TSA can't believe MacBook Air is a real laptop, causes owner to miss flight

The TSA has been known to take issue with products designed in Cupertino before, but for one particular traveler, it was Apple's thinnest laptop ever that caused the latest holdup. Upon tossing his ultra-sleek slab of aluminum underneath the scanner, security managed to find enough peculiarities to remove it from the flow, pull it aside and wrangle up the owner for some questions. Apparently, the TSA employee manning the line was flabbergasted by the "lack of a drive" and the complete absence of "ports on the back," and while hordes of co-workers swarmed to investigate, the user's flight took off on schedule. Thankfully, said owner was finally allowed to pass through after some more in-the-know colleagues explained in painfully simple terms what an SSD was, but the poor jet-setter most definitely paid the price for trying to slip some of the latest and greatest under the sharp eyes of the TSA (and cutting it close on time, of course).

[Image courtesy of ABC]

[Sukhminder @ Mar 10th 2008 8:06AM]

You're telling me that this phone is WIRELESS? Terrorist!

[OneLove @ Mar 10th 2008 1:01PM]

watch out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7AWw7t5zj0

[Leo @ Mar 10th 2008 1:37PM]

that vid wasn't as awful as I thought it was gonna be. best line is around 1:10 that was f*cking hilarious

[sk8rpro @ Mar 10th 2008 2:51PM]

Don't these people look at the news on the Internet or Television?

Do these people even have a life?

Or are they - gasp! - androids? Maybe they're jealous of new technology? I'm going to listen to Mr. Roboto from Styxx now.

[ajadoniz @ Mar 10th 2008 5:22PM]

Why didn't he just put it in a manilla envelope?!

[weichaoz @ Apr 24th 2008 7:03PM]

haha, the man is famous now!!! i mean the TSA..

[Totalfixation @ Mar 10th 2008 8:07AM]

Hard to believe.

[Boing @ Mar 10th 2008 9:02AM]

It didn't actually have a bomb in it, just a detonator, you had to plug the bomb in externally.

[purezerg @ Mar 10th 2008 9:19AM]

WHAT? if I was TSA, I would hold up the traveler, let him miss his flight and ask him to dismantle his MBA and make him show me that it's really a SSD.

[a ham sandwich @ Mar 10th 2008 10:50AM]

@purezerg

i think that the problem was that they didn't see a hard drive in the x-ray machine. u know, that uber advanced piece of technology for looking through things whose user never makes ANY mistakes?

[sepirioth @ Mar 11th 2008 9:51PM]

Funny as it is, ive had a laptop opened up (read: DESTROYED) by Heathrow security... reason? The left speaker seemed slighly more oval then the right one....

[G @ Mar 10th 2008 12:18PM]

Hard to believe he actually paid so much for the SSD upgrade maybe...

[spass @ Mar 10th 2008 12:40PM]

Hard to believe the edges are that thin that they could be used as a weapon.

I don't think it was a question about believing or not that was a laptop, it was just the fact that the air had edges thinner than accepted.

[John @ Mar 10th 2008 1:23PM]

@ Boing:
You can't do that since the bomb's USB-connector is too big for the MacBook Air USB-port.

[Sirius @ Mar 10th 2008 11:23PM]

@John

Guess you'll have to link it up wirelessly then... wait.. can't do that on a plane.. :P

[Armoured @ Mar 11th 2008 5:14AM]

@ purezerg:
you need to stop believing in terrorism and terrorists. they don't really exist, and aren't going to pop up from around the corner either. it's just what the government wants you to believe.

[NeoteriX @ Mar 13th 2008 9:16AM]

@ Boing: Awesome!

[Oinquer @ Mar 10th 2008 8:10AM]

i smell lawsuit!!!!!!!! LOL

ohh well...take that! Macbook Air will only give ya headache's...in head and wallet....

After this i hope he got a free ticket in first class...

