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New TSA security requirements for personal electronics

Posted at 8:21 PM, Dec 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-08 20:21:38-05

If you have plans to board a plane this holiday season, be prepared to get on board with increased security measures by the Transportation Security Administration. TSA officials want passengers to be aware of stronger screening procedures for personal electronics - which could result in more bag checks. TSA officers will now be asking passengers to take any electronics - such as cell phones and tablets - out of their bags and put them in bins for X-ray screening, just as they would for laptops.

TSA explosives expert Rick Silverthorn said electronics will have be separated as they get scanned by security. Stacking them won't work, because the electronics would all look like one big shadow in the X-rays.

"So what that forces us to do is open the bag, put some daylight on those materials and test them," Silverthorn said Friday. "That's the way we determine whether we have a threat or not."

Travelers at Southwest Florida International Airport didn't seem to mind the new requirements.

"If you're traveling at the airport, and they request that you take more out of baggage so that you can be safer flying, then I'm all for it," passenger Jonathan Valante said.