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TSA stories/experiences?

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by surf87, Apr 8, 2017.

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  1. surf87

    surf87 MIA

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    I don't have anything negative to say about the TSA. I think that they do a good job. For the life of me though I always get this TSA notification of bag inspection and it never fails. I think it is because I throw my laptop into my checked luggage. I have taken apart the laptop battery and set it on the opposite side of my suitcase but it doesn't matter and they still always end up inspecting my luggage.
    [​IMG]
     
  2. rob889

    rob889 High-Roller

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    Eh TSA is all for show...they're the mall cops of airports.
     
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  3. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I went through the motions and got the Pre-Check thing. I posted the story here. They tell you to keep your shoes, belts, and jacket on. One time since I was wearing jeans with a belt and the buckle (which is not that large) set off the Nasty Stuff Detector so if I'm wearing a belt I'll take it off and put it in the dish.

    I get those "Inspected by Number 12" all the time.
     
  4. Rush

    Rush MIA

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    TSA is a huge joke, and a waste of time and money for American citizens. Have you ever taken a decent look at those people? Are we to believe that these are the most qualified people for the job? I wouldn't let half of them pack my groceries. When studies have shown that these people fail to catch fake bombs on 95 percent of a test.......That should tell you everything you need to know.

    So, now you say, "If you think they are so bad, why have there been so few incidents?" Well, the answer is simple: There has ALWAYS been 'so few incidents'!

    If I present you with 99.99999 percent of people who will not cause you an issue, and you tell me YOU are the reason I am safe in this situation, I say go fuck yourself.
     
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  5. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    I have TSA pre-check and usually breeze right through wearing my jeans with a metal belt buckle and my watch with a metal band. On a trip last month I set off the metal detector. I couldn't just try again, I had to get the wand treatment. I asked why and the answer was it is a random check on the metal detector.

    I've had my luggage opened and inspected once in maybe 40 flights.
     
  6. eaglejohn

    eaglejohn VIP Whale

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    I have had the tags in my bag before but they never found my pot
     
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  7. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    TSA... interesting.

    As someone said above, there have always been FEW incidents. The big one happened because our current policy was to allow hijackers to do whatever they wanted, including getting into the cockpit.

    Meanwhile, they take away our liquids because they might be a bomb. Then they throw the "maybe a bomb" into the trash right next to them. That makes lots of sense.
     
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  8. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Wow - putting laptop into checked bag. I would never, ever, ever do that. I assume anything in my checked bag might disappear.
     
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  9. Johnzimbo

    Johnzimbo VIP Whale

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    Yeah, once you have had your luggage lost, I doubt you would continue doing that.
     
    Annual me and Pete
  10. mjames1229

    mjames1229 # of visits includes only trips w/ hotel stays

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    That tag is SOP when I check bowling balls.

    Once they jammed a zipper and I had to cut the bag open. I filed the claim and they paid me for it.
     
    USBC Nationals are back in Vegas
  11. rob889

    rob889 High-Roller

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    They are as functional and efficient as the magical rock I keep in my pocket that wards off tiger attacks
     
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  12. deansrobinson

    deansrobinson VIP Whale

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    I remember one TSA official actually admitting that a lot of what they do is 'security theater'. This may have some sort of calming effect on persons who are perhaps new to and leery of flying, but for the rest of the world, we pretty much see through this. And one more thing...why is it, if this is so amazingly safe, do we trot out the "x -number of weapons were smuggled past TSA in a test of..." ever so often. TSA actually publicizes their failure ratio? To what end? When I go through the line, or am sitting in the airport watching the TSA employees, there's a part of me that says....yep, indeed, we are as protected as we choose to believe.
     
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  13. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    This was closer to 9/11 when they were doing more "random" checks at the gate.

    I was on the return trip from San Jose and had boarded the (then) Northwest flight when the flight had to be cancelled due to a mechanical issue.

    They re-booked me on Untied using some kind of an inter-airline voucher. They also gave me a new boarding pass that was, marked as if it were a last-minute one-way ticket, which technically it was.

    As I was boarding in San Jose the gate agent sent me directly to the TSA agent (do not pass GO) who went through EVERYTHING in my bag, yes, dirty undies and all!

    The flight connected in Denver and when I boarded the second leg of the flight (never having been outside the secure area in Denver) you guessed it, they pulled me aside, and the guy rummaged through the dirty unmentionables and such again!

    Our in-house TA told me to watch for something like "SSSS" being printed on the boarding pass, as that will trigger said "random" checks.
     
  14. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Yes, that notice that you are about to be subjected to extra checks is about the dumbest thing in the world. Think about it for just a minute. Assume you are a bad guy with bad stuff. You get the SSSS notice. Are you still going to go through security with your "bad stuff". Nope, you give it to your friend.

    In years past I got that SSSS a few times so I would give all my carry on to my wife. I actually had someone tell me I was putting people "at risk" by beating the system. Scary stuff.
     
  15. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I wonder if they do that intentionally to see who will skip the flight, kinda like when they post that "Prepare to stop. Drug checkpoint ahead." sign on the expressway and watch for those who do a U-wee across the median.
     
