Luggage Quiz for Air Travelers Ends Today

Beginning today, airline passengers will no longer be asked the routine security questions about whether they have kept a close eye on their baggage.

Ticket agents have been required for the last 16 years to ask passengers two questions: “Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry an item on this flight?” and “Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?”

The questions are being phased out because they create a hassle and have never prevented a bombing or hijacking, James Loy, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said Wednesday.

“Over the years, they have lost whatever original value they contributed and can now be safely eliminated,” Loy said.

The TSA, which was created after Sept. 11 to oversee aviation security, has already begun to notify the airlines of the decision, Loy said. “They are delighted,” he said.

Loy, who took over last month, said the elimination of the questions is part of a larger review of safety regulations. He announced last week that passengers will be allowed to carry drinks in paper or foam cups through metal detectors. Next on the agenda may be random screening of passengers at airport gates, he said.