[nxtiak @ Mar 10th 2008 8:35AM]

Free ticket? First Class?? HAH! That guy was lucky the TSA even let him go and not arrest him for having a RAZOR thin laptop that could slice someone's throat!

[MacBandit @ Mar 10th 2008 9:50AM]

Nope TSA and airline policy is that you show up early enough that being delayed by security doesn't make you miss your flight. If you don't show up early enough it's your own fault. That's why they usually recommend you show up 2 hours early.

[Oinquer @ Mar 10th 2008 11:30AM]

Yeah..and prolly you could cut the cockpit door with it! better then an axe!.....
Sometimes i am glad i don't live in a country with such abusive measures......losing cause TSA inspectors are dumb...

[Gordy @ Mar 10th 2008 8:11AM]

TSA's slogan should be "Where did you want to go today?"

[Ellianth @ Mar 10th 2008 9:06AM]

or "whoops"

[The General @ Mar 10th 2008 1:57PM]

TSA - Thousands, Standing Around

[Superprime @ Mar 10th 2008 8:12AM]

They can't be that dumb... they just can't

[plaka999 @ Mar 10th 2008 10:18AM]

obviously you don't travel, my friend.

[Kunikos @ Mar 10th 2008 12:01PM]

You're talking about people who don't screen checked-in baggage for bombs and think that screening passengers carry-on luggage and shoes is going to prevent all threats. You're also talking about people who are hired only on the basis that they can pass a simplistic background check.

[letstakeawalk @ Mar 10th 2008 1:21PM]

@Kunikos

Checked luggage is most certainly checked. That's why they wipe the little swabs around it before you check-in. They're looking for explosives residue. (This might just be my local CHS - but then again it certainly speeds things up by bringing the screeners to the line instead of vice-versa)

[Shadyman @ Mar 10th 2008 8:35PM]

Kunikos:

Carts of checked baggage go through a roll-through, high-powered X-Ray machine.

[Marvin Quach @ Mar 12th 2008 8:40AM]

@letstakeawalk

Even if they do cotton swab the outside of the luggage, couldn't whomever that was inclined just WIPE the OUTSIDE of the luggage before entering the airport? This airport security check seems kinda easy to bypass... maybe we should be looking for more stringent tests?

[ihonzawa @ Mar 16th 2008 7:54AM]

Actually, they aren't cotton swabs...they are specially designed collection traps that can detect traces of explosives. I won't go into the details of how it works, but the method of how and where they obtain ths samples are very accurate and effective. Explosives are very sticky in nature and almost every surface is porous; creating perfect conditions to retain traces.

[Presario @ Apr 11th 2008 12:26PM]

Oh yes, they can. I had a US border guard throw out 55 lbs of Premium dog food because it might contain beef, along with 18 cans of Chef Boy Ardee Ravioli because it might contain beef which they cant let into the country even though it was made there. I must also mention that the border guard did NOT throw out the Cuban sugar, which he walked past a couple of times.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 10th 2008 8:12AM]

The Macbook Air is a poorly designed, poorly contrived piece of crap that pales in comparison to most other laptops/ultraportables. I could fix the macbook air with a simple redesign in which I'd add a port expander on its spine.

What bothers me about this sensationalist story is that it not only points out how stupid TSA is, but, its going to make more technology dummies out there want one. This is the "race to the bottom" the Sony executives mentioned.

[mattclarkie @ Mar 10th 2008 8:24AM]

I couldn't agree more. The BBC compared the Air to some other ultra-portables and determined it is heavier, less featured, and more expensive. They actually said that it lacks so many ports that it is often less practical than a normally spec'd if not slightly bigger laptop.