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  16. surf87

    surf87 MIA

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    My most stressful experience was when I moved from Hawaii to Los Angeles in 2002 but I went to Las Vegas first then to Los Angeles. I had odds & ends in my suitcase being I had all of my worldly possessions with me. At the baggage carousel at Los Angeles airport I saw my suitcase on the turn style had a bright orange zip tie thingy but at the time didn't know what it meant. Let's just say that you never want to see that bright orange zip tie on your suitcase because as soon as I grab my suitcase 2 plain clothes LAPD officers flashed their badges and made me open up my suitcase right there at the carousel with lots of people watching. I was so embarrassed having to remove basically all of the contents from my suitcase kneeling down as the 2 LAPD officers stood over me but as soon as they arrived, they were gone. McCarran must have detected something suspicious in the x-ray and attached that bright orange zip tie to my suitcase to alert LAPD when I arrived in Los Angeles. I don't know what triggered it but it sure was a stressful experience having to answer all kinds of questions by LAPD.
     
  17. rcc4au

    rcc4au Low-Roller

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    At my local airport (BHM), on our last trip to Vegas, things were going along nice and smooth, then looks of panic were on all the TSA agents faces. Then I hear, "who does this bag belong to?" as the agent raises my bright purple Samsonite carry-on.

    I quickly claimed it and was accosted by an old grey beard demanding I tell him what was in the bag and that if I touched anything while he was inspecting my bag, I would be subject to a full search.

    Completely unaware of what I could have done wrong, I went along with him and stood a few feet away from him as he SLOWLY opened my bag, glanced over at me, then another TSA agent, then at the screen above the table he was using to inspect my bag.... And then I saw it....

    My spare 9mm magazine glowing in the X-ray image on the screen!

    I had been on an in-state business trip three weeks before and my husband insisted I take the spare magazine because 9 rounds apparently wasn't enough. I had slipped it in the front zipper of my carry on during that trip because I didn't want to leave it in the car. Upon returning home, I had completely forgotten about it.

    TSA was quick to remind me of it. Once the gentleman (and I use that term loosely, because he was really an @$$h0le) took it from my bag and handed it to another agent, I was given two options... Secure it in my car if I had one in the parking deck, or they'd have to write it up and keep it and my mugshot be placed on a BOLO poster in the TSA database forever. I chose to return it to the car, and as the guy (he was a younger fella, and very nice) was escorting me out of the security area, he said I was the 3rd person to have a loaded magazine in their luggage in 45 minutes!

    Complete oversight on my part, but I got the criminal treatment and the closest I've come to criminal is doing 15mph over the speed limit.

    It made for an interesting beginning to that trip, and of course my husband got a good laugh out of it and was texting his coworkers as he waited for me to go all the way back through the security line again.

    Lesson learned: double check the luggage BEFORE packing for the trip!
     
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  18. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Possible. But at the airport you can get rid of any "bad stuff" before going through security, or even give it to someone else. At A DUI checkpoint, you can not un-drink all those beers.
     
  19. Johnzimbo

    Johnzimbo VIP Whale

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    Yeah but at McCarran if you attach your green VMB wristband to you luggage they hook you up with a free limo to your hotel. Or, they should anyways.
     
    Annual me and Pete
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  20. deansrobinson

    deansrobinson VIP Whale

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    I have always wondered about this. It seems to be common - the 'discovery' of a firearm or ammo in luggage...going back to Barry Switzer.

    When I travel with options, I inventory before and after - not just to make sure there are no surprises - but to make sure I haven't left something behind, either. The above is one example - and apparently there are many - where we are faced with what I believe to be a 'fall through the crack', as surely as no one would really try to bring weaponry aboard, right? You gotta admit...the above made for a great "Hey y'all" moment...but I wouldn't want a speaking part in that play.

    "Of the 2,653 firearms discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, 2,198 (82.8 percent) were loaded. Firearms were intercepted at 236 airports; 12 more airports than last year.

    The airports with the most firearm discoveries in 2015 were:

    • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: 153
    • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: 144
    • Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport: 100
    • Denver International Airport: 90
    • Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport: 73
    Travelers who bring firearms to the checkpoint may be subject to criminal charges from law enforcement and civil penalties from TSA."
    https://www.tsa.gov/news/releases/2016/01/21/tsa-releases-2015-statistics


    Absolutely agree 100%. I always dump anything in there and start anew.
     
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  21. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    I always get that card in the bag.Does not matter if flying to AC or LV.But just one segment,never twice for some reason.I got Pre-check allowed and still found one on arrival in LV last September.And I do pack my Laptop every time..
    But what concerns me the most- is who checks the deliveries to all the stores,shops,eateries INSIDE security.We cannot bring a simple bottle of water in,yet there are unlimited places to hide or deliver something bad to bad people working together..Hard cover books hollowed out with a gun inside? Special bottle of water placed where the bad guy can 'purchase' it ?
    Do all these shops and eateries undergo any inspections at all. I've never seen restocking deliveries before at any hour of the day or night..Am I missing something here?
     
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  22. pleasemum

    pleasemum High-Roller

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    Twice my checked luggage was opened by TSA and twice they broke the locks and zipper sliders. Not sure why they snapped these considering they were were TSA approved locks. Just lazy I suppose!!
     
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