When you travel, how do you secure your valuable luggage? And when you check your luggage and lose sight of it for a longer time, how do you ensure it stays safe? A TSA lock on your luggage is the way to secure your belongings. Are you already using a TSA lock?
The TSA lock is a good lock to use when travelling. Read more in this blog to find out exactly what a TSA lock is.
In hostels, it’s often nice to have your own lock with you. Even then, it’s handy to have a TSA lock to lock your locker. Often you get a locker but there’s no lock (anymore) included. If you can then lock your locker with a good lock, you’ll explore the destination with a better feeling.
When you check in your luggage, it will be checked by customs. Your luggage will be scanned and you will not be present. It is therefore useful to have a lock that can be opened. The TSA lock offers a solution.
Do you have a TSA lock on your luggage?
Do you already have a TSA lock on your valuable luggage? Or: Do you know what a TSA lock is? For luggage that you check in, the TSA lock is the solution for baggage inspection behind customs. International treaties have been concluded worldwide that require luggage to be inspected. This sometimes requires that a bag or suitcase must be opened. A TSA lock on your luggage offers a damage-free solution for this.
Read on to learn what the advantage is of a TSA lock on your luggage.
Safe travel with your luggage is a must for everyone. Yet there are several moments when you don’t have your luggage in sight anymore. You store your bag at the bottom of a bus or check it in as hold luggage at the airport. You don’t want to worry about your luggage at that moment. The TSA lock is then a handy tool that has been specially developed for safe travel with your luggage.
What does TSA stand for?
TSA stands for Travel Sentry Approved. The company Travel Sentry developed this lock commissioned by the American Transport Security Administration, a security agency of Homeland Security in the United States. Transport Security Administration was established after 9/11 and requires that suitcases can be opened. This ensures safety at airports and on airplanes and benefits all of us.
The TSA lock (Travel Sentry Approved) was developed so that TSA employees (Transport Security Administration) can open the lock with a so-called master key without causing damage. It’s a bit confusing that both abbreviations are TSA.
Are TSA locks mandatory?
No, the TSA lock itself is not mandatory. The TSA lock is mandatory if you travel to America where the lock was developed. When traveling to Canada, Israel, Japan, and Australia, it’s also useful to use the TSA lock. This way you can prevent your suitcase from being damaged during an unexpected inspection in these countries.
The list of countries is growing and so is the advice to use a TSA lock when traveling with checked luggage.
Are TSA locks safe?
TSA locks are of high quality and are not easily broken. You always increase your safety when you use a lock. The TSA lock can be opened without a key, which also increases your safety. You don’t carry a key that you could subsequently lose. And with which someone else could subsequently open your lock.
If all goes well, you’re the only one who knows the code and that also increases your safety.
Can customs open TSA locks?
TSA employees in America can open the lock with a special master key. TSA employees can also safely lock your luggage again after inspection. This group of employees with TSA keys is growing because such inspections will be carried out at more airports in the future. The TSA system is slowly rolling out across the world.
TSA lock code forgotten?
A TSA lock cannot be reset. You’ll have to try all combinations. This seems like more work than it actually is. If you work with a system and go through all codes systematically, it’s manageable. Surprise yourself in no time with the code you once chose.
It will take you about 20 minutes, but this will allow you to keep your lock/suitcase and any warranty that was still valid.
Can anyone get a TSA key (master key)?
No, in principle not. The whole idea behind this method is that it’s safe and can only be opened by the owner or by a security service at the airport. The list of countries with a key is getting longer and longer. America, Canada, most of Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, China, and South Korea are the countries I encounter. This list of countries will also grow in the future.
Can TSA locks be forced?
Yes, all locks can in principle be forced. Know that a potential thief will skip your bag if they can choose a bag that has no lock. Or can choose a bag with an easier-to-open lock. So you definitely increase the safety of your luggage significantly with a TSA lock if effort must be made.
What type of TSA lock do you buy?
There are of course different types of TSA locks for sale and something for everyone. Which type of TSA lock do you prefer?
TSA zipper lock
For backpacks, this TSA lock with zipper closure is very handy. This lock is small, lightweight, and yet your backpack is well locked.
Order your zipper zipper TSA lock right away
TSA combination lock
The TSA combination lock (padlock model) can of course be used for your suitcase, backpack, but also used in a hostel or elsewhere when you want to lock a locker.
Order your TSA combination lock
TSA lock with key
Do you prefer a key with your TSA lock? That’s possible of course, so you can’t forget your code… as long as you have the key, everything goes well 🙂 Everything has a risk of course.
Then order the TSA key lock.
Cable TSA lock
This lock has a cable of no less than 80 cm and so you can attach multiple goods (helmets / skis etc.) to each other or attach to larger suitcases/backpacks on your ski vacation or bike vacation.
Suitcase with TSA lock
If you check in your suitcase, it’s important that it can be opened when you’re not there. At that moment, it’s therefore even more important that it can be opened without causing damage to it. These suitcases are available in different sizes, 36 liters so it can come along as hand luggage or 70 to 100 liters for hold luggage.
Order your suitcase with TSA lock
Regardless of which TSA lock you choose, it’s always a smart and safe choice to go for a TSA lock. It provides just that little bit of extra safety for your luggage. If you go to a country where this TSA lock is needed because your luggage will be opened, at least you won’t suffer damage as a result.
And which code do you choose for your TSA lock?
To not make it too obvious, you don’t choose your birth year/month, right? When you travel, you regularly have your passport at hand and your birth year can easily be read or seen. So choose another 3-digit code that’s not so obvious.
Are you also going to travel safely with a TSA lock?
Read more tips about safe travel
- How do you travel safely as a solo traveler?
- Safety tips for your bag while traveling
- Tips for Safe Driving Abroad
- How do you travel safely by bus or train?