We all hate certain things about traveling, and security screenings have to be at the top of the list — after baggage fees.
A recent column about extra screenings got me thinking. You see, I once got the dreaded ‘SSSS’ code. Back then I was a novice and didn’t know what it meant (you’ve been selected for a more thorough examination). Your airline assigns the code according to secret TSA rules. There seems to be some sort of convaluted recipe responsible for determining who gets branded, but any one of the following seem to sweeten the odds:
• Paying cash for your ticket
• Buying a one-way ticket
• Having no luggage
• Having an itinerary with multiple stops
• Making last minute reservations
• Lacking an ID (don’t pack it after check-in)
• Using miles (just kidding!)
The cat’s hiss similarity was appropriate because after I was through, I felt like clawing someone. My bag was a mess, I had a number of clothing-like items to restore, and I almost missed my flight. I was also a bit dismayed to be groped by the female agent instead of the hunky male. (The searches would probably be more popular if you could choose who administers them).
Here are a few tips to help you become one of those ‘experienced travelers’:
1) Have your boarding pass and ID ready. (Children don’t need an ID, but older ones can hold their boarding pass).
2) Check your boarding pass for the “SSSS” code. If you get one, be prepared. (Everyone on the same reservation may be screened, although children under 12 are usually exempt).
3) Pack light – the less you bring, the less they have to look at.
4) Remove any coat or jacket.
5) Take your shoes off. Detachable gel shoe inserts are prohibited.
6) Keep luggage locks and zip ties off until you’ve cleared security.
7) Knives, nail clippers, martial arts items and even play swords (think Disney) are not allowed.
8) Lose the metal – skip the belt if possible, and limit zippers, snaps, rivets and other metallic accoutrements.
9) Forget the jewelry – anything other than precious metals will set off detectors (includes barrettes). And nobody wants to watch someone take off half-a-dozen piercings.
10) Wear shoes that slide on and off easily.
11) Leave out the liquids, or remember the 3-1-1 rule limiting each to less than 3 oz, in an appropriately-sized container, placed in a 1 qt. bag. (Medications, formula and some others exempt).
12) Fold everything neatly and pack it flat. This provides a clearer image on the screening machine.
13) Slide all neatly folded items (see #12) into large clear ziplock bags. Put any other items (toiletries, shoes, etc.) into bags. This allows agents to sift through luggage easily and prevents items from falling out.
14) Women – Ditch the undergarments with underwire and other metal! Consider wearing a leotard under your clothes that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable standing around in publicly. (Because you can request privacy, but that takes longer!)
15) Been to the islands? Beverages with more than 70 percent alcohol are not permitted in carry-on or checked luggage, including 150 proof rum (bummer!) unless purchased beyond the security checkpoint (of your last flight, obviously).
16) Empty pockets BEFORE you get in line. Stow sunglasses, cellphones, keys, coins and other items in secure places anywhere except ON YOU.
17) Have a pacemaker or implanted medical device? Carry a Pacemaker Identification Card or doctor’s note.
18) DO NOT remove prosthetic devices (inc. hearing aids). Agents may need to touch them or perform an explosive trace test. You can request a private screening. A companion may accompany you (after they’re screened). Canes and crutches must be placed on the belt – if this impedes mobility, ask for assistance.
19) Service animals should stay with their owner. Inform the agent the animal is not a pet so proper consideration can be given. The agent will not touch your animal without permission.
20) Pets are allowed (if permitted by your airline) but must be removed from carriers.
21) Remember, anything carried on the plane must go through the screening device. This includes car seats and strollers that fit. Take your children out of them and fold the stroller if possible. If your gear won’t fit through the machine, inform an agent – it will be hand-screened. Remove loose items from strollers and place in a diaper bag or other carryon that can be placed on the belt.
22) Children should stay with a parent, agents cannot hold or carry them. All children capable of walking should go through the detector by themselves.
23) Laptops – new rules allow them to stay inside approved bags. Or, consider placing in a neoprene sleeve and laying flat in your carry-on. You can always remove it on the plane. Mark your computer distinctively – many laptops look alike and you want to pick up the right one.
24) Film – usually fine packed, the most sensitive types can be hand-screened, ask!
