The “agents” always swear the rules are the same everywhere even though I was just in the other airport a few hours ago and no they aren’t!
Yes, they are. The rule is: No matter what you do, you’ll be called a dumb bitch.
This rule is universal and the whole point of the TSA.
We have always been at war with Oceana
I have pre-check, which means I get to keep belt, shoes, and jacket on. Except one random time when this butthead TSA agent insisted I remove my jacket. I fought him on it, but he was an arrogant guy. Read your own rules dumb, dumb.
Also, they obsess over my bottle of contact solution regularly — wipe it down for bomb residue and everything, even though it is allowed. But, somehow I’ve accidentally slipped through with pocket knives and zippo lighters that were at the bottom of my bag. But, don’t you dare forget to empty your water bottle.
I use the same laptop bag for several trips a year, so I often don’t clear out all the pockets. The other day I realized I’ve been flying back and forth with a lighter I got from Vegas 2 years ago because it was buried at the bottom of a pocket. As for why the hell I had it in my laptop bag in the first place, I have no idea.
a YouTuber I watch once had a spent bullet casing at the bottom of his bag for YEARS and tsa found it after he went on like 10 flights with it
If that was your carry-on, it probably didn’t get flagged because lighters are allowed.
Lighters are allowed
Zippos only if they’re empty. Who had empty zippos without lighter fluid?
The phrasing on the TSA website suggests that lighters with fluid are permitted in your carry on, just not your checked. This is also in line with the policy in Canada.
Whether the particular TSA agent you’re stuck dealing with actually knows their guidelines, well… don’t hold your breath, they also get pissy about frozen water bottles (which also are allowed).
I love the frozen water bottle work around
I just don’t bother taking out small bottles of liquid for the last quite a few years and no one has cared or even noticed
Same, fuck that 3-3-1 bullshit.
every time I go through TSA it says “anomaly detected” at my waist and I need to be patted down. I’m trans so… correct I guess.
“Right. Just hold still. I need to check your genitalia for something.”
LMAO 😭
Ah yes, the penis detector.
For this reason, and for sexual assault survivors, and for our dignity, naked photography and pat downs should not exist.
You can opt out of the RapeScan. It doesn’t get you out of the pat down, but it’s something.
It also wins you direct scorn by the TSAa and an attempt at public shaming “We got an opt out. OPT OUT I NEED A MANAGER! You, stand over there and wait”.
At they very least you’re guaranteed no cellphone screencaps, fresh gloves and less radiation exposure whilst you’re stood at the machine and in the line waiting. Airports are still abysmal on privacy otherwise.
Hahaha yeah - it’s great that every time I fly, there’s a 1 in 3 chance that I’m outed to some sour faced stranger who will get to grope me.
I will take Amtrak for three times the travel time to avoid TSA.
Yeah, the TSA always gives me special attention just because I have cargo shorts on and they told me that almost always triggers anomalies.
straight out of papers please
Hi! I used to get to second base with the TSA every time. Apparently the machine has issues with loose fit clothes or even long hair if it’s down. Since taking this to heart no one has asked to swipe my ass for bombs.
It’s not even policies changing, it seems to be based solely on the scanning hardware they have.
Some airports have different scanners and you can leave them in the bag. Others it needs to be separate, and every electronic device has to be in a separate box.
At some airports it varies by which line you’re in and they yell conflicting instructions within earshot of all of the lines.
I’ve had conflicting instructions in the same line.
Yup, flew international out of JFK in march of this year. The whole line, signs say “remove jackets, remove shoes, remove electronics from your bags”. While moving through the line, start to get everything out to be more efficient. Close to the end, I get diverted to another line with a much bigger scanner and the guy yells at me PUT YOUR ELECTRONICS BACK IN YOUR BACKPACK. LEAVE YOUR SHOES AND BELT ON.
Like duh, I would have not gotten everything ready if there weren’t 20 signs telling me to do so.
Flew again out of JFK internationally 3 days ago, same thing, tons of signs saying to do the same thing. This time, I’m not taking out shit, idk what they’re going to say. Sure enough, get to the actual scanner and this time I do have to take out all my electronics, shoes off, etc in the sheep herding line which would have been way faster if I had done it in line.
or maybe they dgaf and need to pull a lot of people through
Yeah I was waiting for someone to call this out.
I think there are specific machines that can scan even with large electronics inside bags. Not all airports have them, just as not all terminals nor security lines have them.
Seriously, there’s no standardization to the security theater hoops that the TSA forces you to jump through. Every airport is different, and the TSA guys always look so exasperated that you don’t know the routine. I guess that’s the point, that on any given day the rules might be different so that potential terrorists will have a harder time finding gaps in security, but it makes it a frustrating experience as a regular non-terrorist passenger.
I travel for work and it’s absolutely not the TSA playing the long game to keep us on our toes, it’s absolute lack of standards gear and incompetence.
I don’t understand why they don’t have a sign at the entrance to security to tell you what to expect. Or, when it changes by which line you go to, why they don’t have a sign indicating the differences between lines.
Instead, they wait for someone to make a mistake, then yell out their mistake like “ALL ELECTRONICS MUST COME OUT OF YOUR BAG” at the same time as someone the next line over is yelling “ELECTRONICS DO NOT NEED TO COME OUT OF YIUR BAGS”.
TSA is infuriatingky inconsistent and incomprehensible, even for someone who travels frequently.
This is due to the scanners.
Newer scanners don’t need electronics out, older ones do.
Unfortunately, they don’t replace them ALL at an airport at the same time, leading to inconsistency…
My current major airport I fly through doesn’t open pre check until 9am, which is a pain, cause I have to print a paper ticket to get my precheck privileges in the normal lines
Which causes chaos cause I don’t have to do things others do
TSA is just a pork barrel jobs program. Nothing more.
If only those jobs could be doing something useful for society…
Sometimes they do have signs, but then they don’t do what the sign says.
“Haha look at this asshole taking off his shoes, doesn’t he know we don’t have to do that anymore?”
the man says while taking off his belt to prepare for the newly introduced rectal scan
Had some dude in DFW act like I was both deaf and retarded when I asked him if my laptop had to be in a separate bin, lol…… it changes every time I swear
I got through Des Moines with a laptop in my carry-on no problem, but I got blue glove frisked in front of everyone because my bra had too many straps on the back.
It’s so strange, as a middle-aged dude I never get frisked…🤔🤔🤔
I actually got an sarcastic “Is this your first time flying?” The last trip I went on because I didn’t take some protein bars out of my pockets.
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I wonder how often TSA agents actually fly on an airplane. This kind of work bias annoys me, like pushy car salesman trying to make spending 40k in an hour seem like no big deal. Like I understand that people do this everyday, but I don’t, so chill out a bit.
I work with energetic materials in a professional capacity. I have yet to loose any items, but I am pretty diligent in keeping plane stuff separate from work stuff.
Energetic materials, you mean like red bull?
Lol. In case it’s a legitimate question, Commonly it means material that has a lot of stored energy, reacts exothermic and is self sustaining. Explosives is a typical example.
Ahh it sounded like a fancy name for radioactive material to me. TIL!
traveling with a baby for the first time , having laptop and having anxiety problems , travelling with multiple transfers was an awful combo.
