Buster

Ugh. I have very small feet. The last time I went through an airport that made me put my shoes on the belt directly, my sneakers got caught in the machine, munching the laces as a result. I was told then that my shoes were "too light" and I needed to do something to "weigh them down". I replied that this is why I put them in the bin. No response.

What am I supposed to do now? Just hope that every time I go through security my shoes don't get destroyed?

T-the-B

So what exactly happens if a passenger disregards the new policy and places his shoes in a bin. At many airports there is no TSA employee near the infeed belt to remove them. Will the X-ray operator pull the shoes and re-scan them? Will I be sent back through the WTMD? Will my feet get a pat-down?

N965VJ

I’ve got one better; what if I put my shoes inside my carryon before it goes in the machine?

Trollkiller

I wish the TSA would send fridge magnets to every household, that would be cool.

(note: I am in the direct mail industry and we could use a boost right now)

ND Sol

Bag check!

Yes, it does seem rather incongruous that you can have shoes stuffed to the gills in your carry-on, but the ones on our feet have to come off and be segregated from everything, including a bin.

Mudfish

This is probably the only logical argument I have seen on this whole stupid rule. Of course that only makes me want to go out of my way to see just how many bins I can use per trip.

I was somewhere in the last week or two (can't remember where, maybe BWI) and had a TSO standing at the end of the belt yelling at people to remove their own bins and stack them on the cart for him. He was standing RIGHT THERE doing nothing but yell at us to do his job. Normally I might actually do that if the bins are backing up, but once he start to yell there wasn't a chance in hell that I would do that.

jkhuggins

While the yelling isn't the best customer service ... I can (almost) see the procedure from his point of view. All you need to have is one TSO who accidentally picks up a non-empty bin (hey, TSOs make mistakes occasionally) and now you've got an accusation of theft. Or, you have a TSO who picks up an empty bin that a passenger thinks isn't empty (hey, passengers make mistakes occasionally, too), and now you've got another accusation of theft.

On the other hand, if passengers are the only ones to touch the bins between when they take them out of one stack and when they put them onto the other stack, then you've removed either of those scenarios from play. (And, of course, the scenario no-one wants, where a bad TSO picks up a non-empty bin and pockets the contents.)

But the tone of voice with which that policy is executed makes a difference.

Flaflyer

Pax should pretend to be genuinely concerned and pretend to believe there is a reason for their OCD madness and ask, with a straight face, "Am I supposed to put them in toe first or heal first or sideways?"

piper28

I think my personal record is 4, I don't think I've quite managed to hit 5 yet. One for the shoes, one for the camera bag, one for the laptop, and one for the camcorder.

colpuck

My laptop and shoes fit in one bin, so I had either 2 or 3 items go through screening. Now I have 3 or 4, it doesn't make sense but I not going to throw a fit over it like I saw a guy do at ATL on Monday morning in the elite line.

goalie

but, as asked by others before as well....

whaddabout dem ebil ter'wrist shooze in carry on luggage? i know lots of folks who change their shoes after the a/c has reached crusie (i.e. coming from work and you would rather put on your sneaks as opposed to wearing your work shoes)

extra, extra
read all about it.
tsa at its best
extra, extra


personally, i'd like to see a pax revolt a national level....

tso: you have pax take your shoes off
pax: i have diabetes
tso: so you can't take your shoes off?
pax: i have diabetes
tso: what's that got to do with your shoes?
pax: i have diabetes
tso: so that means you can't take off your shoes?
pax: i have diabetes

you can see how the conversation would go with the pax simply saying "i have diabetes" and each subsequent response from the tso violating the ada and hippa

could be fun....

tonypct

Stoopid, Stoopid rule! Just when I was starting to like TSA.

Well, Ok, maybe not like, but at least tolerate.

goalie

tolerate?

you feeling all right? methinks thou needest a tootsie-pop to come back to your senses

codex57

If you put your shoes soles down, but then covered them with an upside down bin, I wonder what TSA would say? You are complying. If doing less work by having people use less bins is their goal, it ruins that idea tho.

LessO2

Then you would be accused of using the super-secret code that airline crew uses to tell the x-ray operator of their bags coming through.