Luggage searches inspire fliers’ ire

Regarding “Take a New Tack on Packing as Luggage Searches Intensify” (Travel Insider, Feb. 16): On a recent flight the lock on my luggage was damaged even though I had unlocked it.

I do not mind having my luggage inspected, but Transportation Security Administration inspectors have no incentive to take care during inspections, knowing full well that they cannot be held responsible for damage caused by carelessness.

We could model our inspection system after that in Tel Aviv, which I experienced several years ago. There you put your luggage through an X-ray machine, then open it for the inspector. Its contents are examined while you watch, and then you can relock it and check in.

Nancy Meszaros

Jacksonville, Fla.

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I have been calling the TSA since Jan. 25 to try to find out how to make a claim. I have called its consumer response center about 10 times. At that number a recording asks for my name and number, and I am promised someone will get back to me. So far, no response. I have also gone online but have had no response there either. Now I learn the claim has to be made within 24 hours. I tried.

Your article made the TSA seem like an efficient agency. It is just the opposite.

Carla J. Herd

Los Angeles

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I was a reservations agent for a now-defunct airline, and when asked about lost luggage, I would suggest that passengers wear the $200 boots and expensive clothing and pack the less expensive things so they would not worry.

Sandy Jacobson

Santa Monica