The Transportation Security Administrations is trying to keep people moving through the screening lines during the busy summer travel season.
Mark Howell is a regional spokesperson for TSA. He says some of the most popular things that don’t make it through screening are liquids in excess of 3.4-ounces and personal safety items like mace often carried on a keychain. But Howell says it’s also more common today for people to forget they are carrying a weapon.
“It’s really important before you come to the airport, you take a couple of minutes, do a quick sweep of all your personal belongings to make sure don’t have anything dangerous including guns in your bag. That will make sure that you won’t have any criminal action taken against and you will also avoid civil penalties from TSA which can go up to $13,033.”
Some of the other weapons that didn’t make it through the TSA screening in downstate Illinois include brass knuckles, a chinese star, a periscoping baton and even a hand grenade.
Howell says bring banned items with you into the screening area can also cost time. He says it, “can result in a four time longer screening time. So just doing a quick check before you come to the airport is going to save yourself and everybody else in line a lot of time.”
A visit to TSA.com can help travellers in packing. Those with special considerations for screening should visit TSA Cares. The agency can provide advance assistance to help people get through screening, and in some cases the agency provides a passenger support person to assist in the process.