Decoding TSA security bins

Bin advertising at TSA security checkpoints has been around for a couple years. What’s new is that more airports are rolling out bins that are now labeled with letters and numbers.

I first noticed the stickers in early January when flying from JFK to Seattle. I hadn’t seen the labels when traveling over the holidays, so I wondered: were the stickers added after the Christmas Day underwear bomber made it through the checkpoints?

I contacted the TSA and was told that the stickers, which don’t appear on the X-rays, are placed on the bins by the same companies that manage the ads–not TSA.

Some background: the TSA doesn’t get involved with the advertisers and doesn’t collect any money from the ads. Rather, the program is a direct relationship between the advertisers (Zappos.com, Charles Schwab, Hanes, Amtrak, to name a few) and the respective airport authority. In return for allowing the ads, the TSA gets the use of the bins, stainless-steel tables, and carts.

After contacting the TSA, I was directed to SecurityPoint Media, a subcontractor for the bin-advertising program at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

Joe Ambrefe, the president and CEO of SecurityPoint Media, responded to my questions via e-mail and shared the following info:

1. The labels, known as “tether ID” numbers, were developed in 2001 and first used at a U.S. airport in a 2005 pilot program.

2. The bin stickers were created to improve communication at the checkpoint. In the event you’re pulled aside for secondary screening, the tether IDs are meant to help you identify your belongings. (I imagine saying “D11” is more precise than pointing and saying “That one over there.”) It’s also a way for TSA agents to positively identify bins that require a more thorough search.

3. The numbers, which are captured by overhead security cameras, are unique to each airport and do not repeat. (Let’s assume the security cameras are turned on and recording like they’re supposed to.)

So it seems that while the would-be underwear bomber has made these tether IDs more relevant than ever, this program was already well in the works.

My contact at the TSA tells me that the bin-advertising program recently expanded to New York (JFK, LGA, EWR) and Chicago, with possibly more airports on the way. Participating airports already include Denver, Seattle, L.A., and San Francisco. Apparently airport authorities are fans of the advertising program because the bins are replaced with new ads every 90 days, which means clean, new containers for everyone.

Check out these other stories from the airport checkpoint!