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Hold Baggage Sir! - Safety on aPlane

Posted by Ian Bandy

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You've probably heard the news that the United Kingdom Government recently placed heavy restrictions on cabin baggage on flights leaving UK airports. For a while humble notebooks were part of this banned list. Thankfully, this restriction has now been lifted, but not before freelance web designer Jack Barrett suffered the ignominy of being ordered to place his Toshiba notebook into the hold of an aircraft bound for Canada. If this scenario ever happens to you, Ian Bandy offers a few tips on how to protect your beloved portable pal during the journey.

Tony Blair'sGovernment recently placed heavy restrictions on cabin baggage onflights departing UK airports. For a while electronic equipmentwas part of a banned list, which of course included notebookcomputers. Despite the Government reducing the security levelfrom critical to severe, stringent baggage security is still inplace. You are now permitted to carry just 1 item of handbaggage, no larger than a laptop bag, through the airportsecurity search point.

Earlier in august freelance web designer Jack Barrett had firsthand experience of being ordered to place his valuable Toshiba Qosmiolaptop into the baggage hold of a Canada bound airplane:

".....It's common knowledge that most airline baggage handlershave a touch about as gentle as a baseball bat to the solarplexus," said Essex based Jack in an interview withLaptopical......"I'll admit I couldn't enjoy the flightbecause I was worried what state my Qosmio would be in when wetouched down. when I arrived in Canada and saw my nowdusty laptop bag wobbling on the baggage claim conveyor belt Iwas sweating like a Scotsman buying the first round.....Luckilyfor me and my business there was just superficial damage."
Thankfully a fulllaptop ban has now beenlifted, however with the unpredictability of the currentterrorist situation, cabin baggage restrictions could bereinstated.

If a flight attendant orders your expensive gaming laptop intothe hold of the plane,following these tips may increase the chance of you beingreunited again with your portable pal.
BACK UP BEFOREYOU PACK UP!

Make sure your data is backed up on a home PC, on CD-RWs, DVD-RWs or on a spare hard drive. You can use softwarelike SyncBack or Norton Ghost for this. If the worst does come tothe worst and you do lose your laptop in transit, at least youstill have the ability to access precious files in the future. Asan extra level of precaution you could also sign up for a remote access solution.

LOCKDOWN AND SHUTDOWN!

Firstly, make sure your laptop is properly shutdown and is notin hibernate mode before you pack. Next, there are softwareproducts on the market like Absolute's Lojack that will "phone home" if your laptop is stolen andthen connected to the internet. The notebook can be traced andthe thief apprehended by the police. There are even laptopsecurity solutions available that will remotely delete dataafter your laptop is stolen, by wiping files from your hard drivewith a military class algorithm.

PACK YOUR LUGGAGE CAREFULLY and DISCRETELY!

It's worth packing your laptop well. Don't use a couple of thinHawaian shirts as padding :) Instead use more efficientinsulation such as bubble wrap to safeguard your notebook againstknocks it may take even on the shortest airline journey.

Also put a TSA (Transport Security Administration) approved lockon your luggage. Admittedly this may not be much of a deterrentfor the persistent thief, but it will deter the casual lightfingered pilferer. Finally try not to put stickers on yourluggage heralding the specs of your new core duo multimediamonster, you want as little attention drawn to your valuablelaptop as possible.

Remember most airlines will not accept liability for laptopschecked into the plane's hold. My advice to you after followingthese tips is to make sure you are covered under your own personal travelinsurance.

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