Come fall, those of us willing to spend between $35 and $150 will be able to cease the laptop shuffle, you know, the little dance we all do while hustling through airport security, trying to get our laptops out of our bags, into their own bins, while removing our shoes, displaying our liquids in clear plastic bags and keeping our boarding passes readily available at all times?

Travelers (myself very much included) who dislike removing their laptops during the security process may soon find relief, according to a New York Times story published today, thanks to new “checkpoint-friendly” bags now in production that will reportedly hit the market in September or October.

What’s so special about these T.S.A.-sanctioned accessories? They’ll be outfitted with fold-down flaps or clear compartments that make it possible for security agents to easily X-Ray them inside the bags. The slightly fishy part is that the T.S.A., despite requesting checkpoint-friendly design proposals from manufacturers earlier in the year and generally being involved in the process, will not certify the bags. So consumers will be left to test the bags at the security gate - where, ultimately, the agents have the final say in what gets through. While the T.S.A.’s Kip Hawley says this won’t be a problem, “since security officers would be well informed about them,” I’m sure there will be plenty of confused travelers wondering why they can’t just send their laptops on through when the person right in front of them was allowed to.

Potential confusion in the security lanes, I’d be more than happy to chance it if it meant saying goodbye to the laptop shuffle.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Air Travel, Travel Industry, Unusual News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.