How do they match: Transportation Security Screeners

  • Inform other screeners when baggage should not be opened because it might contain explosives.
  • Inform passengers of how to mail prohibited items to themselves, or confiscate these items.
  • Ask passengers to remove shoes and divest themselves of metal objects prior to walking through metal detectors.
  • Confiscate dangerous items and hazardous materials found in opened bags and turn them over to airlines for disposal.
  • Contact police directly in cases of urgent security issues, using phones or two-way radios.
  • Follow those who breach security until police or other security personnel arrive to apprehend them.
  • Inspect carry-on items, using x-ray viewing equipment, to determine whether items contain objects that warrant further investigation.
  • Locate suspicious bags pictured in printouts sent from remote monitoring areas, and set these bags aside for inspection.
  • Perform pat-down or hand-held wand searches of passengers who have triggered machine alarms, who are unable to pass through metal detectors, or who have been randomly identified for such searches.
  • Record information about any baggage that sets off alarms in monitoring equipment.
  • Test baggage for any explosive materials, using equipment such as explosive detection machines or chemical swab systems.
  • View images of checked bags and cargo, using remote screening equipment, and alert baggage screeners or handlers to any possible problems.

  • Inform the public about policies, services or procedures.
  • Communicate safety or hazard information to others.
  • Provide information to the general public.
  • Record information about suspicious objects.