pds@leviathan.cs.umd.edu (David Stotts) (01/23/91)
I just finished a two week trip on which I lugged my Toshiba laptop through several airports. The "war" started in the middle of my trip. On my outbound flights, before the "war", the laptop went through the xray machine and no questions were asked (Balto-Wash airport). On my return flight (Wochester, Mass.), they xrayed the machine, and asked me to step aside and turn it on to show it was an actual computing device. Normal stuff, it seems. BUT, the officer said that if things get worse and they step security up further, we will not be allowed to take things they can "examine", like the AC power pack/recharger. I asked how one would know that power packs had been disallowed, if one were (as I was) in the middle of a trip and one had been allowed to cart it away from home. There was no satisfying response. I intend to call the airport (several times) before any future trip just to be sure of what is and is not currently allowed on board. I assume, if things changed during a trip, you would lose your equipment if you did not arrive enough in advance of your flight to make last minute USPS (or similar) shipping arrangements. Dave Stotts Univ. of Maryland