Wednesday
May262010
May 26, 2010 More checkpoint follies - bogus or heinous?
For real? Scam? Better stick with that cool $29 Casio watch, just in case:
Imagine being ordered by airport security workers to put your very expensive watch on a scanning belt, over your objections. Then imagine going to retrieve it and it’s gone.
A Baker County woman says that experience at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia last year cost her a $24,000 Rolex her husband saved up to buy her on her 50th birthday.
Now she’s suing the U.S. Transportation Security Administration after the agency rejected her claim letter and her congressman unsuccessfully attempted to intervene. - Florida Times-Union/jacksonville.com
Lesson - bling is not the thing at the checkpoint.
Update on May 27, 2010 by
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
FlyerTalk thread one Watchgate.
Reader Comments (17)
Here are some things you can do to avoid this kind of stuff.
1. WTMDs have three tiers: bottom, center, high. They each respond separately. The watch in questions weighs under 100g. It is highly unlikely that it will even trigger the detector. Yesterday I walked through the WTMD at AUS with a 165g watch. Not the faintest alarm. People behind me were beeping so I know the machine was working.
2. When you walk through the detector hold your watch arm straight out in front of you. Walk the watch through it first. It is a trick I was told by a detector agent at a German airport. Works very well. Put your boarding pass in that hand. Often you are required to hang on to that anyway.
3. I don't think they can require you to take off the watch BEFORE you even walk through the detector. This is where they screwed her. They can ask you to get rid of metallic objects ONCE you set off the alarm but not before. If you beep they will use the wand and can hand search you. But the watch shouldn't need to go through the X-ray machine.
4. It makes sense to put any really conspicuous items you have on into a closeable interior pocket of a jacket BEFORE you arrive at the checkpoint. This way they will not see it directly first. They will only get the X-ray image which won't be enough to determine if it's of value. Thus not enough to determine if it's worth stealing it. It will also make it much harder to steal it because fumbling with the jacket is not easy.
5. In that sense, do NOT use the little trays they offer for valuables. That just makes it easier for them to locate your valuables. It's a set-up.
6. TSA requires you to keep your belonging in sight at all times. They call it "maintain visual contact", I think. You should insist on that. If ever they don't allow this call a supervisor immediately, call the cops, file a written complaint and get all the names and batch numbers. If they use the "Do you want to fly today" threat raise a ruckus immediately.
7. You don't need to scream at them but raise your voice to the level where everyone can hear you. You do want witnesses and you do want to make it visible to the public that things are not going as they should.
What happened to this woman should be a lesson to all of us to watch out for what the TSA is doing much better than the TSA watching out for terrorists.
I travel with nice watches frequently, so as you can tell I've given some thought to the matter to prevent exactly this kind of horror scenario from happening. The best way to transport a nice watch is on your arm. Don't take it off. There is no need when you use the trick in #2.
Till
I usually remove any valuables (watch, jewellery etc) and place them in a zip-top baggie which then goes in a pocket of my bag or coat. Once through the screeninn process - watch etc is worn again. So far, the only time I was ever stopped - metal in a hair barrette that I forgot to remove, and a piece of lead crystal that I received as a gift - it looked like a solid black lump on the screen, according to the TSA agent. (Good thing they didn't confiscate it, this heavy "rock" could have been used as a weapon!)
Even if this story is bogus, still reminds us to proceed with caution!
As others have suggested, put your watch, wallet, loose change, cell phone, belt and jewelry in your carry-on bag before you go through security. This keeps them out of sight, reducing the temptation for a crooked security official or fellow passenger to swipe them when you aren't looking. Also, it speeds up your progress through security. If you're running to catch a flight, you can quickly grab your carry-on bag once it's through the scanner and make a dash for the gate, knowing everything important is already in the carry-on and you're not forgetting your wallet in a plastic security tray.
There's usually plenty of time to zip up all those objects into the front pocket of your carry-on while you're waiting in line at security. If security officials need to open your carry-on bag, they ask permission first and then open the bag in front of you. If they don't ask permission, you're probably in some far-flung country where you shouldn't have loose valuables in the first place; your cash should be in a money belt and your passport should be in a secure pocket on your body.
As a general traveling rule, I try to use sound judgment when deciding what watch to wear. I don't have super fancy watches, but even my $80 Timex from Target has attracted attention from locals in parts of the world. In Vienna, no one notices your Rolex, but in Nairobi, people might eye your Swatch. In some places, I'd rather travel with a rugged $50 Casio that I don't care about than have my vacation ruined when someone robs me on the street because my TAG Heuer was too big and shiny. Not that I have TAG Heuer, but you get the point.
I'm no security expert, but wouldn't non-functioning security cameras in that kind of environment mandate a priority repair and security change? That's like the metal detectors or x-ray machines not working, they should be considered critical to the overall strategy.
This also brings up the point of are there cameras pointed at the TSA agents at their screening stations? Banks aim cameras at their teller stations more to keep an eye on the teller than a potential bank robber.
That being said, what I do bring (nice costume jewelry) will be in a bag with at least two zippers between it and TSA.
With the "walk watch through" method outlined in my post even a heavy steel watch shouldn't set off the WTMD. But some are adjusted to be more sensitive than others. So it's not a sure fire thing.
Chris, good point on making the watch inconspicuous, which this Rolex clearly wasn't. When I went to visit my then GF in Mexico City she told me explicitly to not take a nice watch. I took a yellow plastic G-Shock. She said: "OK, that's not expensive but it will still get noticed. Would have been better to buy a $10 Timex." Well, a man has his standards, is all I can say.
I travel with an expensive stainless steel watch, and often put it in my bag, as others have suggested. I have forgotten a few times, and usually it goes OK, but once in Munich it set the detector off.
My watch is insured against theft. I've never had to file a claim though, so I don't really know how useful the insurance is.
Lastly, the old broken surveillance camera line is a joke. As one poster pointed out, the cameras would seem to be integral to the process. We've heard that excuse before. Surveillance cameras are actually pretty reliable pieces of equipment, and they aren't particularly expensive. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that countless low budget convenience stores and gas stations have functioning security cameras.