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  TIPS FOR PACKING LAPTOPS AND OTHER ELECTRONICS
Most passengers fly with at least electronic device from watches to laptops
to video games. While you don't need to take special precautions with most
electronics, the following advice will help you avoid most of the common
problems passengers face.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
While the FAA and other civil aviation authorities provide general guidelines
about how portable electronic devices can be used inside of an airliner,
the rules of most airlines put most personal electronic devices into one
of four categories:
1. Devices that can operated at all times on an aircraft such as
implanted medical devices such as pacemakers, electronic nerve
stimulators, hearing aids, and digital watches.
2. Devices that can operated before pushback and after landing including
cell phones, pagers, and devices that can send or receive email or other
electronic messages.
3. Larger electonic devices that can operated after takeoff and before
landing (typically, between about five to ten minutes after takeoff and
fifteen minutes before landing) until the approach phase about 15 minutes
before landing) such as laptop computers, hand-held computers, devices
that can compose or read email and text messages without transmitting or
receiving, cell phones in "game" or "airplane" mode, digital cameras, DVD
or CD players, GPS receivers, hand-held games, calculators, PDAs, medical
devices such as pacemakers, electronic nerve stimulators, hearing aids,
digital watches.
4. Devices that may not be operated at any time including AM or FM radios,
televisions, scanners, two-way radios, remote controlled devices, a
wireless mouse, or other devices that transmit a signal (with the
exceptions noted earlier)
As with any rule, the cabin crew and flight crew have the final authority
over whether you may or may not operate any device, though it is highly
unlikely that any crew will ban items from the first group or allow the
operation of items in the last group.
It is worth noting that in an emergency, passengers and crew should
use any available resource to deal with that situation. This was illustrated
dramatically during the hijackings of 11 September 2001 when passengers
and cabin crew were able to communicate with the ground using cell phones.
Visit http://www.airsafe.com/events/war/safetips.htm for additional advice
on dealing with high threat situations.
PERSONAL ELECTRONICS IN CHECKED BAGGAGE
In short, don't pack personal electronic devices in checked luggage,
especially small and expensive consumer items such as cameras, game consoles,
cell phones, and PDAs. While you may be able to eventually get compensation
for items in checked baggage that are lost, damaged, or stolen, you have
a much better chance of avoiding those problems if you keep these kinds of
devices in your carry-ons.
 SECURITY ISSUES AND PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Except for some items such as medical devices and digital watches, you will
likely be required to put electronic devices through some kind of scanning
device. In addition, the TSA requires that laptops and larger devices such
as game consoles be taken out of their bag or carrying case and scanned
separately.
 LAPTOP ADVICE
Laptop security is of particular concern to travelers because in the U.S. and
many other countries, you are required to remove the laptop from its
carrying case for inspection. This exposes the laptop to increased risks
from damage and especially from theft. In order to reduce the risks that
you face, you should consider doing the following:
* Keep the laptop with your carry-on baggage - Laptops are relatively
fragile, as well as being an attractive target for theft. Keeping it
with you on the plane is preferable to packing it in your checked luggage.
* Be prepared to take it out for inspection - In the U.S. and in some other
countries, your laptop must be taken out of its bag or carrying case
before it is passed through an x-ray scanner.
* Separate the data from the laptop - For most users, the information on
a laptop is far more valuable than the laptop itself. One easy way to
protect against the loss of data is to keep any key data separate from
the laptop in a device such as a flash drive, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
* Secure the laptop with passwords - If you are unwilling or unable to
separate the data from the laptop, at least put some kind of password
protection on the laptop or on individual files or directories within
the laptop.
* Keep the laptop in sight - You may be delayed getting through the metal
detector or you may be pulled aside for additional screening. If this
happens, make sure you keep your laptop in sight. If you are traveling
in a group, one thing that you can do is to have the first person through
security be the person who takes care of all the laptops.
* Use alternative electronic devices - PDAs, handheld computers, and other
data related devices are not required to be taken out of your carry-on
bag, so if you can use an alternative to a laptop, this will reduce the
likelihood of damage or theft.
* Consider not taking a laptop - If you don't need to take a laptop, or
if you think you can live without it, don't take it at all. Either use
alternative electronic devices, use a more appropriate device, or figure
out a way to live without it. For example, if the main reason for
taking a laptop is to play DVDs or MP3s, take alternative devices that
are smaller, cheaper, and easily replaced if lost, damaged, or stolen.
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Dr. Todd Curtis, AirSafe.com, http://www.airsafe.com
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ABOUT DR. TODD CURTIS
Dr. Todd Curtis holds a PhD in aviation risk assessment from the
Union Institute, as well as engineering degrees from MIT, the
University of Texas, and Princeton. He is the director of the
AirSafe.com Foundation and the creator of AirSafe.com. His work has
been featured by numerous news organizations, and he has appeared
frequently on CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, and elsewhere. He
also authored the 2000 book Understanding Aviation Safety Data and
the 2007 book Parenting and the Internet. Dr. Curtis is also a
licensed private pilot and a member of the International Society of
Air Safety Investigators.
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