DO other countries search bags the same way that the TSA searches them on flights from the U.S.? If the answer is “yes,” then I assume that my TSA-approved locks could just get broken off anyway.
Also, does TSA inspect bags only prior to loading on a flight, or do they also inspect bags being moved onto connecting flights, or when bags are unloaded to head to baggage claim?
AFAIK, on all my trips abroad, my bags have never been searched by anyone other than the TSA. And they put a sticker on the bag, showing that it’s been searched. As long as the bag remains within the system (i.e. you don’t retrieve it and re-check it), they have no reason to re-search it before a connecting flight; certainly not on its way to baggage claim.
We had our luggage very carefully searched decades ago when travelling from Wales to Ireland. VERY thoroughly. Also, when entering some Caribbean island (I forget which one – might have been St. Maarten) everyone’s stuff was searched, but that of tourists was cursory – what they were really after was locals trying to smuggle in contraband or untaxed purchases or some such thing.
The issue would be the return to the USA, presumably. I don’t know if TSA locks will work as intended in the UK, for example. But authorities here most certainly search bags and people, with special attention given to those boarding flights to the USA.
The most careful search of my luggage I’ve ever had in normal circumstances was from the US to CA for a fishing trip. Every item in every bag was taken out and individually searched. It took over an hour. I was with my FIL and two BIL’s they were not subjected to the same treatment, they just sat around and waited. No explanation, no nothing.