Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!ptsfa!ihnp4!chinet!ignatz
From: ignatz@chinet.UUCP (Dave Ihnat)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Laptops and Airport Security
Message-ID: <2269@chinet.UUCP>
Date: 6 Feb 88 19:45:36 GMT
References: <4426@garfield.UUCP> <3056@killer.UUCP> <3492@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <1587@ea.ecn.purdue.edu> <961@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Reply-To: ignatz@chinet.UUCP (Dave Ihnat)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 31
Keywords: Laptop, X-rays
Summary: Never need to X-ray

You *never* need to X-ray anything.  You may always explicitly request
a hand-search; and I've always invoked this when carrying my Z-171,
and later my Z-181, through airports around the country.  The search
you get is more, or less, cursory depending on the city and the
current state of the FAA checks.  Used to be just a visual, like a
briefcase; now, they require you to turn the machine on and display
something.  The most thorough search I've ever had was right here at
home, O'Hare.  They made me pull everything out of the carrying case,
open the diskette boxes, etc.  I let them X-ray the carrying case,
after the computer and diskettes were out, or else I would have had to
pull all the manuals, notes, etc.  (Of course, this was the weekend
after they were embarassed by the security check!)

I simply don't see the need to take any chance whatsoever with my
equipment and data by running it through the X-ray machine, especially
in smaller airports where the equipment may well be old enough to have
nice, powerful E-fields...

As an aside, you'll rarely have trouble getting permission to operate
a portable while in flight, either.  It's always at the captain's
discretion, by FAA regulation, to permit or forbid such operation, so
I always ask.  Although it was pointed out to me that on at least one
carrier--TWA--the captain *must* permit you to do so, by company
regulation; he showed me the relevant manual and section.  By
extension, I suspect some other carriers may have similar clauses; but
I've always found that extending the captain the courtesy of asking is
appreciated, even when he's supposed to have to say yes...
-- 
			Dave Ihnat
			ihnp4!homebru!ignatz || ihnp4!chinet!ignatz
			(w) (312) 882-4673