I travel quite a bit in my job (part of the reason why I haven't been around here much lately) and about 5 months ago I had a total knee replacement. Knowing that my screening process was going to change, I quit taking my camera equipment with me, and so far I believe that has been a good thing safety-wise. The reason I say this, is that in each airport I go through (with the exception of one), I have been separated from my computer, bag, and shoes during the pat-down screening process I now must go through. While I do have my eyes on my things at all times, I am usually stuck in a Plexiglas enclosure and couldn't get to my things if I were to see someone attempting to walk away with it. All of my items sit at the end of the conveyor while I am going through the screening process, and usually 4 or 5 people pick up their things and go around mine
Now I am a great believer in the kindness and honesty of people overall, but I am not naive either – I saw a guy lose his laptop at a checkpoint in Dallas a few years ago and have been a little paranoid about this ever since. I do use encryption on all the files on my laptop, and it has some call-home software on it if someone unauthorized should try to use it. A little long-winded to get my question, but I really want to take my camera with me when I travel so… does anyone know if I have the right to carry my camera equipment in a separate bag and take it with me through the metal detector and request a hand search of the camera and bag since I have to request the pat-down search anyway? The only thing I can find on the TSA website refers to film cameras and my rights for a pat-down search due to medical reasons.
Now I am a great believer in the kindness and honesty of people overall, but I am not naive either – I saw a guy lose his laptop at a checkpoint in Dallas a few years ago and have been a little paranoid about this ever since. I do use encryption on all the files on my laptop, and it has some call-home software on it if someone unauthorized should try to use it. A little long-winded to get my question, but I really want to take my camera with me when I travel so… does anyone know if I have the right to carry my camera equipment in a separate bag and take it with me through the metal detector and request a hand search of the camera and bag since I have to request the pat-down search anyway? The only thing I can find on the TSA website refers to film cameras and my rights for a pat-down search due to medical reasons.