Any comments on the time it takes to check in at either airport for flights bound for the U.S. since the latest failed attack against our country?

we just left MoBay to Arizona on the 31st...We gave ourselves about 2 and a half hours til takeoff..got through and still had about an hour before boarding..no problem however..they said ONE ITEM!!!to carry-on, that is either your personal item or something else..but only ONE! They took away my one item because it had wheels??? they said no rollers..even though it was a tiny size..in security I saw about a hundred people with rollers that got through..so who knows...good luck..it wasn't bad at all except for the people who showed up with 2 items to carry-on and wanted to argue for an hour

Wow. That is a head scratcher. Not sure what wheels would have to do with anything. I am glad though that I just bought a netbook to take instead of my usual laptop. Odd about the wheels. I'd say 90% of carry ons these days have wheels.
Tongue in cheek here (maybe not?), but maybe during their morning briefing, what was really said is "There will be no MEALS on the plane!" and this on the ball person tought they said WHEELS! OR... "There will be no STROLLERS on the plane!" and she thought they said ROLLERS!
Hey, I have seen stranger things happen at that airport that makes absolutely no sense at all.
Thanks for your response Kalona, it really helps.

Would others please add more about their experiences, especially about returning to the US out of Mo Bay. Would appreciate you being specific about which airline you used. If they say you are down to one carry on even if your airline says two, what do you do? I fly with my PC and a camera case and am not willing to check either of them. What if I now add a third carry on by buying rum at the airport?

Sorry just me again...but thought I would add more info..we flew US Airways(I know YIKES..lol)..but the rule applied to all airlines flying out of MoBay last week...and they were not making ANY exceptions! I also have a very expensive camera that I was unwilling to check..they said I had to fit it inside my purse or check it..we also had a friend with us with a laptop who was made to check it since he could not fit it inside his backpack...however...they were waiving the fees for checked baggage due to this new rule..(no fee for 1 or 2 checked bags)if your bags are overweight..you will be charged a fee for that though..Anyway, perhaps these rules will lapse a little as time passes..hopefully good luck!

Which airlines is irrelevant. If they say one but your airline says two, then the answer is one. Security is not going to check you in with 2 and the next guy with one.
I think what Kalona said about people arguing about 2 carry ons answers your question for you. Just don't argue too long because there are others behind you. As for the rum, I would imagine your best option is to drink it before you get on the plane.

I can see me chugging two bottles of rum before boarding a plane, but I guess they would have a wheelchair to board me and extra air sickness bags for the flight. After two bottle of rum they could lie me in the aisle and roll carts over me for all I know because I'd be in an alcoholic coma. I wonder who retrieves your luggage if you're dead when the plane lands.

I found myself with 2 bottles of Wray and Nephew's finest in Miami airport security on the way to Canada once.

I'd forgotten that they were also part of the liquids aboard ban. The line was controlled by a lady that lost it and gave us a lecture on how innatentive we were and don't we read etc. She then dashed the offending gentlemans liquid into the rubbish in disgust. I figured a letter to the man about his employee may get me on some list or other and let it slide. We all have our days too.

I was eventually checked by a simpatico Cubano who knew the value of the liquid and took me to check them in baggage. Security has to do it's thing. I always hope they are at 100% for all of our sakes.

Canada was glad to see the whites.

Would dearly appreciate others who have flown out of Montego Bay back to the US to describe the security measures they have recently encountered. Thank-you for anything you have to offer.

With respect, security works best when it is not discussed.

I would call/email your airline for information.

Turey, with respect, all we are asking is what is the inconvinience level as compared to just a few weeks ago. You think the airline will tell us? Gimme a break...
One carry on or 2? Half hour to get through the line or 3 hours? Questions like that. Expecting people not to talk about security is unrealistic.

Break given.

Of course discus basic info as you describe. Details are better left to guess as one strategy is to vary methods from time to time and airport to airport. Passing on advise from a friend in the business.

I always carry both my cameras and my laptop. They will not fit into the same case. I am VERY reluctant to check either of these things because they cannot be replaced. My wife will have a fairly small suitcase with wheels that she uses for things we need to get to on the plane including food and formula for our youngest one. It also contains prescription medications and other things we absolutely do not want to take the chance of losing. We are flying on Air Jamaica both ways. Think I'll be okay out of Philadelphia but I need to know what experiences people have had returning to the US out of Montego Bay. Have things eased up? I know the security personnel can override anything Air Jamaica tells us.

