Courtesy, common sense, and a little discretion for the screener would help a lot. Anyone who has ever flown El Al should know that there is a night and day difference between their people and our people. TSA: My kid sees a playground in the airport and makes a run, passing the security exit by a yard or two before he stops, in full view of the officer sitting there. Can he come back to us? No way...It might threaten the security of the traveling public. El Al: While they were very thoroughly searching my suitcase (in my presence) I noticed that I had accidently packed a textbook that belonged to a friend of mine. An officer not only volunteered to accompany me to another area of the airport to contact my friend, but they held on to the book at the screening area until he came to pick it up. Bottom line: be a mensch.
In TSA's defense, though, I wonder if on a micro level, some of the screeners realize how ridiculous this is for some people and actually ARE applying common sense. Flying in and out of Honolulu fairly often, it seems like there's a little more 'aloha' than in, say, Atlanta....
