AS ANY air traveler can attest: The process of getting through airport customs and security is a slow and painful process.
No liquids are allowed into and through the United States; in some places, you have to take off your shoes and run them through the X-ray machines; and everywhere these days, laptops have to be removed and scanned separately from your carry-on luggage.
So it was just a matter of time before several laptop bag makers try to speed things up with a newfangled product: Bags that eliminate the need to remove the laptop from the bag.
However, I'm disappointed to say the bags don't seem to work.
I don't mean that they don't do what they were designed to do. I mean, the staff manning the security points negate the value of such bags.
Basically, all airport staff around the world have been trained to ask travellers to remove their laptops from the bags. Naturally, it's far easier to follow that one simple blanket protocol, rather than try to remember which bag models allow computers to be left inside without compromising security.
To be fair, I tried this out using a Targus Corporate Traveler Laptop case, which has been approved by the Transportation Security Administration in the US.
Flying out of Tom Bradley International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport two weeks ago, the lines getting into the boarding gates snaked along the duty free shop and into the check-in counters.
And at the end of the line, there was a security officer checking boarding passes before passengers encountered another queue to scan their carry-on bags. At the end of that line, yet another security officer shuffled passengers to one of several branch-offs with the X-ray machines.
The problem is, before branching off into the smaller lines, several security officers were already shouting to everyone: "Please remove your laptop from your bag and place it separately on a tray!"
Upon hitting these lines, no staff member was available to explain why one's laptop bag is so special that the device can remain inside. There I was, standing barefoot before the machine and looking around when I spied a security staff from another line relegating a bag that had already been scanned back to the beginning of the machine queue.
The owner obviously was made to remove his laptop from the bag. He hadn't done so in the beginning and was caught by the X-ray machine.
Okay, now, my turn.
I could've easily spent three seconds unzipping the bag and removing the laptop, or risk getting "caught".
I took the risk.
Fortunately, no one said anything as I donned my shoes and scurried away.
But I would be lying if I said my heart wasn't beating rapidly. I had to cool down, in case my nervousness was interpreted as more than just trying to sneak a laptop through the machines.
So there you have it: Leave your laptop inside at your own risk because it is not convenient to speak to the staff and tell them that yours is a special laptop bag. And if you can be bothered to speak to the staff to identify your new bag, just take out your laptop already?
After all, it does not get any easier at other airports either. At Changi Airport, I had to explain to the security officer that the bag was special and she made a choice to let me though. She could have easily insisted that I remove the laptop.
During both stopovers at Tokyo Narita International Airport on my way to LA and back, the sweet Japanese security ladies told me, in well rehearsed English, to remove my laptop. When I tried to explain the nature of my special bag, all I received were blank looks and was told, again, "Please remove all laptops."
So I did.
To sum up: The bags might be designed to work, but in such situations, it all boils down to airport security and how they react. Even if you get the bag to work in the US, international travelers might not receive the same treatment at other airports. Perception of danger, language barriers and the crowds might prompt security officers to just follow their guidelines.
Next time, I'll save myself the angst and just take my laptop out of my bag!