Security screening rules differ from airport to airport

Her ride pulled up to the curb at Tampa International at T-minus 20 minutes before the US Airways jet left for Charlotte. Times intern and recent University of South Carolina grad Jackie Alexander dashed to the Airside F shuttle.

What a break. No line at the security checkpoint. She plopped down her purse and backpack on the X-ray belt. Something caught the screener's eye. Her purse went through the machine three times, was searched by an officer and tested for explosive residue. The officer waved her through.

Strange, she thought. No one asked about the penknife, knitting needles or lighter Alexander mistakenly left in the purse. Or the large bottles of shaving gel and body wash in her backpack.

That stuff never would have made it through at Atlanta or Charlotte, and certainly not at ultra-strict San Francisco International, she thought.

It's a frequent complaint of frequent fliers: Screening procedures at federal security checkpoints can differ from airport to airport.

A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman declined to comment on the specific incident, except to say someone made a mistake if a knife or liquid bottles larger than 3.5 ounces got past the checkpoint.

Lighters came off the carry-on contraband list in 2007. Standard knitting needles are generally okay, spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. Go to the TSA Web site (www.tsa.gov) for a full list of prohibited carry-on items and limits on liquids and gels.

What might look like inconsistent application of screening rules could be "the passenger's failure to understand security protocols and an element of unpredictability inserted into our mixture of people, process and technology," Koshetz said.

All Alexander knows is that in Atlanta, an officer examined her knitting needles, with an unfinished scarf still attached. "What are you using them for?" he asked. In San Francisco, an officer refused to let her carry through an $8 lip balm that wasn't in a plastic bag. Unlike Tampa International, they didn't provide free bags.

Maybe, just maybe, the officer in Tampa decided to cut a little slack to a young woman with a tiny knife who was rushing to catch a plane.

I'm not saying that's right or wrong. But the popular Flyer Talk Web site has a discussion about a passenger who found a pocketknife near his seat while boarding a jet in Philadelphia. By the rules, everyone should have been taken off the jet and rescreened. Instead, the crew prepared the cabin for departure and took off.

Title of the online discussion: Common Sense Prevails.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.