Checked baggage search.

[benmango]

Hi there. Typically I have great things to say about Southwest but something that bothered me this past trip was the search/rummaging TSA agents did on my checked bags. I understand that this is part of the process, but to a point. First of all, in the past they would leave a note in the bag saying that it was opened and inspected. No note was seen in my bag. Secondly, there should be a limit as to how much rummaging an agent can do in a checked bag. After all that is my property and I, like many others, are very private.

You may ask how I knew my bag was opened and checked. Thats a fair question. The reason is because my laptop bag was closed and my laptop was off when I packed (I make it a point to turn off my electronic devices). When I opened my luggage, my laptop bag was opened and my laptop had been turned on. What purpose did they have in taking my laptop out and turning it on? I may be over-reacting, but I don't see the need to tamper that much into someone else's belongings.

[bec102896]

First I wouldn’t check a laptop that’s just asking for trouble because if your bag were to be damaged your laptop most likely wouldn’t be covered by the airline 

with TSA going through a bag I would rather them go though a bag if they think something suspicious was in the bag because if they just look at the top and move on and miss something bad I don’t need my plane going down because they missed something. I know TSA checks electronics at the security screening checkpoint maybe they look in checked bags at electronics as well 

you can always share that feedback with TSA since SW doesn’t always control when the TSA goes through a bag. 

-Blake 

[dfwskier]

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@benmango wrote:

 When I opened my luggage, my laptop bag was opened and my laptop had been turned on. What purpose did they have in taking my laptop out and turning it on? I may be over-reacting, but I don't see the need to tamper that much into someone else's belongings.

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I can think of a reason. Perhaps they were being sure it was a laptop instead of something else -- like a bomb

There was a time in the past that terrorists planted bombs in laptops. A laptop with "bomb" guts would not turn on.

[DancingDavidE]

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@benmango wrote:

Hi there. Typically I have great things to say about Southwest but something that bothered me this past trip was the search/rummaging TSA agents did on my checked bags. I understand that this is part of the process, but to a point. First of all, in the past they would leave a note in the bag saying that it was opened and inspected. No note was seen in my bag. Secondly, there should be a limit as to how much rummaging an agent can do in a checked bag. After all that is my property and I, like many others, are very private.

You may ask how I knew my bag was opened and checked. Thats a fair question. The reason is because my laptop bag was closed and my laptop was off when I packed (I make it a point to turn off my electronic devices). When I opened my luggage, my laptop bag was opened and my laptop had been turned on. What purpose did they have in taking my laptop out and turning it on? I may be over-reacting, but I don't see the need to tamper that much into someone else's belongings.

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Are you checking it often? Make sure it doesn’t have a lithium battery which is not allowed in checked bags. 

If it’s valuable at all then I wouldn’t check a laptop, although mishandling is rare it does happen from time to time.