If you must travel with a laptop, things have just become a bit easier. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has dropped the requirement for all laptops to be removed from carrying cases and placed in separate bins for passage through the X-ray machine. This new regulation will help speed up the screening process at airports and as an added bonus, will help prevent the accidental swapping or misplacement of travelers’ computers.

There are specific rules for the laptop carrying cases, though. Carrying cases must have a designated laptop section without metal snaps, zippers or buckles. The laptop section also cannot have extra pockets inside or outside of it. The only item that can be packed in the carrying case is the laptop itself. This criteria was devised after exhaustive testing to determine how many variations would still allow an unobstructed X-ray view of the computer. More than 60 manufacturers have now designed and have begun marketing ‘checkpoint friendly’ laptop bags.

If you intend to use a ‘checkpoint friendly’ laptop bag, make sure to check that:

• Your laptop bag has a designated laptop-only section that you can lay flat on the X-ray belt
• There are no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on-top of the laptop-only section
• There are no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section
• There is nothing in the laptop compartment other than the laptop
• You have completely unfolded your bag so that there is nothing above or below the laptop-only section, allowing the bag to lie flat on the X-ray belt