Airport Security Doesn't Trust Your Game Consoles... Wait, What???
Are you planning to bring one of your game consoles (the big type, not a PSP or a DS) through airport security? Guess what? If you do feel obligated to bring it on board and throw it in the overhead compartment, airport security is now stepping up their inane procedures (seriously, have they ever caught anyone in the USA since they started the insanity that is the Transportation Security Agency) to include screening larger electronic devices:
Effective Saturday, August 4th, passengers must remove all full-size video game consoles (for example Playstation, X-box, or Nintendo) and full-size DVD players from their carry ons and have them be submitted separately for X-ray screening.The agency also clarified an earlier press release to say that small electronic items, such as cell phones, MP3 players, iPods and portable video game systems do not have to be removed from their carrying cases.
God, how glad am I that my dad and my brother are private pilots?
TSA expands inspection requirements for some electronics [KOMO News]
[via GamePolitics]
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Video Games on 7 August 2007
· Comments (7)
Other stuff like this: airport security, insane line ques, tsa, video game consoles
Would the x-rays destroy the Hard disks?
To be honest, this makes MORE sense. They already ask that all laptops be taken out to be screened separately. Why wouldn't a full size console? Hell, the XBox is basically a PC anyway. ^_^
Sucks for convenience, but for once a TSA rule change makes them MORE consistent with themselves. (Unfortunately, I think that's one of the 7 signs of the impending Apocalypse...)
People take Playstations on the plane? Whatever. As long as they stay the fuck away from my DS we won't have any problems.
I love how it says "MP3 players, iPods"... They're the same thing!
Right so you think thats bollocks wait 'til you hear this. So me and a mate were visiting America for the first time, we arrived in New York City and are doing our customs bit, you know.. "May we look in your bags?" the whole spiel. So were waiting and a friend of mine happened to have a copy of PC Gamer in his bag, nothing wrong with that right, its a long flight from Heathrow to New York, about 12 hours in fact. Well apparently a PC gamer gets you flagged as a possible terrorist I swear we had to stay in customs for another hour as they "grilled" I believe thats the appropriate term my friend as he was carrying "Terrorist Propaganda" need less to say I am not surprised about the game consoles one bit, oh and anyone traveling internationally remember to inform your security guard of any weapons or popular magazines you may be carrying.
This actually makes sense to me.
Frankly, I just don't see how it is *that* much of an inconvenience to pull out a console if you happen to be carrying it. For one thing, how often do you travel on a plane with a console anyway? *Maybe* once a year at the holidays? It's like the whole taking off the shoes complaints--we're talking minor inconveniences. I would much rather err on the side of caution.
It's also true that game consoles are pretty easy to take apart and they seem as likely as a laptop to be used for terrorist purposes.
I appreciate the heads up, but have seen an uproar (on other boards) and really just don't get it.
yeah when i was flying last weekend i had to take out my psp and ds so they could put it through the scanner... they said they just started it