TSA Reads Blog Comments, Changes Policy

In what is likely a first for the federal government, the Transportation Security Administration responded to complaints left in blog comments by actually changing the offending policy.

On Monday, fliers asked the TSA's new blog Evolution of Security why some airports were requiring passengers to remove all electronics - MP3 players, cell phones and even power cords - from their carry-on bags. So the first name-only bloggers at TSA looked into it, figured out it was local rogue offices and shut down the policy.

These practices were stopped on Monday afternoon and blackberrys, cords and iPods began to flow through checkpoints like the booze was flowing on Bourbon Street Tuesday night. (Fat Tuesday of course).

So thanks to everyone for asking about this and for giving us a chance to make it right. Our hope is that examples like this validate our forum....

Though less than a week old, the TSA blog has gotten thousands of comments, ranging from diatribes about the liquid ban to calls for government-provided booties for travelers to wear when their shoes are being x-rayed.

Kudos to TSA for starting off on the right (albeit a shoe- and bootie-less) foot.

Photo: Tsa.gov