TSA:Netbooks,IPads are in the Bag?

Last month I had a smile on my face as I headed to the airport, it is the simple things in life that can make one smile. This day it was knowing that I would need one less tray as I went through the x-ray machine, my netbook was going to stay in the bag.

How was this going to happen? well the TSA had just posted on their blog, yes they really have a blog, http://blog.tsa.gov/ the statement
“E-readers, Net Books and other small gadgets are becoming more and more popular for travelers to bring along in their carry-ons. (iPads, Kindles™, Neos, Nooks™, Sony® Readers™ etc.)” “Electronic items smaller than the standard sized laptop should not need to be removed from your bag or their cases. It’s that simple”.

One less tray, I figure a minute to open my bag pull out the netbook, zip the bag back up in the event they want to flip my bag so nothing will come out, then unzip it again when it comes out of xray place netbook back in and rezip. Wow, this done several hundred times a year, we are talking a savings of several hours, this was worth a smile.

All has gone well for the last month and half, when yesterday coming through Orlando International Airport it came to a stop. In the crew and airport worker line we are about 50 deep this day, my turn comes, same MO as the past month and half, and my bag gets stopped in the x-ray. The TSA lady looks at me and says “is your laptop in your bag” my answer was “no but my netbook is”. She then proceeds to tell me I should know better, all electronic devices need to come out of the bag and that I should know this. I ask, is this a one time thing or have the rules changed? No, this is how had has always been, I am informed.

I tell her about the statement on the TSA blog, next I have a supervisor telling me all electronics need to come out of the bag. Ok, I don’t want to be confrontational so I pull out my netbook and let them scan it. I step away from the screening area, pull out my Iphone, look up the TSA blog, find the statement. Head back over to the supervisor, show her their blog statement, now I am in uniform, you might not get the same results. Supervisor then calls a manager, I hear same story from the manager, then proceed to show them once again their statement. Manager claims they were not aware of this change. You would think they all get the same memo.

All was OK going through security in New York JFK Airport, the world was back in sync, thus my smile returned.