I just had the honor (or is that the horror) of flying in the United States. Now, prior to September 11, 2001, I used to do this fairly often and while some oddities would crop up going through security (such as some airports not quite understanding what a laptop was) it was generally a simple process.
Then, of course, September 11th came along and changed all the rules...at least that is what was supposed to happen right? Let's start at the bottom shall we - always good to know we are all playing with the same set of rules.
First off, the stupid "Did you pack your own bags?" question is gone from the lexicon of the people issuing bording passes. Actually, if you have flown recently you know that there are very few people issuing anything. Most of the airlines are paperless and peopleless. Tough when you have a problem.
At the gate, the TSA's own rules state:
You are NOT REQUIRED to remove your shoes before you enter the walk-through metal detector. However, TSA screeners may encourage you to remove them before entering the metal detector as many types of footwear will require additional screening even if the metal detector DOES NOT alarm.
So what is the first thing you are told to do? Remove your shoes, put them in a bucket and send them through the x-ray machine. Good to see everyone is on the same page with this one.
TSA's web site says we are safer than ever. They neglect to mention the tons of freight that is still being loaded into the belly of every comercial airliner without being even reviewed, let alone screened by anyone.
You are no allowed to lock your luggage (well, that is not 100% true - if you have a piece of luggage purchased after the TSA issued their "we have a key to it" guidelines, then you can lock it and they will still break it open). Gone are the days when you would be sure your luggage would not only make it to the destination, but intact and with all the goodies you packed. Now TSA can open and go through your luggage, and if something does not make it to the final destination, oh, well, TSA is not responsible.
You are required to take your video cameras and computers out of their cases (no reason is given) but they do not say anything about DVD players, MP3 devices etc. I guess they could not contain enough explosive to do any damage right? Sure. If you can explain this little bit of insanity to me, please do. Further, you can carry open sodas (in opaque contaners) through security, but clear bottles of water have to go through the x-ray machine (huh? Yes, you read that right - been there done that...). Of course, that is not listed anywhere on the TSA site.
I still do not understand the whole knife issue. I can do more damage with my fountain pen than I can with the 1" swiss army knife that I carry on my key chain and so can those who are supposedly being screened against. Cockpit doors were supposed to be secured after the Lockerby, Scotland and yet they are still open on take-off (at least on the plane I was on).
Frankly, the extra checks that the traveler is going through today make me feel no safer and less inclined to fly than I did before. The problem is with cutbacks to Amtrak, I cannot even take the train!
5:10:09 PM 
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