Timeline for Travelling with computers in the US
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2014 at 16:57 | comment | added | tcrosley | @DavidRicherby ok, thanks for the explanation. I thought they took the thick laptops out of bags so they could X-ray them easier if they were separate. I hadn't thought about them "hiding" something underneath. | |
| Nov 10, 2014 at 15:39 | comment | added | David Richerby | @tcrosley My understanding is that they test for residues on laptops because they provide a good surface for such residues to stick to. I've had an empty steel water bottle swabbed, too, which can only be for that reason. The thing about booting laptops is indeed to make sure that it's full of the usual electronics rather than explosives but that policy has been introduced and removed at various times and isn't directly related to taking laptops out of bags. | |
| Nov 10, 2014 at 15:30 | comment | added | tcrosley | @DavidRicherby That makes sense too. However I know in the past, I have had my laptop wiped with a special cloth and then the cloth put into a scanner to check for explosive residue, so I think there at least used to be a risk for that. Also I thought the reason they had you boot up your laptop (which they did for a while, a few years ago) was to make sure the insides were not compromised. | |
| Nov 10, 2014 at 11:53 | comment | added | David Richerby | Actually, the original risk was not people taking out the insides of laptops and filling them with explosives. The original risk is that laptops are large and flat and mostly opaque to x-rays so you could hide a lot of stuff under your laptop and the x-ray machine wouldn't see it well. That's why, in the US, you're allowed to leave your laptop in your bag if it's in a pocket on its own that folds out separate from the bulk of the bag. (At least, you were until recently. I guess the new regs about powering on devices nix that.) | |
| Jul 7, 2012 at 4:20 | vote | accept | dlanod | ||
| Jul 4, 2012 at 18:34 | comment | added | LessPop_MoreFizz | @Gagravarr This is generally more likely to be the result of poorly trained staff, who, when in doubt, will tell you to just take out everything, because it makes their lives easier, and they think nothing of inconveniencing you. If you hadn't asked, you could have easily left your iPad in your bag without issue most likely. | |
| Jul 4, 2012 at 16:37 | comment | added | Gagravarr | Yes, in the US. A couple of weeks ago I was going through a US airport, and signage wasn't as clear as in some airports elsewhere in the world, so I asked about ipads, and was told to put them into the same tray as my laptop and not just leave them in my (big) bag | |
| Jul 4, 2012 at 16:34 | comment | added | tcrosley | @Gagravarr Was this in the US? I would think TSA signage would be the same across all airports in the US. | |
| Jul 4, 2012 at 9:40 | comment | added | Gagravarr | Some airports do ask for iPads to be removed as well as laptops, so it's always worth asking if the signs aren't clear | |
| Jul 3, 2012 at 22:26 | history | answered | tcrosley | CC BY-SA 3.0 |