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The last time I remember flying with a tablet, it was so suspicious that airport security hauled me into a private room and interrogated me about it. They quest
by cryptoz 2y ago
The last time I remember flying with a tablet, it was so suspicious that airport security hauled me into a private room and interrogated me about it. They questioned why I didn't take it out of my bag for the scanner (since it was a 'laptop'). They asked what it was. They made me turn it on and use it. They were extremely rude and kept me holed up for a long time while investigating it.
So I don't fly with a tablet any more haha! Although, I get that time has passed and I would no longer be accosted so much, I assume. Must be pretty common now. My story takes place in ~2011 with the Motorola Xoom tablet. I guess they had never seen a tablet before.
I was also working hard on a plane one time, writing code to access barometer data on mobile devices to build a distributed weather sensor network that could be activated in software. The flight attendant came by and told me, "okay, time to put your toys away sweetie" referring to my tablet and phone. Oooooooooh my god.
- AceJohnny2 2y agoIn the 13 years since your experience, airport security around the world has had time to be extremely blasé about most electronic devices. That said, security rules vary from airport to airport. SFO with TSA Pre is practically a no-op, but CDG security requires that you remove from carry-on any device with a >20cm dimension!
- cubefox 2y ago> The flight attendant came by and told me, "okay, time to put your toys away sweetie" referring to my tablet and phone. The audacity! I hope you called them sweetie too.
- ValentineC 2y agoI believe the main reason laptops have to be separated is because they appear as just a large chunk of metal on the X-ray. A tablet would look similar. Pre-iPad, most airport staff (who aren't hardcore techies, or might not have the privilege of higher education) might think of a tablet as a laptop anyway.
- jnsie 2y agoI was under the impression that because the components are packed so tight it is difficult to scan anything beneath the laptop. Happy to be corrected.