"Seasoned Traveler" ahead of me at TSA screening...

[jorian]

Standing in the TSA screening line a couple of weeks ago. Flying Vancouver to Edmonton. I have all my stuff in the bin, shoes off, waiting to go through the scanner. Guy in front of me is asked if he has anything prohibited in his carry-on. Kinda vague but most people know what this likely means. Guy says no.

They open his backpack and pull out a pocketknife with a 4-5" blade. I'm thinking to myself, - Bummer, that's a pretty nice knife. I'm all for relaxing the rules for the occasional pair of tweezers but you could have butchered a cow with that thing.

TSA - "You can't take this into the cabin. Would you like to step out and put it in a locker?" Guy gets a little indignant and says, "I am a seasoned traveler and I have never had a problem like this before." They keep the knife.

TSA - "Do you have anything else prohibited?" Guy in sarcastic voice, "You tell me."
They open his briefcase and pull out a box cutter.
Guy now gets a little belligerent "Really, I can't keep that either? I use that in my business." They keep the cutter. Now I'm thinking what the hell type of business are you in and I hope we are on different flights.

At this point he loos back at me and says, "This is ridiculous." I agree but not for the reason he thinks.

Guy walked through the scanner with a hitch and got on some other flight.

Gotta hand it to the TSA woman, she kept her cool with this d-head and did her job.

Me, I would have loved to say "Sir you are either to dangerous or stupid to fly. I can't decide which so you'll have to make other arrangments."

The interesting thing is he flew into Vancouver from Atlanta. TSA let him on board down there.

[sammyg2]

If he was acting the stupid it wasn't a security check, it was a TSA job interview.

[HardDrive]

I have no beef with the TSA. Vast majority of my interactions with them have been smooth and professional. I lost a Buck knife to them returning from a hunting trip. I certainly don't blame them for my stupidity.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by jorian

The interesting thing is he flew into Vancouver from Atlanta. TSA let him on board down there.

They were probably so busy confiscating guns & samurai swords that they didn't care about piddly knives & box-cutters.

Ian

[nostatic]

I just did my pre-enroll at LAX today. Was in and out in 15 min (I was 10 min early for my appt and there was one guy ahead of me). Very smooth system from online signup to the in-person today. No TSA complaints today...

[island911]

Stupid is thinking that a pocket knife matters. --any determined terrorist could MacGyver a (bigger) knife with supplies purchased from an in-terminal news stand.

This TSA thing is about jobs and authority.

[jorian]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I have no beef with the TSA. Vast majority of my interactions with them have been smooth and professional. I lost a Buck knife to them returning from a hunting trip. I certainly don't blame them for my stupidity.

I think the vast majority of them do as good a job as they can given their work environment. I would go cross-eyed looking at x-rays of books and underwear for more than 5 minutes.

[jorian]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I just did my pre-enroll at LAX today. Was in and out in 15 min (I was 10 min early for my appt and there was one guy ahead of me). Very smooth system from online signup to the in-person today. No TSA complaints today...

Whats a pre-enroll? I have a NEXUS pass (trusted traveler) which allows me to jump some lines and expedites my customs checks.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by jorian

The interesting thing is he flew into Vancouver from Atlanta. TSA let him on board down there.

Pre Sept 11 times: I got in a hurry and didn't fill out the form to declare a gun. On the return flight, I answered I didn't have my bag with me at all times as my companion had it while I returned the rental car. They say, sorry we have to X-ray your checked bag.....I think, boy am I in big trouble..........Come bag with the bag in 5 minutes: Sorry for the delay sir, Have a good flight.........Never did that again..

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by jorian

Whats a pre-enroll? I have a NEXUS pass (trusted traveler) which allows me to jump some lines and expedites my customs checks.

Pre TSA lets you short-line it at US airports. Your Nexus should get you this. I have Global & Nexus. Make sure you fill in your trusted traveller number when booking your ticket & your boarding pass will show Pre TSA.

Ian

[sammyg2]

I was in Philly once, and decided to get my little girl some sort of gift. I saw a small pewter liberty bell in the curio shop and thought that'd work. It was about 2" across and was a pencil sharpener. The kind you stick the end of a pencil into it and turn it and it peels away the wood.
I could not cut my finger with it if I tried.
So what if it cost about 10 times what it should have, i thought she might like it.

Then, the TSA double-naught spy saw it in the x-ray of my carry on. RED ALERT RED ALERT!

The ran the wand over me, patted me down, pulled me tO the side and dumped everything out, asked me what it was and where I got it.
I pointed RIGHT THERE IN THAT SHOP 35 FEET BEHIND YOU!!!!
They even had their two buddies with M-16s standing by, just in case.

Eventually they let me go but they kept the $8 liberty bell. for their own kids most likely.

You can kiss up all ya want but they are $12 an hour mo-rons AFAIC.

[Baz]

When they take away your knife....is there a system in place for you to recover your property once you have arrived home?

[TimT]

When they take away your knife....is there a system in place for you to recover your property once you have arrived home?

No.

[DRONE]

They will walk you over to a newsstand that has envlopes and stamps just for persons that have that kind of thing with them and rather than tossing it they can to send home...ask me how I know

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by DRONE

They will walk you over to a newsstand that has envlopes and stamps just for persons that have that kind of thing with them and rather than tossing it they can to send home...ask me how I know

Not all airports have this. Some just take them, and sell them once per year.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by jorian

"Sir you are either to dangerous or stupid to fly. I can't decide which so you'll have to make other arrangments."

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Not all airports have this. Some just take them, and sell them once per year.

Sounds like a business opportunity. Start a shipping company just outside the TSA screening line.

[Nostril Cheese]

TSA at PDX have been consistently pleasant and even crack jokes to the people in line.

TSA at LAX are miserable, entitled government employees who couldnt hack it as a cop.

I'm reminded of one time at SEMA. Stahlwille was giving out 10mm wrenches as swag. I'm at the checkpoint in McCarran and they see the wrench. They tell me I can't have it with my carry-on. I asked him how it could be a threat. He couldnt answer. I asked if he thought I was intending on taking the plane apart.

They said I'd have to either check my carry-on or mail the wrench home. Both were out of the question due to time, so they took the wrench and threw it in a big bag full of the same wrench.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

I'm reminded of one time at SEMA. Stahlwille was giving out 10mm wrenches as swag. I'm at the checkpoint in McCarran and they see the wrench. They tell me I can't have it with my carry-on. I asked him how it could be a threat. He couldnt answer. I asked if he thought I was intending on taking the plane apart.

They said I'd have to either check my carry-on or mail the wrench home. Both were out of the question due to time, so they took the wrench and threw it in a big bag full of the same wrench.

Enforcement seems uneven. I had a small pair our round nose scissors, better quality but about the same size as elementary shcool scissors. TSA took them out, looked at the, and decided I was no threat.

[Porsche-O-Phile]