How did that work out on 9/11?

Regs are a lot stricter now. No more "box cutters". No more big bottles of liquid. I remember people seeing TSA break the nail file off of their fingernail clippers, because it looked like a stabby thing.

And yet, several security checks have been done, over the years, to see how effective TSA is. Armloads of weapons successfully evaded detection.

I haven't flown commercial since before 9/11, so I don't know what the TSA experience is like. The rent-a-cops I encountered, from the late 70s, through 2000, were generally conscientious. I remember removing my belt to get through the metal detector in Durango, CO, because the rent-a-cop would not let anyone through, if anything triggered the metal detector. One of the other guys in our group commented it was a good thing he wasn't wearing his knee brace that day.

I really don't have a problem with airports going back to rent-a-cops.

Steve