Airline Outrage: Do What With My Laptop?

I guess I touched a nerve when I wrote about ways to check your laptop safely when you find that you can’t take it on board the airplane for your flight.

When I wrote the article, laptops (and all other electronics) were banned only from some transatlantic flights, but there was concern that such a requirement could spread. Fortunately, it hasn’t so far.

The good news is that the restrictions on electronics that applied to those transatlantic flights have been removed. You can now fly again with your laptop and your iPod. Just be prepared for some very detailed screening when you go through security. And be aware that those restrictions could be back again just as quickly, and with as little warning, as they were before.

But I have to admit that I was surprised at the level of rage that I heard in response to the article. Comments on the Web page where the article appears, and in my e-mail, tell me that there’s a very deep current of dissatisfaction at the way business travelers are being treated. A constant theme was that if forced to check their laptops, most business travelers would simply not fly on a commercial airline.

For many travelers, there are alternatives to the degradation, inconvenience and stupid rules promulgated by the TSA. When I go visit my editors at eWEEK, for example, I’m pleased that Amtrak has succeeded in finding a way to make its trains reasonably quiet and comfortable, and fairly fast.

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Outrage in Laptop Land