I believe we follow the correct procedures in San Antonio International Airport and can only tell you how we do it here. At my terminal, three of our four baggage pods are located inside the lobby. We ask the passenger if he or she has any 35mm film, matches or lighters inside the bag, and if the bag is locked. If the bag is locked, we ask them to wait until after we've cleared their bag. We do have signs posted with this same information. According to our SOP, we do not have to ask these questions if there are signs already posted with the same information; however, we do it as a customer service courtesy. If the bag is unlocked but the passenger wants to lock it, we have them lock it before screening. Experience shows that it's better to have people unlock their bags as the exception rather than have them relock them.

There are a couple flaws with this process. We get a lot of bags from curbside check-in, and not all skycaps ask these questions; so we end up with some bags that are locked without the owner present. We follow a protocol to have them notified unless we're in our "crunch time," which is 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time: the time the airlines would like to have all of the bags already loaded. The other flaw comes from language barriers with some of our passengers who aren't fluent in English and most of our screeners who aren't fluent in Spanish as well as passengers who aren't fluent in English and don't speak Spanish.

We have one pod located inside the security identification display area (SIDA), and we rely on the airline ticket agent to address these questions with passengers. What happens then is if a passenger has a combination-type lock, it is preset to the combination, and the ticket agent writes "L" on the luggage tag that means we should spin the numbers once it clears screening. If the passenger has a padlock, the ticket agent places that inside a baggie, staples it to the luggage tag with the "L" written on it, and we replace the lock once it clears screening. During peak periods, not all ticket agents check to make sure the bags are unlocked, or passengers absent-mindedly claim their bags are unlocked when they really aren't.

We have international flights as well, and that's the toughest challenge for the exact reasons you mentioned. Many passengers lock their bags because of the potential for theft by baggage handlers and customs inspection officials at foreign airports. Exacerbating this is the requirement to check-in two to three hours early (the old hurry-up-and-wait syndrome) which means that we're usually working on getting an earlier scheduled domestic flight out, and can't always accomodate international travelers who want us to screen their bags immediately. This is where the balancing act between customer service and meeting airline time lines gets pretty tough. We try.

I don't know why TSA stopped the practice of using the plastic TSA seals. I agree with you, we should use them. I strongly recommend using TSA-approved TravelSentry locks, especially for international flights. We have master keys that allow us to open them if necessary, and we can re-lock them afterwards.

As I said, I thought these were pretty standard at all TSA airports and they would have similar procedures (depending on airport configuration and a couple other factors which may change the specific procedure but still follow the same general principle).

Your description of the UK procedures reminded me about the time I was deployed in the Balkans when I was in the military. Many well-intentioned, good-hearted people sent us anonymous letters and packages addressed "to any soldier," especially around the Christmas holidays. Letters posed no problem, but packages certainly did as well as packages specifically addressed to people that were unclaimed (we would deploy on patrols that lasted several days before returning to home base).

The SOP was to detonate these packages as a security precaution. A lot of homemade chocolate chip cookies were blown up as a result.

I am sorry for your loss . . . and hope that a phone call or an email may help turn up your magazine. Yesterday I was with a colleague, who had his small beard trimming scissors confiscated.

Thanks, Bart. I'll be hitting DTW next Monday, and see what the airline agent has to say. It's been a few months since I've flown out of DTW. The "L" concept is kind of cool; while it doesn't solve the pax being present during physical searches, it shows TSA in your station is making an effort to be considerate to all passengers. ^

- Pat

Yet again, another example of what is wrong with TSA. Bart clearly states that this is "what we do" at "my airport", but lots of FT's can attest to the fact that the exact opposite occurs at other airports.
For example, I travel through ORD and MCI twenty times or more each year.
The inspectors insist that travellers NOT WATCH their own bags being inspected -- it is not even as polite as "shooing" travellers away, but basically 'LEAVE NOW."
This is why the inconsistencies will not just drive us all crazy, but lead to confontations, because FT's can read policies on the TSA website, and then encounter something else at individual airports. It is a matter of some inspectors are simply rogue, arrogant imbeciles on a grand ego trip.