[seanchk @ Mar 10th 2008 8:29AM]

The Macbook Air is not a poorly designed piece of crap at all, its a superbly designed laptop. Sure it lacks ports etc, but that is hardly the point. Have you actually held one ? Its superb. There are some of us that want something for simple net access whilst commuting and don't need any expansion options. The Air is perfect for accessing the web and email and for light business use. My only issue with it at the moment is price. And before you jump al over me for being an apple fanboy I should point out that I am a complete PC user, at work and at home. The only Apple product I've ever owned is my iPhone. I agree its not for everyone, but your comments (and others) are based purely on your needs, not the needs or gadget lust of others.

[Jamar @ Mar 10th 2008 8:32AM]

And your next issue looks like it'll be the TSA- make sure to get to the airport *extra* early...

[seanchk @ Mar 10th 2008 8:44AM]

@Jamar

Why assume I'm from the US ? I don't have to contend with the TSA or any of the security restrictions they impose.

[Jamar @ Mar 10th 2008 10:40AM]

If you even pass through the US on an international flight you'll have to deal with the TSA as well, not just if you're leaving or arriving there.

[pixeled @ Mar 13th 2008 11:46AM]

> I could fix the macbook air with a simple redesign in which I'd add a port expander on its spine.

ooh.. and then I bet you'd add a floppy drive, an RS232 port, and a parallel port, to talk to your Epson dot matrix printer.

/fool

[CraigJ @ Mar 10th 2008 12:27PM]

Another day, another mindless anti-Apple flame from Flashpoint.

[Twitchy @ Mar 10th 2008 5:12PM]

@ Jamar:

Just FYI, but one must book a flight using a hub outside of the US rather early as they're booked out faster than the alternative(i.e. to fly through the US). Almost everyone I know does their damndest to avoid the US because of the possible hassles.

Here are some nice bedtime stories for you (BTW, I know where I am NOT going for a holiday, as there's always Disneyland Paris & Tokyo):

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10470890

http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/34108prs20080213.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/weekinreview/14preston.html?_r=2&ref=weekinreview&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[yui @ Mar 10th 2008 10:19PM]

" I could fix the macbook air with a simple redesign in which I'd add a port expander on its spine."

Who are you? Are you Jonathan Ive?
Though I don't understand why it would drop firewire port, I don't think this is a "poorly contrived piece of crap" because of an insufficient of ports.

[Mark @ Mar 11th 2008 3:52AM]

@seanchk: "The Air is perfect for accessing the web and email and for light business use."

So is my HTC Touch. Laptops are generally meant to be more productive and full-featured than phones, aren't they?

[briank @ Mar 13th 2008 11:01AM]

Sounds like the same complaints people had about the iMac when it first came out: What? No floppy drive? It will never work! I could fix it, just let me add a floppy drive back in...

[Stevie Wonder @ Mar 10th 2008 8:13AM]

TSA = "Thousands Standing Around"

Or my personal favorite: "Totally Stupid A$$holes!"

They should all be fired!

[Patuxentbball @ Mar 10th 2008 10:07AM]

You're an idiot.

[Darkroom @ Mar 10th 2008 10:57AM]

for serious... those thick bastards should be trained better... or read a newspaper once in a while to know about new technology and gadgets...

[iomatic @ Mar 10th 2008 11:37AM]

-Never seen nor held or MacBook Air: check
-Haven't experienced TSA: check

Unabashed, ill-informed, biased Apple hating: check

[erasure25 @ Mar 10th 2008 7:48PM]

Do you not think that Apple should put it on themselves to have some kind of relationship with the TSA or other agencies to ensure that their products are somehow made known and not mistaken for something else? This seems like a no-brainer especially given that this product is designed for the bourgeoisie traveler.

Sure SSD manufacturer's could do the same. Overall, I think it's part of corporate responsibility - from "cradle to grave" so to speak. Or perhaps the TSA agent was sick on new techie gadgets training day (if such a thing exists)?

[Flashpoint @ Mar 10th 2008 8:14AM]

Considering the Mac Book Air's battery only gets less than 4 hours - and it doesn't have a built in optical drive, I hope his flight would have been a short one cause that thing certainly lacks the entertainment I get from my X60S Lenovo.