On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, Joe R. wrote:
You know when
your bag was checked because the TSA puts a form in your bag
saying they did.
I beg to differ. I sat in Kansas City airport two years ago and spent
abut 3 or 4 hours with the security people and watched as they opened
numerous bags and I didn't see them put a sticker on ANY of them. Even when
flying and reclaiming baggage I've never seen one of those stickers.
Have you flown recently? This is standard practice as of at least 5 weeks
ago.
I know of what you speak, however, as I went through that nonsense myself
on plenty of occasions. They are not doing that anymore. I don't know if
it's because they have much better scanners at work now or if they just do
all the checking behind the scenes.
Important Lesson: NEVER show up at an airport with
a confirmed
reservation! If you do, you're guaranteed to get the full treatment!
It also triggers alarms if you book a one way flight the same day you
travel and pay cash. I'm sure it doesn't help if you're Arabic. I did
this one time and got a personal escort to the security area. I thought I
was special until they gave my bags extra scrutiny when I got to the gate.
I asked one of the attendants if I was flagged and she said, "I'm not
supposed to tell you but yes." This was 1997 or so.
--
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