stuck at. Yes, this next day air package FLEW commecially and even transited the largest airport in the Pacific Northwest en-route to it's final destination.

I met the driver at the airport and I was given my package (a day late) about 5 minutes after the commercial flight came in. As this was a small airport, I even saw my package and other packages being offloaded from this commercial flight (turbo-prop aircraft).

All different types of cargo travel by passenger aircraft. What do you think travel's in the belly of Icelandair 757's from REK-MSP/JFK/BWI/MCO/etc ? What do you think flies in the belly on the return? How about Combi aircraft?

I've flown on many KLM 747 Combi's from the USA to Amsterdam and return; please don't tell me the back was empty. I've also flown Qantas Combi's (long time ago, circa 1994) from LAX-NAN-SYD and SYD-CNS-HNL-LAX.

Cargo most definately does travel on commercial aircraft with passengers.

Best,

SDF_Traveler

Talks.

Well, that's reassuring.

This is why so many of us are so cynical about TSA screening. At least for me, it's nothing to do with TSA per se. My encounters with TSA personnel are, routinely, pleasant and professional. However, the TSA inspections add anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour to my travel time, and secondary inspections are intrusive and uncomfortable. And the bottom line is this: even if TSA strip searched, x-rayed and anal-probed everyone who flew, there is STILL no in-flight security because every commercial flight carries unscreened cargo and US mail.

If this glaring and obvious flaw in commercial aviation were addressed, then perhaps we might feel better about surrendering the extra time and personal privacy. Until it is, though, airline security is just a dog-and-pony show and, like it or not, TSA has a starring role.

Where is the accountability? What disciplinary action will be taken against these screeners?

I'll go "way" out on a limb and say NONE, they will just blame it on the airlines.

Maybe a misunderstanding of what's meant by cargo. Most people's idea is probably the containers or palletized stuff loaded by forklifts and so on. You won't see much of this on passenger flights except at large airports with wide-body airplanes. But there are certainly unaccompanied items going into the holds of 737s, A320s and the like everywhere, indistinguishable from baggage to most observers. And the mail has been mentioned several times.

Even your 737 and A320 can carry a good amount of cargo. It may not be in the form of containers as it is with the widebodies, but I have watched large amounts of cargo loaded onto aircraft such the 737 and A320, especially on shorter haul international flights, i.e. Canada, Mexico, Latin America & Carribean Islands. I've seen them take pallets of large boxes out by the plane and start loading box after box. The planes might be narrow-body aircraft, but they can certainly haul a decent amount of cargo in addition to passengers & their luggage.

When it comes to other flights, especially widebody international flights, in some cases the cargo being carried makes more revenue than the passenger load (as another poster has pointed out). Some international carriers also operate "Combi" aircraft where the front of the main cabin is for passengers and the back of the aircraft is for cargo. I've flown on KL & QF 747 combi's myself, but I also understand other aircraft such as the 737 have a combi configuration.

I'm not sure what airport you work at, TSASCRNR, but you mentioned it is a large international airport; If that is the case, you'd probably be amazed at the amount of freight/cargo that is carried on passenger aircraft -- everything from turbo-props (Dash-8, EMB-120, ATRs), to RJ's (ERJ/CRJ/ARJ), narrow-body aircraft (737/757/A320), to your widebody aircraft (DC-10/MD-11, 747/767/777 and your A300/A310/A330/A340's).

As has been mentioned, US Mail also travels in the belly of commercial aircraft -- however, it is my understanding there is a size/weight limitation with respect to what US mail can be transported. This was done out of security concern as there is no screening of US mail put on passenger aircraft.

From what I understand, air carriers have been lobbying for US Mail screening so larger US mail items & parcels can be transported by commercial aircraft; this in turn would increase revenue for the carriers by allowing them to transport the larger mail items. Anyone know what the latest is on this?

Last but not least, even items sent via one of the popular "next day air" companies will even fly as cargo on commercial aircraft. While these carriers have their own airlines and fleets, there are parts of the globe (and even United States) where use of passenger commercial aircraft is necessary to deliver the packages. I know one of the companies in particular does this, but it wouldn't surprise me if most of them do in some capacity, be it DHL, FexEx, Airborne, or UPS. (note: one of these four is the company that transported the package I refer to in a previous post that was sent to me in the Pacific Northwest. The package not only flew on commercial airliner but was transported via the largest Pacific NW airport; I am not going to name the airline, but it was most definately cargo they transported on behalf of a cargo carrier).

Best,

SDF_Traveler

P.S. I recently did a 6 1/2 hr trans-Atlantic flight on a 757-200, a narrow-body; from my view at the gate, cargo was loaded onto this aircraft. Now, only if the cargo was screened.

Fish, fish and more fish! (That's what keeps FI's fares so low!)

I assume it isn't fish?
:D

Any bag submitted for screening automatically is implied consent....

I beg to differ. I see it happen everyday at my airport.