Airport screening change for electronics rolling out in Southeast Alaska

Transportation Security Officer Renier Cava preps passengers’ carry-on belongings for X-ray screening at Juneau International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. (Photo by Lorie Dankers/TSA)

Airport security screening rules for carry-on bags are changing again.

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Soon, any electronics larger than a cell phone must be put in bins with nothing on top or beneath for X-ray screening. That’s already the status quo for laptops.

The Transportation Security Administration said the change will raise baseline aviation security. It will be implemented at airports in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Cordova and Yakutat over the next five weeks.

The roll out is nationwide, but gradual as training is completed in different places.

TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers acknowledges there will be inconsistencies – even within Alaska between Anchorage and Southeast airports – during the transition. The TSA held a demonstration Wednesday in Juneau.

The TSA, specifically addressing Southeast travelers, says to arrive 90 minutes early for flights.

Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.

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