TSOs argue about rules
 

Tuesday at SDF, I had a brand new Wii in my carry on. I was under the impression that only gaming systems with a screen had to be removed. The TSO operating the monitor said I was wrong, and that it had to be rescanned. Another TSO standing there disagreed and said that I was correct in my belief. The two stood there and argued for literally five minutes, backing up the line. One rescanned the Wii while the other went to get the handbook. I never did get an official answer on which one was correct. Anyone have a link to an official answer?

The official answer is there is no official answer. I've left - purposely - a Cisco PIX firewall in my carry on to see how they would address. One trip it was required to be removed and scanned separately, another there was debate to which the supervisor told the TSO 'It's not a laptop' so it can stay in the bag.

TSA website says the large physical console has to come out, and that's what i was told at both the DEN and TPA checkpoints when asking.

I went through DEN with it tossed in a bin like my laptop - I left every other bit of wii in my roller bag in the original box still packed up and they didn't stop it, question it, or anything. The TSO who watched me unload (I was the only person in security at the same) even commented on the wii.

Also, a tip.. If the Wii and your shoes can fit in the same bin without sitting on top of each other, they can go through together. The TSO at DEN told me to do that when i had like 5 bins of stuff (wii, laptop, laptopcase, jacket/neckpillow, shoes) to help consolidate.

Shoes in the bins are disgusting. I prefer my jacket not to rub up against where people stepped in dog crap, spit, or to extinguish a cigarette.

I don't make the crazy, i just put up with it too. I don't have a shoe in or out preference, but some airports want them in, others want them out. I just do what's needed to get my shoes and wii back :)

I would address it with a shotgun, given a chance. I so loathe the PIX.

(And yet my boss talked me into buying some ASA 5550s. :eek:)

If the TSO running the x-ray wants the Wii revomved from the bag then it should be removed from the bag and rerun through the x-ray.
Here is the official word from TSA.gov :)

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/sop/index.shtm

It's not as if I refused, nor did I say the TSO was overstepping his authority. But it is nice to have an answer.

OT for this thread, but on the above linked page is something I had not noticed before:

"Q. Does your lighter need to be in a baggie since it contains liquid?
A. No. TSA's common-sense approach harmonizes with worldwide standards for lighters."

What is striking about this quote?

a. There is a TSA approved exception to the freedom baggie liquid rule :eek:
b. Someone at TSA put "TSA" and "common-sense" in the same sentence
c. all of the above? ^

Shoe-less feet on the floor are disgusting. I prefer my feet, socks or no socks, not be where people have stepped with dog crap covered shoes and left athlete's foot fungus, MRSA bacteria, wart-causing HPV, etc. Compared to this, the issue of jackets in bins that previously held dirty shoes is trivial.

TSOs working near the WTMD should be required work in bare or sock-covered feet to demonstrate that it's safe. They should not force thousands of passengers to do what they're not willing to do. After a year of having TSOs go shoeless, compare their rate of athlete's foot, warts, staph, etc. with the pre-shoeless rate.

Oh, so you say that would be a violation of workplace safety laws? I wonder why.

Yea, it would need to come out of the bag. If the PS3 has to come out, so does the Wii :). Where did you hear that about consoles without screens not going out of bags? (I'm just curious if it was TSO's, another passenger, because some TSO ignored someone elses, or you yourself thought that.)

Let's not forget the snowy areas--that dirty mucky slush made from all manner of dirt, snow, anti-skid material and who knows what else... :p

:confused: I always thought the Wii was considered a full-sized console?

Well, I have to shuffle through the mag every morning in my li'l sock feet (my work shoes contain steel shanks) and in a couple years of doing it 4-5 times a week, it hasn't harmed me yet! :)

It is a ull size console, it just happens to be tiny in those terms. It's like maybe the size of two old-style gameboys.

I got one recently and was quite surprised at how little it is. It fits in the front pocket of my laptop bag which i can only really fit CD/DVD cases and some paperwork into.