I urge you to put it in writing by filling out a TSA complaint form. I, too, am frustrated by the different applications of the exact same standard. TSA responds to customer feedback as evidenced by its modificaton of the mandatory upper torso pat-down recently. It is more effective if you put your name to the complaint; it lends credibility and prompts a response. The next best way, albeit not as effective, is to complain to your Congress person.

I don't think TSA will ever execute procedures exactly the same way across the board; not realistic to expect that from any large organization; however, consistency is a realistic expectation. Need your help to achieve it by you expressing your concerns and complaints.

Well said Bart!

Cheers. Sharon

BTW - in Oct I was flying to YYZ. They sent me off to put my bag through the big super-duper x-ray thingy machine (note my technical description there! ). At the end I get the we have to look into your bag. Me, knowing I'm not a terrorist nor smuggling illicit items. Ok. They take it behind the big thingy & I can't see a thing. Me - excuse me. I need to see my bag. We're examining it. I know you are & that's fine, but I'm allowed to watch my bag being searched. What? Yes (I'm still being polite but having to shout a bit cuz they're on the other side of the thingy) I'm allowed to watch my bags being searched. Well uh ok, but you have to stand over there (where I'm standing). Yes, but I need to stand over here in VIEW of my bag. Really? Yes. Ok, hey (to screener) - move it down so she can see you. What (but he did it)? Then (ok, this part's not in the rule book). Excuse me - could you be a bit careful on putting things back in? I have a bottle of wine backed carefully & surrounded by soft stuff, but still... The TSA guy (honest to goodness!) - hey, be careful - don't break her wine

PS - this is really funny - sorry, have to share. The family in front of me puts their luggage through - sorry, we have to put it through again. Oh that's probably because we put a barbeque in it. What? They actually bought a barbie in the US cuz it was cheaper than in the UK & broke it up/put it in dif family luggage! think i actually did a sep thread on that one.

But anyway, what Bart said re: post above.

Cheers. Sharon

SDF is another airport. The CTX machines are in the lobby in front of check-in.

If you hang around and watch closely, the TSA agents shoo you off. At one point the policy was to allow you to watch and the agents would even welcome it. They would lock your luggage if you wished after screening and one time they took an old hardshell I was transporting for someone else and taped it up nicely so it wouldn't open. They were great and customer service oriented for a period of time at the luggage screening stations.

Now you hand em the bags, they go into the CTX, and they order you to leave if you hang around and watch. I'm not talking about watching the screen or anything "sensitive" either. It's as if they had a 180 degree policy change with no explanation; this happened about the same time the SDF shoe policy got real bad -- for awhile, SDF was great about shoes and now it's one of the worst.

If you watch from a good distance (SDF luggage screening), they don't seem to care, but the way the setup is, they probably are not aware you're watching from a distance. The most you can see is them drop your bag on the belt after CTX ejection or them take it to a table behind the partition for further screening. However, they will not allow you to watch your inspection. This is bloody ridicilous, considering the entire screening process is in the public lobby.

The one time my checked bag did CTX and ETD alarm was before they made the change. I was present, watched my bag go through the CTX, it alarmed, an ETD was done, that alarmed, and they had me wait for a supervisor to clear my bag and obtain my drivers license and other info. They even told me it tested positive for traces of TNT -- ???? - was a surprise to me. Now I suppose they just page the passenger (?) if there is a positive ETD.

As far as EWR, same deal. Drop your luggage and they shoo you away. However, looking inside the POD - located in the public lobby - it seems they have lots of luggage stacked up at times, much of it semi-unattended.

