So I went on a long-ish trip yesterday. Went through TSA at the first airport, then had to go through again because I changed terminal buildings at one of my connections. When I got to my hotel room I realized I still had my box cutter in my knapsack. It came on three planes with me and I wasn’t asked about it once.
Should we find this alarming or surprising? Especially considering one of the airports was Boston, where the 9/11 plotters went through security with their box cutters? I can’t believe I wasn’t tackled or at least admonished by someone.
I’ve twice left O’Hare airport with something in my carry-on or pockets that then was ‘caught’ on the return trip. One was a Zippo style lighter I found in the parking lot while leaving for the trip, the other was a pocket knife. Neither was intentional and I just surrendered them and let security keep/dispose of them rather than hassle with having them mailed to me, etc.
There’s an article called “The Things He carried” published in the Atlantic, in which the author intentionally packed jihadist materials and weapons, matchbooks from Beirut hotels, rope, lighters, Hezbollah videos… He also did things like conspicuously tear up and discard fraudulent boarding passes in the terminal. All ignored by TSA “security.” On one occasion nail clippers were confiscated from him.
I can’t link but you should be able to find the article easily by the title.
It has always been publicly stated that the 9/11 plotters used box cutters. Whether the plotters used box cutters or something else just as effective but easily passes through TSA (even today) remains elusive.
A few years back I made it onto two flights - from Milwaukee to San Francisco and the return flight - with live ammunition in my carry-on bag. Granted it was just 3 .357 magnum cartridges that had fallen out of an ammo box during a recent trip to the shooting range, but still… We have a bunch of quasi-trained monkeys with GED’s working for the TSA busy feeling up grandma while I’m boarding planes with live ammunition. Just goes to show you, we’re paying billions of dollars for security theater.
I have carried 1 liter steel or aluminum bottles full of water through security at 6 airports. Never intentionally, but I always forget to dump them out before I get to the checkpoint.
A few years ago I was hassled because I had a deck of playing cards in my bag and they “couldn’t identify it through the scanner.” On the return trip I forgot to remove my liquids from my bag and I sailed right through.
Here’s my 2 cents on this. I think the bigger the airport, the lower the chance stuff will be found. I have accidently carried banned items on flights at least 4 or 5 times in the last six months. I fly out of ATL. Nothing has ever been flagged and confiscated here. I fly into and out of Boston quite often. Again, never a problem. Same thing in Dallas, same in Miami, same in Orlando, etc.
So things that were missed by Atlanta were often found on the return flight when flying from smaller airports. Swiss Army knife, donated to Rochester TSA, another cheap promotional pocket knife donated to Portland TSA, a gift Zippo (new in box, no fuel) donated begrudgingly to the TSA in Rochester (different trip). A few others, but all seem to point to the trend of smaller airports catching stuff bigger airports didn’t.
I was stopped and held aside because my middle name was misspelled on my ticket. The reservations were made for me by an employee. She spelled my middle name “Steven” instead of “Stephen”. At one point I did a subtle eye-roll, adding an additional five minutes to my delay.
I seem to recall that for a while TSA was keeping a running tally on their web site of all the fingernail clippers, pocket knives, etc. they had taken off passengers, as though every one was a hijacking averted. The total was in the hundreds of thousands. I guess they aren’t doing that any more.
Frankly understandable, when you consider how many years they were looking for Osama Steven Bin Laden before they finally found him.
My sister was once pulled aside at JFK for what turned out to be studs on her jeans. On the same flight, her carry-on passed through with a large set of wood carving knives she’d forgotten about. It was a bit . . . disconcerting.
I haven’t ziplock-bagged my travel-size toiletries in years and no one’s noticed. TSA agents did, however, flag my partner’s bag because the block of fudge inside “looks a lot like plastic explosive on x-ray.”
I went through (both ways) with a pair of large screwdrivers in my backpack. I didn’t realize they were there until I got to my destination. When I went back, I decided I’d try my luck since they were really good Milwaukee screwdrivers and I knew if I gave them up I’d never see them again. I got through.
