Make sure you start putting a fresh set of batteries in your cameras, phones, and other devices prior to going on your next flight. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) put out a release on Sunday that the security screeners at most overseas airports will be asking passengers who are taking flights to the United States to turn on their electronic devices to show that they are not explosives and are truly just regular electronic devices.According to CNN, if your device is not charged or turned on, it will not be allowed on the plane and you will be forced through an additional level of screening. CNN's article went on to point out that "the effort does not involve changes to what travelers can take aboard flights." You may see more inspection of shoes and electronics with more scanners designed to find smaller explosives. Also, there may be yet another stage of screening added to some, if not all, of the boarding gates according to officials.
Some people may be throwing arms in the air saying this is ridiculous and unnecessary. On the other hand, I feel that even though this may be another annoying step of security, it is worth it. In the last 10-15 years we have seen airline security boosted to an extreme level and at this point in time, I think our society has become accustomed to it. These measures are put in place for a reason.
A great quote I found on the CNN site by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, to NBC's "Meet the Press" said:
Our job is to ... try to anticipate the next attack, not simply react to the last one. And so we continually evaluate the world situation, and we know that there remains a terrorist threat to the United States, and aviation security is a large part of that.
These new rules and changes are coming in to play based on intelligence on terror groups looking to use new types of explosives built to be harder to detect. If you were to take our your DSLR, you can easily see how large it is and how much space could be gutted from it to hide some type of explosive or terror device. If we take a look at recent wars, we find that these terrorists are using things such as pop cans to fit bombs in. If they can use something that size, they can definitely use a DSLR or electronic device. These new rules help make sure these devices are not triggers or gutted to have explosives.
What are your thoughts on these new rules being put in place to some countries flights into the United States?
More information can be found at CNN.com
Featured image courtesy of Michael Kelly Photography
This is why I always carry a potato and some wires on my carry-on... never know when they come handy
Wow, I thought I was the only one!
Yeah, this will stop those terrorists dead in their tracks.
Someone should walk on with an old boombox with the volume pre-adjusted to max and a death-metal cassette inserted, and nonchalantly wait until they're asked to turn their unit on...
Totally idiotic. If someone is advanced enough to hide a malicious/explosive device within an item of electronics, they're also advanced enough to make it go 'bloop bleep' and display a fake boot screen when powered up.
Don't forget that it goes to the x-ray! Some people are trying to make explosives with the same density than lithium-ion batteries. That's why they want to see if your battery can deliver power.
What about hard drives and large battery packs? Traveling with big video kits sounds like it's going to be a f*cking nightmare.
When I travelled to India, I had no issues on US side. However, on the India side coming home, they questioned my camera batteries and rode mic for quite some time. They almost didn't allow them to go through.
As if the lines weren't moving slow enough already.
I completely agree. I don't care so much about the extra searching... I care about the efficiency of the process. Sometimes getting to your gate is a breeze, other times it is a nightmare (depends on a lot; how prepared/sensible you are, how prepared/sensible the TSA agent is, if the TSA agent had their Wheaties for breakfast, etc.). I feel that, a lot of the time, the TSA can barely get through the existing process, let alone adding more to it. I guess we'll see.
Plus a Li-Ion battery packs quite a punch if exploded. Not to mention if a phone or tablet can be disguised, couldn't anything else that size that's ignored? At what point do they draw the line?
Israelis required I turn on my camera and take a shot pointing at the floor when I was flying out of Tel Aviv in 1980.
Hi, is that a bomb you have hidden in a phone?… do you mind pressing the button?
"In the last 10-15 years we have seen airline security boosted to an extreme level and at this point in time, I think our society has become accustomed to it. These measures are put in place for a reason."
The article would've been much more concise if you had just written, "Overall, I disagree with the 4th amendment."