New TSA rules affect Kindle, iPad, and other ereaders

August 11, 2017 Miscellany 7

The TSA has issued new rules affecting tablets and ereaders.

The new rules, which were announced on July 26 and are now being phased in, will apply to all U.S. airports. They require passengers to remove any electronics larger than a cellphone from their carry-on luggage and place them flat in a bin with nothing above or below them. This would include most dedicated ereaders and tablets, such as Kindles, iPads, and Galaxy tablets.

For someone like me, who typically travels with a full-size laptop and a Kindle Paperwhite, and sometimes a Kindle Fire as well, that means one bin for my shoes and jacket, one for my laptop, and one for my Paperwhite (and Fire), plus my backpack or purse and a carry-on bag. That’s a lot to wrangle on both sides of security.

Though the TSA says they’re working to streamline the procedure, and will have personnel on hand to help passengers “understand how best to arrange their carry-on items for…screening,” it seems to me the new rules will likely slow down security lines and add an extra layer of frustration for passengers.  The TSA suggests “Travelers are encouraged to organize their carry-on bags and keep them uncluttered to ease the screening process and keep the lines moving.”

Travelers with TSA Pre✓® are exempt from the regulation (unless specifically asked to remove items from their bag.) If you fly frequently, it’s one more reason to consider enrolling in Pre✓®, assuming you can afford it.

You can read the TSA’s full press release here.

 

Image by eommina, courtesy of Pixabay. Licensed under CC0 1.0.

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7 Responses to “New TSA rules affect Kindle, iPad, and other ereaders”

  1. Angela

    Thanks for the heads-up! We’re traveling soon, so good to know. I guess we’ll just have to get the airport a bit earlier and expect to sit in security lines for longer!
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    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I’m traveling soon, too. It’s not clear how long it will take to roll the new rules out to every airport, so you might get lucky this time. But it’s definitely something to be aware of and think about while packing.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Same here! Not being separated from my Paperwhite, I mean. I can’t read for long on my phone; the Paperwhite is much more comfortable on my eyes.