UAL bans comic books in checked luggage - San Diego
 

Didn't know the TSA had a twitter account to respond. Maybe comic books are now PEDs? No Wait! That would mean they'd have to be in the hold.

Meanwhile, back at the UAL ranch, I'm not sure another airline will catch UA in the number of really really dumb incidents category this year. Personally, this would make a great BBT episode or part of a new National Lampoon vacation movie.

TSA: We never told United to ban Comic-Con attendees from checking their comics | Fox News

At some point one really has to wonder about the management of this airline.

UAL has a toxic corporate culture. It was "cute" in the early days of Bill Patterson and "Marvin Mainliner."

Not so these days. I suspect the primer corporate directive of late: "We are too big to fail."

Paperbrain.

My term for following order blindly.

And this is why we have a problem with security. Their procedures are as opaque as they are variable. Very kindly they refuse to say what you can and can't do and then shout at you for not complying. I'm guessing they won't publish their procedures in case they are criticised by the public for not following them. It's a shame that the people who work in airport security forget who they are paid to protect. Unless of course, they exist only for themselves; which at times I believe to be the case.

PM

This reminds me of a (long ago) convention of numismatists (coin collectors) travelling by air.
For reasons of financial security, they carried their coins in their cabin bags, resulting in an underestimation of the take-off weight.

I remember Ian Dennis telling us that story at CATC, down at Hurn, in 1980, G-CPTN. If it's the same one, I think it was a BAC 1-11 going to Milan?

One wonders what the underlying technical basis is for the TSA's general comment about multiple copies of an item slowing down the checked screening process.

It's understandable that if there is a 3-oz. limit on fluid/gel containers, and someone shows up with 22 identical 3-oz bottles, that's going to attract attention.

But what is it about printed matter (carbon in the black ink?) wherein "too much" triggers the scanners?

(I know, I know - don't expect an answer in a public forum. Just a little thought experiment.)

It's the density of the books. Dense items could obscure other items and may require additional checks.

It has always been thus at UAL. I've known dozens of UA pilots and everyone agreed on cosmic weirdness of mgt culture which seems impenetrable by mgt shake-ups.

GF