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Travelers' Electronics At US Airports To Get Enhanced Screening, TSA Says (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Aviation security officials will begin enhanced screening measures of passengers' electronics at US airports, the Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday. Travelers must remove electronics larger than a mobile phone from their carry-on bags and "place them in a bin with nothing on top or below, similar to how laptops have been screened for years. This simple step helps TSA officers obtain a clearer X-ray image," the TSA announced amid growing fears that electronic devices can pose as homemade bombs. The TSA was quick to point out that the revised security measures do not apply to passengers enrolled in the TSA Precheck program.
"Whether you're flying to, from, or within the United States, TSA is committed to raising the baseline for aviation security by strengthening the overall security of our commercial aviation network to keep flying as a safe option for everyone," TSA Acting Administrator Huban A. Gowadia said. "It is critical for TSA to constantly enhance and adjust security screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats and keep passengers safe. By separating personal electronic items such as laptops, tablets, e-readers and handheld game consoles for screening, TSA officers can more closely focus on resolving alarms and stopping terror threats."
"Whether you're flying to, from, or within the United States, TSA is committed to raising the baseline for aviation security by strengthening the overall security of our commercial aviation network to keep flying as a safe option for everyone," TSA Acting Administrator Huban A. Gowadia said. "It is critical for TSA to constantly enhance and adjust security screening procedures to stay ahead of evolving threats and keep passengers safe. By separating personal electronic items such as laptops, tablets, e-readers and handheld game consoles for screening, TSA officers can more closely focus on resolving alarms and stopping terror threats."
So you you pay extra money you get special privileges in what use to be a freedom (travel). So much for the US Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
So it's juggling with 5 more plastic bins one handed while the other hand tries to hold pants up because your belt is in one of them.
I'd like to apologize to the people behind me but it's in our both interest that I put belt and shoes on before I start moving again.
I don't care about having to spread out the contents of my luggage or having to strip down, but having to do so in a queue is a terrible idea! NOT EVERYONE CAN TIE THEIR SHOELACES WHILE STANDING ON ONE LEG. Espescially not while pressured to move from the guy behind you. A simple bench to help you put on your shoes again would work wonders. Then a little space to pack or unpack your stuff or little trolleys to move your stack of bins away from the x-ray quickly....
bickerdyke
Why don't they just forgo all the niceties and security theater? Just hire proctologists to replace the TSA staff. Think of the early colon cancer detection rates.
Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
No, they're talking about electronics. I imagine that "enhanced screening" means that they take your 14" laptop and return a 17" one to you.
Ezekiel 23:20
Practically everything the TSA does is security theater anyways, this is just another one of a long list of not really effective things they do to make a big show and make everyone 'feel' safer.
I'd rather they spend that money on things that work, or on almost literally anything else.
In a bit of shameless internet panhandling, I accept Litecoin Donations at Lbd2oH9QsthD1GfuUXPyka12YxvWJYnBVf
I was transiting through Frankfurt a few weeks back on my first trip to Europe and had to do exactly this, which caught me by surprise since I had never heard of a policy like it before. I watched this one police officer's facial expression change from curiosity to mild horror to amusement at the absurdity of the situation as I pulled a laptop, two tablets, three handheld gaming systems, and a few other random electronics from my laptop bag alone. I imagine that to him it looked a bit like clowns getting out of a car at the circus.
To anyone behind me in line, I apologize.
I flew into the UK through Heathrow last year, and didn't even see an x-ray machine.
No-one asked me to remove my belt or shoes either, so I don't know where that came from.
I did have to place my laptop into a tray for the x-ray machine in Melbourne earlier this year however. While I was waiting I heard an American ask one of the security guys if she needed to remove her shoes. He looked at her like she was drunk and said, "No, why would you do that"?
Anthropomorphising. I'm fairly sure objects can't pose.
Or a horrifying situation that is creating a different class of citizen...TSA pre-check is an abomination and you should be ashamed for supporting it.
Good-bye
It depends from day to day and airport to airport. I had to take it out in Brussels, next time I didn't need to and after that I needed to.
I now just put the portable in a bin and have things next to it (like keys and wallet) but not on top of it. No issues since then.
It really depends on the mood of the person who works the line and how busy it is. If very busy, they are a bit easier. If not that busy, they are a bit stricter.
In Spain I had to put the portable in a separate basket each time. Airports where Santiago de Compostella and Avilles, so smaller airports with mainly national flights.
I only need to take out the portable, not the cables or anything else.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.