I would suggest if you really cannot do without your carry on items that you get to the plane very early and try to sit in the area that will be the first onboard. The last three times I've flown, my carry on bags have been taken from me at planeside as there is no room left to stow them overhead. If you have a small item that can be stow under the seat, then you will be okay. Security was very tight leaving in January for the US - long lines and extra pat downs at planeside.

I flew from Montego Bay to JFK on 01/11/10 and it took me around 90mins to get to the check in counter and another hour to go thru security. I was body checked 2x with the second time being at the gate at Montego Bay while boarding. Also while boarding there was a carry on search once you handed in your boarding pass, both carry on and handbag had to be opened and search. Upon arriving at JKF many people were also selected to have their luggage go thru a secondary scan or opened up again. Many small bags came off the carosel opened and had to be placed in bins.

Are they still doing electronic check in out of MoBay right now? We've been using that for about the last year and it allowed us to get to the airport 90 minutes before departure rather than 2-1/2 hours before. It also allowed us to avoid the long lines and waits to check in our suitcases.

Leaving MoBay, banned carry-on items once again include cigarette lighters, matches, nail clippers, and anything else vaguely sharp such as a nail file. There were two security searches, one at the regular place downstairs and one by airline security teams upstairs prior to boarding. The regular search by airport personnel is more thorough and time-consuming than it's been for other trips. The one done by the airline personnel prior to boarding was extremely thorough and took a lot of time. I could not see any way planes could depart on time (which they didn't) because of the time to check each and every passenger before you're allowed on the aircraft.

My advice is to bring a minimum of carry-on items and be certain you are carrying nothing whatsoever that's banned.

My experience only here.

My entry into Jamaica was far better than in the past but still nowhere as quick and efficient as entering Mexico.
Exiting Sangster was a tedious nightmare. If someone loves standing in lines only to stand in yet another line, they should love exiting Jamaica. A shining example was the young bureaucrat who had to seek an OK from a supervisor to be sure that 2 empty small bottles in the zip lock quart bag were allowable. This paled when boarding was delayed and everything in your carry-on was searched once again before boarding because evidently somehow the terrorists managed to slip inside Sangster and slip bomb material into your carry-on sometime in between walking from the check downstairs and you getting into the boarding area upstairs. Random men and women were pulled out of line (random as in I was one of them) and given a front and back pat down by women wearing surgical gloves because god knows we also picked up weapons somehow in the airport and filled our pockets, legs, neck, ankles and thighs with them. Mickey Mouse and Barney Fife live and work for the Jamaican government and I'm here to tell you that I didn't feel one iota safer. I did feel vexed to borrow the Jamaican term. [edited by TBNet]

Oh and by the way, these [edited by TBnet] that run Jamaica have so many minions at the airport that I'm guessing that is why no one checked to halt the sea wall in Treasure Beach. I'd suggest the person running airport security have their vision carved ala Mount Rushmore into that seawall so all could honor them everytime one visited Treasure Beach.{insert sarcasm here} It looks far worse than I had imagined and I imagined it looked horrible. [edited by TBnet]

As usual, the citizens that make up Treasure Beach are the nicest anywhere and I tipped them all as well as I could. Except for the beginning and end of my Jamaica stay, I had a wonderful time.

EVERYONE boarding our plane had their hand luggage thoroughly and I mean thoroughly searched. EVERYONE boarding our plane had a complete pat down. The men boarding our plane did not seem to mind because the person doing the patting down was a very attractive woman.

MM, I'm not saying you didn't have a bad experience, but I do think some perspective is in order.

I personally do not feel any safer with the extra security at airports, especially seeing some investigative reports at how ineffective it is. However, I do know that a large amount the extra security required in airports around the world has been dictated by the United States' FAA after 9/11. (And before that by the DEA in pursuit of victory in the "war on drugs").

To blame Jamaicans for requiring the extra hassle (and you personally to be patted down) seems to place fault on the wrong entity.

And as a final note, try being a non US-citizen entering the US. You get fingerprinted, asked a whole heap more(and sometimes very personal) questions than we get at Sangster or Manley, made to stand in long lines, etc...if you even get a visa to visit, that is. (Yes, I'm a US citizen but while traveling with my Canadian girlfriend I spent a delightful hour in a line at Ft. Lauderdale airport listening to people complain about what a terrible welcome we give visitors as other Americans walked to their short lines.)

My take home message: immigrations/customs is a hassle in every airport.

The security coming into the US as opposed to that leaving the US has become a lot tighter since the case of the guy trying to blow up his own underwear and the aircraft on Christmas Day. The extra security in Jamaica is required by the US government. I do agree with MM it would have been nice to have some officials prevent the seawall from being built, but that is a totally different matter. Unfortunate but true.