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“Checkpoint Friendly” Laptop Bags
By Mike | September 23, 2008
Are you tired of being held up at security checkpoints because you happen to be bringing your laptop along on your trip? Checkpoints are a big enough hassle as it is – take off your jacket, take off your shoes, take off your hat, etc. Well the TSA feels your pain…sort of. They have recently come out with guidelines for “checkpoint friendly” laptop bags and cases.
- Your laptop bag has a designated laptop-only section that can lay flat on the X-ray belt
- There are no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on-top of the laptop-only section
- There are no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
- There is nothing in the laptop compartment other than the laptop
- You can completely unfold your bag so that there is nothing above or below the laptop-only section, allowing the bag to lay flat on the X-ray belt.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will need to buy a new laptop bag. Many bags that are currently sold already conform to these guidelines. If you use a simple laptop sleeve, you also have nothing to worry about, unless of course you are stuffing other things in there – if you are, don’t. This actually applies to all laptop bags. Make sure that there isn’t anything else inside the laptop only compartment other than the laptop, otherwise your bag will need to be searched anyway.
Briggs & Riley, has recently approved many of its laptop bags and cases, as “checkpoint friendly”. They have closely worked with the TSA to test these bags on the x-ray machines, to make sure that they can be scanned. These bags have a removable laptop sleeve feature, which allows you to, yes, remove your laptop and place it separately on the x-ray conveyor.
Topics: Luggage, Bags, and Travel Accessories | 1 Comment »
April 15th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
hitesh,
You are correct. As I stated in the post, many bags currently conform to these guidelines. However, the bags that I mention here are specifically TSA tested and approved. Most laptop bags today include various holding pockets in the laptop compartment, which goes against these guidelines.
If someone is concerned that their bag does not conform, then need only read the guidelines, and decide whether they need/want a new “checkpoint friendly” bag.