Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!oberon!poisson.usc.edu!mlinar
From: mlinar@poisson.usc.edu (Mitch Mlinar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Do You Protect Portables/Disks in Air Travel?
Message-ID: <4088@oberon.USC.EDU>
Date: Sun, 16-Aug-87 15:47:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: oberon.4088
Posted: Sun Aug 16 15:47:38 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 22:54:23 EDT
References: <862@dasys1.UUCP> <695@uhccux.UUCP> <19@splut.UUCP> <114@europa.UUCP>
Sender: nobody@oberon.USC.EDU
Reply-To: mlinar@poisson.usc.edu (Mitch Mlinar)
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 32
Keywords: portables disks x-ray metal detector

In article <114@europa.UUCP> demillo@europa.UUCP (robert demillo) writes:
>
>This makes *zero* sense to me. I travel (and have traveled) a lot. I take
>computers and computer related equipment with me. I have called airports
>involved, and *every one of them* has told me their official policy is 
>for the traveler to tell airline people to hand check the computer and
>disks. (And I am talking: O'Hare, Logan, Atlanta, etc.) *Never* in four
>years of travelling with computers have I *ever* had anyone insist that they
>take the thing apart, power it up, have it sniffed by dogs, etc. And I have
>never heard the bit about "they aren't supposed to hand check."

I agree completely about hand check of computers; I have NEVER had a problem
with them denying me a hand check.

However, the power-up issue you claim is wrong based on my frequent exposure.
When I started carrying a laptop portable with me on trips
starting in March of this year, I have had FEW exceptions of them NOT
checking if the computer is REALLY a computer (turn it on and see a display).
I always handcheck the laptop, and rarely have to say a word.  But everytime
I handed it to them, they would hand it back and ask me to "turn it on".

This includes: O'Hare, LAX, Newark, DFW, SFO, and Dayton (even a dink airport
does it!).  The security person at LAX told me it is a "policy" being
instituted nation-wide, but she (who also owns a computer) - although
understanding WHY they do such a thing - was not sure how useful it was.

As a final note, during my last two trips (a few weeks and 1+ month ago),
EVERY airport verified my laptop was not a prop holding weapons.  This included
an airport where you board the aircraft by walking around the baggage cart and
oil/fuel stains and up the rear stairwell.

-Mitch