Frank7

Does anyone know from personal knowledge or experience if TSA or any other airport/airline authority has authorized, or forbidden the use of cable ties to secure luggage?

Marsh

Yes, when I checked in at Little Rock with my cable ties in place, I asked if they were O.K. and was told "Yes."
I used my regular locks at times in my hotel room to lock up something of value. Might have been better to use the cable ties there, too!

NoFlyZone

Yes, you can use cable ties to secure luggage, but TSA may cut them to inspect if they wish. This applies, of course, only to the US.

123Go

I have used cable ties for the past few years prior to 9/11. It seems like rules vary at each airport. The last two years I've carried cable ties in my pocket and after the TSA people go through my bags I ask them to put the cable tie on. This works when you're right there when they do the search. I've also been told that they have their own cable ties and will put them on per my request. Seems like the situation is different each time I travel, but I still carry a few ties in my pocket.

Dick

Cable ties work fine and can easily be cut by the TSA if necessary.

I use the all them time. They are much cheaper if you buy them at Home Depot or Lowes in the electrical dept.

daryleann

We have used the cable ties for the past few years - only had them cut off one suitcase on one trip - inspected. Found some cheap TSA locks at Wal-mart... only about $6. That is the way we are going from now on - it was hard to cut those ties when they took our scissors!!

simpsonc510

TSA put a cable tie on one of my bags once. Unluckily, my scissors were INSIDE the bag their secured. I had to scramble and ask the hotel for a pair so that I could get into my bag. I learned a lesson from that experience. Use cable ties, but put the scissors in an OUTSIDE pocket of my bag!!

Frank7

Forget the scissors. Nail clippers work just as fine to cut cable ties and may be carried on the plane.

BigJim

123Go is right! It can vary at each airport! One of the MANY frustrating inconsistencies about airline travel.

polly229

My husband travels on business a couple of times a month and we fly together several times a year and have never had any trouble with cable ties, which we have been using for about 8 years or so. I don't think anything is "forbidden", even locks. It's just that they will probably break your locks if they decide to inspect your bags.

One of the nice things about cable ties is that you can immediately tell if someone has been in your bag when you take it off the carousel. There was never any way to protect against professional thieves anyway since they had keys to all the luggage locks. At least with a cable tie, you know if someone has been in there and can check for missing items before you leave the airport if you're concerned. (We got some chartreuse ones - really cheap since apparently no one else wanted that color - and it's really handy. Nobody else has that color, so if our luggage comes out with, say, a blue tie, we know it's been inspected.)

I understood that TSA was supposed to put new cable ties on your bag if they inspected it and also leave a note that they had done an inspection. Unfortunately for a couple of years after 9/11, they put in form letters but didn't put a cable tie on. Since they went into my bag just about every trip, I finally started leaving a terse note on top of my clothes asking TSA to put cable ties on if they inspected. Which they did. But they also put some on pouches I didn't have them on including the one with my scissors. (Nail clippers work fine though, usually use them anyway.)

I carry a couple of extras in my purse or luggage but I also make the loop an inch or two in diameter. Then I can clip it close to the pull-through and reuse it several times, which is handy if I forgot extras. (But TSA doesn't think that way, so you will need extras if they open one.) There's been a lot of hype about the new TSA-approved locks, and I assume the situation is getting better most places now, but for some time there were reports of TSA breaking those, too. If they misplace their keys, I'm sure they'll have no qualms about breaking off your lock. Since everybody and his brother will have keys to those anyway, I figure why bother? Just go ahead and use the chartreuse cable ties so I'll know someone has been in my bags right away.