Why Do You Have to Remove Your Laptop from Your Bag at the Airport? Understand the Screening Process

Removing your laptop from your bag when passing through airport scanners is a standard procedure globally. Before boarding, you must remove the device from your bag due to the density of its components, which can obstruct the clear reading of images in the x-ray. Leaving laptops inside backpacks could mask prohibited items, such as liquids or metallic objects, compromising flight safety.

How Do Airport Scanners Work?

Airport baggage scanners emit x-ray beams that penetrate the objects inside the bags, allowing inspection without opening them. However, denser materials, such as metals, can block radiation, appearing as darker areas in the generated images. Conversely, less dense items like fabrics or plastics allow more rays to pass through, appearing in lighter tones. The x-rays passing through the luggage are captured by sensors and converted into digital images, displayed on a screen for security agents to analyze.

Why Do You Need to Remove Your Laptop from the Bag?

Removing the laptop from the bag during airport inspections is necessary because the device comprises high atomic density materials, such as the metal casing, lithium-ion battery, and other internal components. These materials significantly block the x-ray beams emitted by scanners, creating shadow areas in the image.

These shadows can make it difficult to identify smaller objects or other dangerous materials hidden around the laptop, such as liquids, weapons, or explosives. Removing the laptop allows it to pass through the scanner separately, ensuring its structure does not interfere with the detailed analysis of the luggage. This logic also applies to other electronics with batteries, like tablets, smartphones, power banks, and cameras, which also present high atomic density components.

September 11 Intensified Security Measures

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attack involved four commercial planes hijacked in the United States, crashing into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. With the suspicion that the hijackers boarded without proper inspection, the United States implemented strict airport security measures, quickly adopted by other countries, resulting in a global standard of increased airport control.

Why Should Lithium Battery Devices Go Only in Carry-On Bags?

Lithium batteries must be transported in carry-on luggage due to the risk of overheating, potentially causing fires or explosions in rare cases, especially if damaged or defective. In the checked baggage compartment, fire detection and control systems are less accessible and efficient during the flight.

What Happens If You Don’t Remove the Laptop from the Bag?

According to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) resolution, the purpose of security inspection procedures is to prevent dangerous objects like weapons, explosives, chemical agents, and other prohibited materials from entering restricted areas or being brought on board. Passengers refusing to comply with these procedures, such as removing the laptop from hand luggage for inspection, should be denied access to the boarding area. Additionally, the Aviation Protection Agent must alert the airport’s public security authority to evaluate the situation.

Future Trends

Modern hand luggage scanners use computed tomography (CT) technology to generate 3D images, allowing security agents to view items from multiple angles without opening the bag. Unlike traditional scanners that generate 2D images, this technology enables a more precise analysis, distinguishing materials with greater clarity. The main benefits include reduced inspection time since many objects, like liquids and electronic devices, can remain inside the bags, eliminating the need to remove them. Additionally, multi-angle analysis significantly improves the detection of hidden threats, increasing security without compromising passenger processing efficiency.