A TSA lock is one to which only TSA officials have a key. You set the combination yourself and, if a TSA agent has to look inside your bag because they see something suspicious on the scanner, it can be easily opened with their master key.
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The TSA screeners have access to special tools that allow them to open TSA-Approved locks in the event that your bags must be opened for inspection.
The TSA combination lock has been designed to prevent damage to the locked suitcase when it is forcibly opened by the airport authority. The TSA lock can be easily opened and closed by the staff at the airport with a master key.
The TSA has worked with these manufacturers so security agents are able to open any of these locks with a master key, but no one else can. If you're using a lock that isn't approved by TSA, agents have the authority to break open that lock to search through a bag.
The shackles are so thin a Leatherman could probably cut through them, they're easily picked, and you can bypass them altogether if you have a pen. The locks are primarily to help the TSA inspect suspicious luggage before it makes it onto an airplane, and have long-since been warned of their vulnerabilities.
On occasion, an agent may need to open the bag for further inspection. If your bag uses a traditional lock, it will be cut open. TSA-approved locks, however, are designed to open with a master key held by all TSA agents.
Using a suitcase lock makes it more difficult for baggage handlers or strangers to riffle through your goods at the airport. Not to mention, luggage locks are a great way to ensure your personal belongings won't fall out because the zippers are held together.
For the safety and security of passengers, the TSA screens all checked luggage. In some cases, the staff checking luggage must open it as part of the screening process. If a bag or suitcase is not locked, TSA staff will simply open it and check its contents.
Locking your luggage is a great deterrent to would-be thieves, but if you're travelling to the USA or Canada, you'll need to use a special type of lock to secure your bag – otherwise the TSA or CATSA can and will cut it off or even break open your checked baggage if it needs to be examined.
Without access to a master key, baggage handlers, hotel staff and others in the luggage transport chain should not be able to open these locks. Yet that's the fatal flaw – the master key, or backdoor into a supposedly secure system.
Well, actually there are many different types of TSA luggage locks. So, you may choose the model and design you like. One thing that all of them have in common is the Travel Sentry logo. These locks have a master key system, which means there's a universal key that can be used to open all of them.
If you have forgotten your code, the maker of TSA approved locks; Travel Sentry states that you can try every possible combination. This means starting from 000 and working to 999. This method usually takes 10-15 minutes.
Travel Sentry products come with a bold red diamond logo on every product they produce. If you've purchased a TSA approved product through Safe Skies Luggage Locks, your lock will come with a red torch logo on the front instead.
If you want to know if your lock was opened by a TSA master key, purchase a lock with a red/green indicator. The indicator is set to green and only switches to red if the bag was opened for inspection.
The TSA 007 is by far the most common, with the TSA 002 being next in my experience. The TSA 004 is used by CCL Presto Lock, but you don't see it in stores much. The TSA 005 can be found in some Lewis & Clark and Samsonite locks and seems to use a Master Lock M2 blank (I should have a master key for it shortly).