Are the TSA's New Electronic Device Screenings Necessary?

First time accepted submitter Amanda Parker writes In July the US warned of a terrorism risk which led countries, such as France and the UK, to step up their security screening for flights to the US. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson directed the TSA to implement enhanced security measures. In his statement on 6 July, Johnson warned that passengers could also be asked to "power up some devices, including cell phones" and stated that "powerless devices will not be permitted on board the aircraft". In light of the US Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) recent tightening of airport security to include stricter screening of electronic devices, is the TSA right to be cautious or have its actions caused unnecessary hassle for passengers?

Comments

Domestic flying in Australia does it well.

[Harlequin80]

Domestic flying in Australia is almost like catching a train. I often do flights from Brisbane to Sydney as a commute - down in the morning, back in the evening. I book online, and check-in online. Then on the day of the flight I usually arrive 40 minutes before departure time, walk in, throw my carry-on on the scanner conveyor pick it up the other side and be sat at the gate with 15 minutes to spare before the gate closes 20 minutes before departure. Total time from walking in the airport door to the gate, 5-7 minutes.

When it comes to boarding I just hand the person at the gate my home printed boarding pass. Done. No ID required. No groping, no pat downs, no real queue. Worst case scenario is I time coming out of the xray process at the wrong time and get held up for another minute by the guy who swabs my bag for explosives residue.

To be honest the only reason I give myself that much of a window to get there is because unlike trains they don't let you get on the next one if your miss yours.

Do they have spare batteries?

[tompaulco]

My old laptop had a dead battery. It only worked when plugged in. That doesn't mean I didn't still travel with it. It was still useful to me at my destination. Company policy won't let me check it in luggage.
Also, I work for a company that deals with healthcare and there is Protected Healthcare Information on my laptop. Do I need to carry HIPAA releases with me so that I can have them sign before looking at my laptop? Also, corporate policy forbids me to allow anyone else to operate my laptop, as does probably 90% of other companies in America.

Re:device boot up won't stop terrorists

[fuzza]

Likewise, I spent 2 weeks overseas with the MD of a gold mining company. Among many other tales, he asserted that it would be simple to replace up to 2/3 of a laptop battery with enough explosive to bring down a plane, and still have plenty of power left to operationally boot the laptop to Windows login if required...

He also said that the scanners frequently pick up residue on his shoes from chemicals used on the mine site (eg arsenic, not to mention explosives), so someone could easily use that as an alibi.