At almost every airport, when you go through secondary screening you will be separated from your property. Generally if you ask TSA nicely they will go get your laptop and computer bag and put it where you can see it. They usually will do this with a smile. After a coworker had a laptop stolen at a check point in the pre TSA days I am quite protective of my computer.

At one airport which at the present time shall remain nameless, they refuse to do this. If you ask nicely they yell at you to do what you are told. It is a busy place, quite crowded and is a theft just waiting to happen.

At this particular airport, no matter how nicely you ask, they refuse and call for additional security and supervisors to intervene as you are considered belligerent and abusive. Usually the supervisor sees that I am quiet calm and grabs the laptop for me.


So what is the proper procedure? Is personal property to be left unguarded while TSA does the secondary screening? Or are we within our rights to request that someone keep an eye on expensive equipment?

Realize you are dealing with people essentially in a customer service position (but with little or no accountability for delivering said customer service) who think they are cops. Since it is the TSA, you are in the US and have rights granted to US citizens.

Don't raise your voice, and calmly state you feel more comfortable in a location where you have clear visibility of your posessions and want to make sure your possessions are in a secure location. Then don't budge until your possessions are secure.

They can make all the noise you want. Keep your voice down and if need be, ask for witnesses to stay a few moments to back you up. A LEO won't be far away and will find your request reasonable. If a TSA screener is screaming hystarically that you are beligerant, and you are calmly standing there wanting to protect your posessions, you are likely to be believed.

Must be EWR!

or DFW has done it again!

Is there a reason for protecting the identity of this airport? If anything, you should tell us so we can plan accordingly.

The airport is Midway in Chicago or MDW as they would like to be known. As a rule if you treat the TSA folks as people just doing thier job and try to amuse them they are quite pleasant. After a while they see you are a familiar face and treat you as such,

This is not true at MDW. They appear to try to be as efficient as possible but this only makes them more difficult to deal with.

Can any of the TSA people jump in and let us know if we are within our rights to not leave our laptops out of our sight?

Not a "TSA person," but my understanding--unless procedures have changed--is that you may always request that all of your property (including but not limited to laptops) remain visible to you at all times during a secondary screening or an inspection of that property. It's in the TSA's best interests to do so to prevent claims of theft, damage, etc.

From the TSA website:

According to protocol. TSA is supposed to ask you where your carry on items are and if it permits move them closer to you so that you can see them clearly. If they arent doing this then they are out of line

Operative words: "every effort" - no guarantee

I would refer to the airport announcements: "Do not leave your baggage unattended!"

You mean almost every airport in just one country on this planet earth. The vast majority of airports do not involve themselves in this craziness. And yet many of these airports are rated as more secure than those in the US. Hmmm......

When I travel with a laptop computer, I put it in a bin that I then place between my carry-on bag and my briefcase from which I removed the laptop. At least then the computer is between two identifiable bags so that it is very unlikely that the computer will be accidentally picked up. Presuming that I get secondary screening, the computer is between two bags and may be kept in view very easily.

I do the same thing. I try to leave my laptop second to the last.

Unless things have changed you can require that the TSA "secure" your luggage prior to a secondary search. As I also recall, the word "secure" is key.

I honestly don't see why they can't be a bit concerned with our worries. If you leave a 500$+ item out in clear view somethings bound to hapen.