Lock lets in airport security

A new device keeps luggage locked, except when screeners want to search it. All they need is a special tool.

		[Special to the Times]
		Brookstone has sold out of the Travel Sentry, which has Transportation Security Administration approval.

Some travelers are resigned to leaving checked airline baggage unlocked so security screeners can search it.

"I don't worry about it at all," said Lisa Miscione, a mystery writer from Clearwater Beach who travels frequently. "I figure everything I have is going to get stolen or lost or confiscated anyway."

Perhaps not.

A new baggage lock affords travelers peace of mind but still gives the Transportation Security Administration access to any bag it wants to search.

It's called the "Travel Sentry," though it may be sold under a variety of names by a variety of manufacturers. Depending on the style, travelers can use a key or a combination to open it. It's certified by the TSA for use on airline luggage because it also can be opened using a special tool, a kind of master key, that only TSA luggage handlers have.

Trouble is, unless travelers have stumbled onto these locks already, they will be difficult to find until after the first of the year.

Brookstone, the store chain that first geared up to sell the locks when the TSA approved them for use starting Nov. 12, is sold out on its Web site and won't take orders for any more until after Christmas.

"Every single one of our stores sold out their initial shipments and most have sold out of the second shipments," said Robert Padgett, national spokesman for Brookstone. "We knew we were going to sell out, that this would be one of the most popular items we would have for Christmas."

Peter McDaniel, the Tampa Bay area manager for Brookstone, said none of his stores in the region has any of the Travel Sentry locks left and he isn't certain when he will get more.

The new locks come in several styles, depending on the manufacturer. Some look like traditional hard-sided luggage snap locks with small key holes. The model sold by Brookstone is a four-dial combination lock with a traditional hasp. It comes in black or chrome and sells for $20 a pair.

No matter the style, Travel Sentry locks all carry a red diamond on the mechanism. A code stamped into the lock - it is TSA002 in the case of the Brookstone combination model - tells screeners which tool to use to release it.

TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover said the locks do slow the bag search process somewhat.

"It's a balancing act between customer service and security," Stover said. "It eats up a little more time for the screeners, but this was a matter of a lot of concern for people, and we're happy to be able to ease that a little bit."

TSA is authorized to open checked bags at its discretion, even if that means breaking the lock. Since Tampa International Airport opened a claims office last spring, it has had 3,588 claims for damaged luggage, some of which involve broken locks.

Travel Sentry, a startup company formed specifically to market the TSA-friendly locks, grew out of a survey that showed that 80 percent of all travelers want to lock their bags, according to Joel Blumenthal, marketing director.

"It was a dichotomy," Blumenthal said. "Travelers wanted to lock their bags and the TSA needs them to be accessible. We had a series of meetings with TSA and went back and forth until we finally came up with a system they were willing to accept. Each lock, regardless of the manufacturer, has a second way in, a unique tool that opens it."

Jockeying with the TSA delayed the start of sales, which created the holiday crunch.

"I wish we could have gotten them on the market earlier," Blumenthal said.

So does Beth Herman, a sales representative from Philadelphia, who spent more than $100 shipping Christmas gifts to family in Sarasota. She feared that if she brought them with her in a bag she checked at the airport, the presents wouldn't make it.

"It was a bloody pain," Herman said. "And expensive. Sounds like (the locks) would have saved me money and hassle. Maybe next year."

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