LVTravel said:
Tom when was the last time you flew? I haven't had to do that in the last 6
years, either nationally or internationally.
I just do continental USA flying with a couple of tourist hotspots in
Mexico. While I have not had to actually turn on my laptop when passed
through the security checkpoint for several years, I have had to always
remove it from whatever enclosure it was within and lay it atop that
enclosure. And that was AFTER the August 2008 change when I was flying in
Nov 2008, Dec 2008, Feb 2009, and June 2009. Guess it depends on how lax or
tight is security at the time (threat level), who are the personnel doing
the checks, and how you fit into their profiling.
The TSA guidelines are just that: guidelines. The security folks still get
to make their own decisions. From the TSA site: "Purchasing one of these
bags will not guarantee that you can leave your laptop in your bag for
screening" and "most current laptop bags will not present a clear X-ray
image and should not be sent through the X-ray with the laptop inside." The
security folks don't distinguish between "bags" and "sleeves". It's hidden
inside some container is all they care about and whether they expect it can
be correctly X-rayed (which they won't know until after they try).
I'm glad I wasn't the guy in front of me in the security line who they made
disrobe down to his boxer shorts and socks and stand in the open right after
the body scanner. Ah, yes, checkpoints: the guise of a gov't pretending to
protect so to get their populace used to checkpoints.