X-Ray friendly laptop bags cleared for take off in US

By Nick Mansell on Wed 02 July 2008

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The US Department of Transportation Security Administration - or TSA for short - has just confirmed it will be approving a range of laptop bags for airport X-Ray machines, finally meaning travellers will be able to leave their notebooks in their luggage when they pass through security.

Airport security's main concern with having laptops inside bags is that they tend to get obscured from view by chargers, discs, USB leads and all the other things that come on board the plane with you. So, the New York Times reports, the newly designed bags will either feature a fold-out section to effectively separate your laptop from the rest of your gear as it passes through the machine, or will simply be stand-alone protective sleeves with no clutter accumulating pockets to remove the X-Ray operator's view...

Pathfinder Luggage and Targus are both now rushing to produce bags that match the TSA's requirements, while around six more have companies have submitted prototype's for approval. Targus reckons its first bags could be on the shelves by late September.

The TSA won't be stamping official approval on any bags, instead it'll be encouraging manufacturers to sell them as 'checkpoint friendly'. If they don't do what they say on the tin, and X-ray staff can't get a clear view of the laptop, then owners will be asked to take the laptop out and put it through again - all incentive enough for manufacturers to ensure they do work because, as Ron Davis, the executive vice president of Pathfinder Luggage, says: “If a customer buys the new case and sends it through security and the security officer said, ‘Sorry, this doesn’t work,’ then you’ve got a very upset customer.”

Sadly, there's no guarantee that the bags will be given the same recognition outside the US - and we don't suggest you start arguing the case for them as you pass through security here or it might be more than your laptop you'll be removing.

[NYT]