I don’t know about you, but few things are more nerve-wracking than dropping my laptop into the plastic TSA bin as I go through an airport checkpoint. The scramble on the other end to quickly gather up my gear before the next person’s bins smash into mine is a bit frantic.

A couple months ago the TSA released guidelines for checkpoint friendly laptop bags. These approved bags don’t require you to take your laptop out by itself as long as you use an approved bag and adhere to some packing rules.

 

The TSA has developed five criteria for Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bags. These criteria are:

1. A designated laptop-only section

2. The laptop-only section completely unfolds to lie flat on the X-ray belt

3. No metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section

4. No pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section

5. Nothing packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.

I’m a big fan of eBags for any kind of travel gear. The Skooba Road Wired and Mobile Edge ScanFast are two leading briefcase choices.

And, don’t forget, backup laptop batteries are no longer allowed in carry ons.

Comments (3)

  • by Erik Giberti / November 18, 2008

    “And, don’t forget, backup laptop batteries are no longer allowed in carry ons.”

    I just checked into Newark airport about an hour ago and I carried my spare battery through no problem. When is that law supposed to go into effect?

  • by John Jantsch / November 18, 2008

    @Erik - they actually went into effect Jan 1 2008, but there is a chart for exceptions for carry ons and my guess is most TSA folks don’t really know the regs. Here’s what is strictly forbidden for carry-on and checked bags - Lithium Metal Battery, Spare or Installed (over 2 grams lithium)

  • by Vaibhav / November 19, 2008

    Well, while they work on small things like that, they leave major flaws in their security.

    I went through airport security (unknowingly) carrying a knife in my Camera bag and they didn’t catch me: http://blog.gadodia.net/travelogue-the-farce-called-airport-security/

    And this didn’t happen once.

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