Good News for Laptop Lovers Taking Flight

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

I can't count how many times I have been stuck behind an annoyed business traveler at an airport security checkpoint who spends precious minutes complaining to Transportation Security Administration agents about having to take his or her laptop out of its bag.

I stand there (holding my carry-ons, my child and her backpack) staring at my watch contemplating how to politely tell my fellow flyer how much quicker we could all make it through the line if he would simply close his mouth and open his bag.

It's the rule. So deal with it and stop wasting other travelers' time trying to weasel your way around it hoping against hope that somehow security personnel will make a single exception for a whiny businessman in a mismatched suit.

There... I've said my peace about business travelers and laptops... just in time for a rule change.

Apparently, the complaining laptop lovers I've been stuck behind are a large group (either that or passengers like me who get stuck behind them in line collectively have a loud voice) because the Transportation Security Administration just announced it will now allow travelers to leave their computers inside "checkpoint friendly" cases.

TSA managers made the announcement earlier this week, but the change will not go into effect until August 16th. Security personnel say the move will help streamline the inspection process and what most travelers don't know is that the idea has been in the works for a while now.

TSA officials say they have been communicating with bag manufacturers for close to a year requesting that they design laptop cases that would provide a clear, unobstructed image of the computer as it passed through airport X-ray machines. According to TSA officials, the new X-ray friendly bags will be available for purchase in a few weeks.

Mobile Edge, Skooba Design and Targus are among the manufacturers selling TSA-approved laptop bags. Each bag will include a tag indicating that they are "checkpoint friendly." To earn the certification a computer bag must have a designated laptop-only section that unfolds to lie flat on the X-ray machine belt and contains no metal snaps, zippers or buckles and no pockets.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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