At some terminals at JFK they have the luggage screening and CTX in the public lobby too. i.e. T4 East. You have your bag tagged at check-in and roll or carry it over to the screening area, give it to a screener (if one exists) or you just drop it with all of the other un-attended suitcases waiting for screening while the screener is burried behind the suitcases tossing em' into the CTX. One morning at JFK T4E when they were not as busy, I even insisted on watching it. I got the "shoo off", was told to leave, and was told I could not watch it.

Last time I was at MCO (couple of years ago), but it was immediately after my ETD incident in Louisville. They had open stations then where bags were fed through a CTX and those which alarmed were opened & ETD'd. They told me I couldn't watch, but I sat back at a distance and did watch as they got to my bag, fed it through the CTX and it alarmed (as I expected because of contents). Once my bag was put on an inspection table I approached and watched the agent open my bag for an ETD swab. The screener didn't appear happy I was watching (she asked if it was my bag, I said yes, and she said ok and shrugged her shoulders), but heck, there wasn't even a partition. Luckily no ETD alarm at MCO despite it ETDing at SDF a few days prior. (I had some hand tools inside my checked luggage, which would be considered "weapons" if in my carry-on - was in FL to repair my grandmother's house which was burglarized).

The worst is LAS where they do screening in the public lobby. They have a poster encouraging use of TSA certified locks. I was using a TSA certified lock - same one on the poster - and it was cut at LAS during screening inside the same screening area which had a poster on the outside (in the public lobby) encouraging use of these. Could I watch my luggage? Nope, I was told to move on after first being told to remove the lock - I said it was a TSA certified lock, like the one advertised on the poster, and the screener said, ok, no problem. Yah, no problem, it was cut.

These days I do everything I can not to check luggage. However, I will soon be headed to Melbourne and will need to check two large suitcases with everything but the kitchen sink. I even plan on using vacum sealed (clear) bags to make the most of the space I have available. I plan on packing to avoid a CTX alarm, but if it does CTX alarm, hopefully this won't be a problem -- and if the screener messes with any of the vaccum sealed bags which will contain clothing, I expect them to repack it and have everything fit properly.

SDF_Traveler

Bart, if you're out there, can you explain why pax are not allowed to watch their luggage being examined, especially if it's being done in a lobby? What might the TSA have to hide or is it just another one of their secret policies?

KentownFlorida,

I am sorry to hear of your loss. I understand you being upset -- however, as others have said, I encourage you to call your airline, the airport lost and found, and even try the airport police at your departing airport. Politely ask the airport police if they have anything in their lost and found and then politely ask if they can search the screening area where your bag was opened; if you explain the circumstances I am sure they will do what they can to assist. Hopefully you will be able to recover it.

Because of its importance, I would even go as far and file a claim for it. While traveling from the US to London falls under the "warsaw convention", if the item was stolen (and yes, this argument can be made), this tosses the Warsaw Convention limits of liability out of the window for the stolen property.

In this case it was an A4 photo of great importace to you - esentially priceless. Because of the nature of the photo, it would be difficult to put a price on it, and even if you were properly compensated, it will never get you the photo back.

Does anyone else, another family member of friend, have a copy of this photo - either on paper or best yet, saved on their computer from the digital camera? Or any chance it is still saved on the memory card in the digital camera?

If you started in Orlando (MCO), I would make the inquiry there. I assume you flew Orlando - Dallas - London Gatwick? (likely on American Airlines)? This is speculation since you listed Orlando and Dallas.

If Orlando is where you started, call the Orlando Airport lost and found, their police, your air carrier, and I would even try to reach the station manager of your airline at Orlando if that is where the journey started. Sometimes it can be difficult to get local numbers for airlines at specific airports, but if you make a few phone calls, they can usually be found.

