Please forward as
necessary to your travelers. Currently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
requires all passengers traveling with a laptop computer to remove their laptop
from their bag and place it in a bin for screening. Later this month, however,
the TSA will begin letting people with designated "checkpoint
friendly" bags leave the hardware inside. The new rules will allow notebooks to pass through X-ray
screening while still in a bag as long as the case meets agency guidelines.
Although the TSA said some current bags meet its criteria, particularly
sleeve-like carrying cases that lack pockets or zippers, most will be new
products. Some will be available by the middle of the month, the agency added. If you intend to use a checkpoint friendly laptop bag once
they are on the market, make sure to check that: * Your laptop bag has a designated laptop-only section that
can lay flat on the X-ray belt. * There are no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside,
underneath or on-top of the laptop-only section. * There are no pockets on the inside or outside of the
laptop-only section. * There is nothing in the laptop compartment other than the
laptop. * You have completely unfolded your bag so that there is
nothing above or below the laptop-only section, allowing the bag to lay flat on
the X-ray belt. TSA is not approving or endorsing any bag design or
manufacturer and will only allow laptops to stay in bags through screening if
they provide a clear and unobstructed X-ray image of the laptop. TSA reserves
the right to re-screen any bag or laptop regardless of the design of the bag. Travel Coordinator 541-346-3158 ph 541-346-2393 fax |