Do this if you want TSA to inspect your luggage
I feel as though this is turning into a travel blog
My company has its headquarters in the Bay Area and I’ve written a couple times recently about my observations while traveling between there and Seattle (here and here).
This week, I traveled to the company HQ to assist with a product launch. After I got to my hotel, I opened my luggage and found a Notification of Inspection or NOI. Evidently, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) felt the need to sort through my stuff.
This has happened before during my travels, but it is a fairly rare event; I honestly can’t remember the last time. On this occasion, however, I had stashed my spare laptop in my luggage. I wondered if that was why TSA had done the inspection; they had seen a large metallic object and wondered what it was.
Probably some explanation is in order. When I started at the company, I was provisioned a laptop that was underpowered and which made it difficult to get my work done. Our IT group gave me a more powerful laptop, but also allowed me to keep the one I had. As I mentioned above, I was traveling to support a product launch, so I took my previous laptop as a backup in case anything went wrong. Carrying two laptops in my backpack felt heavy, so I stashed the extra one in my luggage.
Fortunately, I did not need to use my spare laptop during the trip. When it was time to come home, I again packed it in my checked luggage. Last night, when I got home, I opened up my luggage to unpack and–can you guess?–I had another inspection notice. At this point, I’m pretty sure that TSA gets activated by laptops checked in luggage.
Published: Fri 02 May 2025
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