subject: What Are Tsa Approved Locks [print this page] Ever since the event of 9.11, our thought of air travel has transformed so much. We have much tighter securities in each airport and stricter carry-on bag regulations, such as restrictions on amount of liquid brought into the cabin. Transport Security Administration, also known as TSA was founded in United States of America soon after 9.11 event to strengthen the security of the countrys transit systems.
TSA looks after primarilyland and air transport securities and baggage check at the airport is one of their tasks.
TSA staffs electronically check million of bags for explosives and other dangerous items everyday at more than 7000 locations in over 450 airports in U.S.A.. They are allowed to access passengers baggage without passenger being present. Which means, if your suitcase or bag is locked, TSA staff can use force to open your bag to see the contents.
Then we will ask ourselves the following questions.
Shall we stop using locks on luggage? We can understand the national security but what about the common thefts?
TSA has worked with some companies to create the special locks, which allow passengers to protect the contents of their bags from thefts and also allow TSA staffs to unlock and examine the contents when required by using universal master keys. Those locks are usually called TSA locks or TSA approved locks.
Travel Sentry and Safe Skies are the major suppliers for TSA approved locks and you can easily identify their logos on the locks. Travel Sentry has diamond shape logo and Safe Skies has an Olympic torch like logo. The both companies produce several types of TSA locks and the most popularones are padlocks. Some padlocks have tiny small indicators, which tell you if your suitcase has been opened for examination or not.
What is popular these days are the travel baggages with a built in TSA lock. They are available from many majorbaggage brands such as Samsonite, Victorinox, Delsey, Rimowa, and many more.
My advice to travelers is Do not lose the unlock code combination since I had a hard time trying to recall mine and ended up trying 999 combinations. I also recommend to try setting up your unlock code a day or two earlier from your departure and test if it works.
