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I just flew back from the USA, and found a TSA notice in my suitcase that it had been inspected. I could tell that they checked a couple of items, but thankfully nothing was removed or damaged.

Now the interesting thing is, as far as I can recall, I locked my suitcase using the combination lock, and didn't use the key. When I opened the suitcase, the combination lock was unlocked, but the key locks were locked.

The suitcase is a common "Polo Club" type with a key-operated lock on each latch and a 3-digit combination lock in the middle. I already know the same key works with most of those suitcases, but I wonder how they opened the combination lock.

Edit: Here's a picture of the lock. It's not broken.

enter image description here

aditsu quit because SE is EVIL
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2 Answers2

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The TSA mandates that luggage can be opened without the owner's presence. Many suitcases therefore have special locks created by a company called Travel Sentry that are designed to be openable with some sort of code/master key. If your lock has a diamond logo like the one in this picture, it is one of those locks.

enter image description here

Image released under CC-BY-SA license by “Baggage Master”.

While I have never tried them personally, you can also find many videos with tricks to reset luggage locks (e.g. with lock-picking tools or by guessing the combination, see comments) and they are obviously not very strong. One way or the other, the TSA can therefore always open a suitcase if they decide to, the best you can hope for is that they don't damage your luggage in the process.

Although they don't quite say that directly, if they want to inspect a locked suitcase with a non-conforming lock, they would presumably simply break it open. So my guess is that either your lock could be reset/opened with some simple tools or you forgot to engage it and they didn't need to.

Googling for “Polo Pierre Riche”, it seems this range of suitcases does come with a TSA lock (even if the diamond logo is not visible on your picture) so the first hypothesis might the right one (although all the TSA locks I have seen do have a keyhole somewhere).

JoErNanO
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Relaxed
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If your suitcase closes with a zip, then it can be opened with a normal biro (the ubiquitous cheap Bic office biro works particularly well). Simply hold the biro so it points along the zip, with the nib end pointing at an angle into the zip teeth. Then press down. The pen disengages the teeth of the zip, and you can pull them apart by running the pen or your finger along the zip. To reclose, simply pull the zipper over the opened part, and then back again. This works even on those suitcases with two zip pulls that lock together. Travel security like this method because it's fast, basically undetectable, and doesn't require any special tooling or any co-operation from the lock manufacturers.

anaximander
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