One trick at getting a local telephone number for the airline at the actual airport is calling the airline directly on the toll-free line and asking for the number to the local baggage office. If you can reach someone with the airline at the local baggage office, they can in turn put you in touch with someone such as the station manager. You can also try directory assistance. In the United States it is +1 + (area code) + 555 + 1212. Orlando's airport I believe falls under the 407 area code, so you may want to try 1-407-555-1212 and try asking for "Orlando Airport, American Airlines Baggage Office" -- try to get a human operator with directory assistance which will take a minute to look through the number listings and attempt to find the correct one. If you get a computer for directory assistance or someone in a rush, they might just give you the reservations # to get rid of you. If you get someone in a rush or a computer, ask for a supervisor.

I hope this helps and I sincerely wish you the best of luck. FWIW, be sure you bring this to the attention to someone higher up within the airline, let them know what was lost and it's value to you. The more pressure there is to search for it, the better. At the very least, they can probably make some noise with the local TSA if all else fails.

While this won't help now -- and I'm sure it's difficult for you, be sure anything of value is in your carry-on. At the same time this does not excuse the screeners actions of not properly re-packing your suitcase with all contents in-tact. Nor does it excuse the TSA for their reckless policies which do not allow passengers to lock their suitcases, nor does it excuse the TSA because of their reckless policies of opening way too many suitcases which is a direct result of poor management responsible for poor equipment choices and poor methods of screening.

In closing, I am sorry to hear of your loss, especially the loss of your son.

With Best Regards,

SDF_Traveler

Items tend to fall out of a bag as the screener is closing it back up or items are left out of a bag when the screener fails to put everything back in. Either way, it's sloppy screening. That's why I remind my screeners to search each bag diligently, thoroughly and carefully.

As for small items, I think you may be confusing checkpoint procedures with checked baggage procedures. We're essentially looking for explosives and hazardous materials (flammables, corrosives, etc) in checked bags; there are other items as well such as lighters and matches, but they fall under the hazmat category.

Fine. We can disagree. Bottom line is that some things will remain restricted from public knowledge. You can call it corruption or a grand conspiracy if you wish.

I already answered this question. I suggest you ask to speak with a supervisor if you are not allowed to observe your bag being physically inspected in a public area screening pod. If the supervisor doesn't answer your questions to your satisfaction, ask for an airline ground security coordinator (GSC) who acts as the liaison between the airlines and TSA. If still unsatisfied, fill out a complaint form and address it to the airport FSD.

You have the power to ensure TSA screeners follow correct procedure. Use it.

I've had the same thing happen to me at YYZ. All that is based on whether your bag comes out of the chute when there's an available inspector. The only difference was how they made me stand in front of the inspector. I folded my arms in front of him, not even saying a word, and that bothered the inspector. That made me very happy. He didn't even bother seeing what was at the bottom of my bag, which bothered me, because why bother searching if it's only going to be a quasi-search? Then, when he tried to zip up my Travel Pro bag, he noticed one of the zipper tags were missing. I told him that tags was there before my last open bag inspection.

They too have a stupid boarding pass requirement coming into the USA. Once before you even think about entering Customs, then to the Immigration guy for stamping, then again at the WTMD.

YYZ has outsourced security. I heard they stopped the "random" gate inspections, which I am happy about too.

Obviously. I stand by Bart. The public should have an idea of what's going on within reason but specifics should definitely be kept secret.

Good: "This CTX machine took 3-d images of your bag. Unfortunately, the screener found some suspicious items that he couldn't resolve. Please give us your keys and combination lock # to open your bag and wait till your bag is cleared. Unfortunately, for security reasons you'll be unable to touch your items; however, please instruct us how to repack your bag and relock."
Bad: "This machine fails x% at detecting explosive compound y."

Good: "I'll be searching your baggage for the suspicious item that the CTX operator couldn't resolve. Then, I'll be swabbing the the entire contents of your bag to have it tested for chemicals that are found in explosives."
Bad: "Here are the items in your bag that the operator couldn't resolve."
Bad: "The ETD machine can only detect explosive compound y if its presence is more than xx grams."

- Pat

Good attitude! ^ What's an FSD? Federal Security Director???

- Pat