With increased security scrutiny at airports, the Transportation Security Administration, TSA, follows specific rules and guidelines regarding laptops that passengers carry onto the planes. TSA has adopted recent changes in its own security screening methods to both streamline the process and support concerns of passengers for the safety of their laptop devices. Additionally, TSA urges passengers to always keep their laptops and other carry-on baggage, in sight while traveling.
Separate Bins
TSA screens all carry-on items that fit through the x-ray machine, including laptops. The laptop must be removed from its carrying case and placed in a separate bin to be screened in, not the same bin as other items being carried onboard the plane by a passenger. TSA officers are trained on what the inside of a laptop is supposed to look like, and will notice irregularities within the laptop as it goes through the x-ray screening. A laptop must not show signs of tampering.
"Checkpoint-Friendly" Bags
To better protect laptops, while shortening the length of time passengers spend in the screening process, TSA allows laptops to remain in certain bags while being screened. Those bags containing the laptops must comply with TSA's "checkpoint-friendly" standards, which allow the TSA to have a clear, unobstructed view of the laptop inside the bag as it travels through the x-ray. The passenger does not place the bag in a bin, but rather places it on the x-ray belt. A "checkpoint-friendly" bag fulfills the following criteria: it contains a designated section for the laptop only, which has no pockets on the inside or outside, and completely unfolds, enabling it to lay flat on the x-ray belt; it has no metal snaps, buckles, or zippers on the inside, underneath, or on top of the section for the laptop only. The laptop itself must be the only item packed in the laptop-only section of the bag.
Baggage Limits
A laptop is considered a personal item to be carried onboard a plane, without being charged for extra baggage. A laptop is able to be carried onboard, along with the one piece of carry-on luggage that is allowed per passenger. Passengers are urged to carry their laptops onboard with them instead of placing the laptop in checked baggage, and to also not pack the laptop within the carry-on baggage when possible.
Tags: carried onboard, through x-ray, carried onboard plane, carry-on baggage, laptop must, laptop only, onboard plane