On Fri, 6 Aug 2004, Vassilis Prevelakis wrote:
> Well last year I travelled (from the US) to Europe with a suitcase full
> of de-commissioned computers (incl. a Sun Ultra 1 which filled most of
> the suitcase) and spare parts (about 5-8 year old stuff). Since I
> couldn't care less about eproms or other media, I just let it go
> through the normal checked luggage check. The suitcase was not locked
> (as per guidelines) and I know they opened it (not in my presence, so I
> don't really know how much time they spent looking though it), but
> nobody said anything to me about it, and the suitcase went through
> without any problems.
Sending a computer through checked baggage doesn't even elicit an errant
brainwave.
> If you are packing clothing with the equipment (as padding or to save
> carrying a second suitcase) I would advise you to pack them in
> transparent plastic bags, so that the checkers can go through them
> without spilling them all over the floor. Also avoid small unpacked
> items that can fall off the suitcase during the visual inspection
> process.
You know when your bag was checked because the TSA puts a form in your bag
saying they did. My bags are always checked by the TSA. They always seem
to put things back in place as I packed them (well, except for my radio).
> Finally remember that the people carrying out the inspection will not
> use the same care as you in putting everything back in the suitcase, so
> leave some extra space to accommodate the (less efficient) re-packing.
> If your suitcase is a jigsaw with everything required to be packed just
> right for the suitcase to close, then expect to see a mess at your
> destination.
I haven't had this problem at all.
> I remember that while I was waiting to check in at the Philadelphia
> International Airport I could see TSA staff trying to close an opened
> suitcase. Now that was a royal mess, with clothing sticking out from
> all sides and the suitcase refusing to come anywhere near to closing.
> Eventually the just closed the two halves as much as they could and
> used plastic wrap to keep the insides from spilling over. I bet the
> owners would freak out, especially if they had clean and ironed
> clothing
Sounds like a case of incompetent morons.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Fri Aug 06 2004 - 14:40:22 BST