It’s about ten minutes before your flight to L.A. leaves, and you’re on standby. You run all the way to the security check point, place your stuff in the x-ray machine. You walk through the metal detector and wait for your items on the other side, when a security screener tells you he/she needs to perform additional screening on your bag. Knowing that you are extremely late you throw a fit and start complaining to the point where you just missed your flight. Is it the security’s fault?No. You are at fault. The security is just doing their job.
I am an airport security screener at SFO international airport. Since people usually travel during the holidays, I’m going to give you a few tips on how to get through the airport safely and quickly.
Be earlyFirst thing you need to know. Nothing goes exactly the way you planned. Things will happen that aould delay you. It’s better to be waiting for two hours then rushing through security with ten minutes left until your flight leaves. So don’t be over confident with thinking the plane will wait for you, it won’t.
What not to bringWhen you pack you know what to bring but do you know what not to? They have signs right before you go through security what’s not allowed on the plane. You cannot have cigarette lighters of any sort, no pocket knives of any design, no knives, no scissors, no sharp objects, and no pepper spray. Firearms are not allowed, and replicas too. When people have these items, screeners cannot and will not let them get past that point. So do yourself a favor and don’t bring any item that isn’t allowed. It’ll save you a lot of time.
There are some things, you’ll find silly once you begin with screening. Most passengers think its ridiculous, but we don’t.
Shoes Some airports will ask, some don’t. At SFO we will recommend you take off your shoes. For security reasons, we need to see inside them. Do you remember a man named Richard Reid? He was the man who tried to blow up a plane by creating a bomb with his shoe. This is why we ask, need I say more? If they ask, just take them off or you could go through additional screening.
Laptop Computers Working at the airport you learn to loathe things. I loathe the laptop computer. There are reasons I cannot explain why we need the computers out of their bags, but I will say we just need to see inside them. Your computer doesn’t need to be on or open, just take it out of your bag and place it in a bin by itself. Failure to comply with the security procedure results in additional screening.
Screeners at the airport are not playing cops with everyone to see. We are serious; we work hard to make sure you are safe when you fly. The most important thing to remember is to be early. If you are early, no matter what happens you’ll get to your final destination safely.