Guy misses flight because TSA doesn't believe MBA is a real laptop

[BornAgainMac]

I would have connected the Air to the Airport's wireless network to bring up http://www.apple.com and education them. I got stopped when I had my Nike Plus. I had an extra one in the package just in case I needed to explain it and they let me on the plane.

 

[EarthDawn]

lol...

funny stuff...

TSA is so random and they really are not on the same page. Things are different from airport to airport and meanwhile I thought they were all suppose to follow the same guidelines...

ahhhhhh whatever its just funny to see them scramble

 

[GSMiller]

LOL!

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/14047

The suspiciously thin, port-free laptop sends airport security into a tizzy, until cooler heads prevail. Maybe it's time for some tech briefings at the TSA, no?
On his blog, programmer Michael Nygard (by way of the Unofficial Apple Weblog) writes that during a recent trip through the airport, his solid-state MacBook Air stopped TSA agents—puzzled by its lack of rear-facing ports or a standard hard drive—in their tracks.

Nygard said the agents put him and his suspicious "device" in a holding cubicle as security staffers huddled nearby, looking at X-ray printouts of the sinister-looking Air and scratching their heads.

I smell a new ad campaign for the Air!...

*Men in black suits staring through a one way mirror at man sitting at table in holding area*

*One holds xray up to light*

*They stare at it, mind boggled*

*One holds up actual picture of device, the MBA*

*Screen goes white, zooms in on MBA, voice over goes "MacBook Air--So thin, you'd swear it wasn't a real laptop"*

*Flashes to Apple logo*

 

[DesignerOnMac]

Try this one then about TSA

My gf works for TSA. She's seen many a MBA's and never had an issue.

Just someone else trying to call TSA out on something.

If this story had any truth to it why haven't we heard about people with flash based mp3 players being questioned?

In February of this year a woman went through security in Texas. She went through the gate fine but was chosen for the hand scan. The scanner went off around her chest. She was asked to go behind a screen and bear her breasts. TSA discovered her two nipple piercings. The female TSA person was unsure of what to do. She called over her male counterpart and he informed this woman that she needed REMOVE both piercings if she wanted to get on the plane. She needed a pair of pliars to remove both. This was painful and humiliating to this woman, since several male TSA people WATCHED!!!!
(This was on CNN news.com last night.)

 

[EMAGDNIM]

I don't know what to say about that story other then someone is going to get sued...

 

[Sdashiki]

"TSA is well aware of terrorists' interest in hiding dangerous items in sensitive areas of the body, therefore we have a duty to the American public to resolve any alarm we discover," the agency said in a statement."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23444817-401,00.html

my nip piercings never make a metal detecting wand go off. she had a HUGE gauges maybe...

 

[mrsmitty13]

In February of this year a woman went through security in Texas. She went through the gate fine but was chosen for the hand scan. The scanner went off around her chest. She was asked to go behind a screen and bear her breasts. TSA discovered her two nipple piercings. The female TSA person was unsure of what to do. She called over her male counterpart and he informed this woman that she needed REMOVE both piercings if she wanted to get on the plane. She needed a pair of pliars to remove both. This was painful and humiliating to this woman, since several male TSA people WATCHED!!!!
(This was on CNN news.com last night.)

Keep in mind these are CLAIMS made by this passenger. No full investigation has been done yet to verify her CLAIMS. How many people did not want to eat at Wendys when a person CLAIMED she found a finger in her chili? Then it turned out to be a big false scam only to collect money.

Policies and procedures with the TSA will not FORCE anybody to take off a piercing. Just like people want to run around saying comments like "TSA TOOK my liquids away, or TSA TOOK my knife away." TSA does not confiscate or take anything away unless it is a severely dangerous weapon coming through (i.e. gun) and in that case it is only being held as evidence. Any item that falls into the hand of the TSA is being SURRENDERED by the passengers. The passengers are given the OPTIONS of taking the items back out of the screening area and doing whatever they please with it.

 

[notjustjay]

Policies and procedures with the TSA will not FORCE anybody to take off a piercing.

Your country is huge. You have hundreds of airports, each staffed by hundreds of people working for TSA. Can you really guarantee that every single one of those employees is always following procedure carefully all the time? That not a single one of them might start feeling power trippy or irritated after a long shift and take it out on a passenger?

 

[BiikeMike]

TSA is so random and they really are not on the same page. Things are different from airport to airport and meanwhile I thought they were all suppose to follow the same guidelines...

I COMPLETELY agree! I travel, A LOT, with work, and it is usually for 1-3 day trips, so I always try and pack carry on. I am a technical support person for a large Financial Institution (wow, I just made myself sound really important, I'm just a subcontracted A/V guy ) and I carry a lot of stuff with me. Wires, connectors, batteries, testers, etc. It all looks very suspicious, and I get stopped 75% of the time I go through airports. They pull out my work bag, I tell them what I do and what everything is, and I'm on my way.

Now, I use this bag for other things around town as well, and for driving trips. Usually I have wrenches, knives, multitools, etc. but I pull them out for fly away trips. I am based out of RIC, and last week I flew to DFW for a job. When I cleaned out my bag, I forgot to take out one of my speed wrenches. I had no idea, and I made it through security at RIC. on my way home, with the exact same stuff I came with, I got stopped, and they took my speedwrench out and said I couldn't have it on the flight. He said I could surrender it, mail it to myself, or check my bag. I told him it got through security at RIC, and he said that they must be an unsafe airport.

Moral of the story, TSA is only as effective as the quality of sleep that perticular the agent got last night.

I smell a new ad campaign for the Air!...

*Men in black suits staring through a one way mirror at man sitting at table in holding area*

*One holds xray up to light*

*They stare at it, mind boggled*

*One holds up actual picture of device, the MBA*

*Screen goes white, zooms in on MBA, voice over goes "MacBook Air--So thin, you'd swear it wasn't a real laptop"*

*Flashes to Apple logo*

Brilliant!



EDIT: Just watched the TSA thing, HILARIOUS! http://www.tsa.gov/blog/2008/03/update-bob-screens-apple-macbook-air.html

How is an X-Ray image of a laptop secret information?

 

[jorge66]

Danger!!! A laptop on board!!! Code RED! code RED! Call the squad!

Of course I believe that story is real TSA is full of arrogant morons. There was another story on the news that a lady was handed a pliers to remove her nipple piercing.

Hey, but this is done for your security. Please remove your shoes, strip naked, get x- rayed, dance like a clown, don't bring anything at all on board and so on. Harassing has no limits. BUT IT IS DONE FOR YOUR SAFETY.
http://www.nbc11.com/news/15729064/detail.html?dl=headlineclick