25) Wounded military vets – make arrangements with the TSA’s special program for screening our severely wounded military heroes.
26) Think hard about your apparel choices. Your fraternity brothers might think that “Legalize Weed’ shirt is hilarious, but the TSA? Not so much.
In the category of things you might want to know, but not ask:
• There is no limit on the amount of breast milk or formula carried when an infant or small child is traveling.
• Over the counter medications such as KY jelly and eye drops are not subject to the liquid/gel limitations.
• Yes, condoms in foil packages set off the metal detector.
• Diabetes supplies, including lancets, syringes, and insulin are not subject to the 3-1-1 rule or the sharp instruments ban. Likewise epipens and such for those with allergies. Inhalers are permitted.
• Gel-filled breast prostheses, shields, bra cups and the like are not subject to restrictions and may remain in place.
• Water, juice or liquid needed for an individual with a medical condition is exempt.
• Colostomy and ostomy bags will not be inspected.
• Cremated remains must be screened – the container must show contents when screened. Agents will not open containers, even if asked.
• If you are traveling under difficult circumstances (accompanying deceased remains, accompanying a terminally ill patient or traveling for surgery) inform the agent for special consideration.
Lastly, don’t make any jokes or wise comments. Now, or on the plane. And remember, that with a little cooperation, we’ll all be a little safer.
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I thought the nail clippers have been allowed for a while now. The same for small (less than 4 inches or something like that) scissors.
If you have a pacemaker as I do, you do not go through the Xray nor are you wanded. Instead, you remove EVERYTHING from all your pockets (including handherchiefs and wallets and you are patted down from the shoulders to the bottom of your feet.
While that is a real PITA, I have to admit that ALL of the TSA personnel have been extremely respectful and explain exactly what they are doing. The TSA personnel at MDW are the best to explain everything that they are doing. Fortunately, as I fly more often, they are starting to shorten the description of what they are doing.
How inconsistent are these rules? I can’t have gel inserts in my shoes, but I can have a water-filled bra? KY is okay, but that little bottle of hand-lotion is verboten? And what qualifies as a medical condition that permits you to bring your own drinkables on board? I keep highly hydrated to stave off kidney stones, so do I pass muster?
I personally don’t mind the hypervigilance; after all, it’s our security involved. While each of us thinks to some extent that, because “I’m obviously not a terrorist”, the rules shouldn’t apply to us, I don’t have that problem. But I do see a huge problem with inconsistencies. Are gels, for instance, a threat or are they not? Are fluids a threat or are they not? Even when such things are medically necessary, shouldn’t they be checked to make sure they’re legit – if indeed fluids, for instance, do pose a danger?
Enjoyed this article and am glad to make note of the latest and greatest rules!
Yes nail clippers are allowed unless they are the kind with the metal file attached (those still aren’t allowed). And small scissors are allowed as well.
I was traveling once with a grown son who, while he appears normal, is brain injured and has severe short-term memory loss and can also be quite inappropriate. He was tagged like that and despite my pleadings that he would not remember who he was with or where he was supposed to be going if they separated us (and I showed them his Medic Alert info), the TSA still took him off separately for the screening. We survived and were reunited, but it was stressful for me and who knows what went on in there.
There are other considerations for the SSSS on your boarding pass that they taught us about when I worked for an airline. The SSSS also shows up on your boarding pass if your itinerary takes you on stops or layovers in parts of the world known for terrorist activity, or if you fly a specific Arab airline (I don’t remember the name). I remember that active duty military (with orders) are exempt, regardless of where they travel to or from. Also, my stepmother and father both work in high positions for the federal government and should both be exempt, but my stepmother gets flagged almost every time. Another exemption is if you work for the airline or are travelling with an employee of the airline. I remember in training some employees saying they used to add the SSSS to people giving them a hard time at the counter, but I don’t think they actually could. I tried, and it didn’t work.
I have to disagree with some of Ms. Elion’s article. First, there are some factual errors. As others have pointed out, nail clippers have been allowed for some time. In addtion, non-medical liquids are actually limited to 3.1 fluid oz. per container, not 3.0. That’s because in the Metric system, which virtually all other countries use, 100 ml is a very common container size and it equates to 3.1 oz. Finally, magnetometers vary in their ability to differentiate among types of metals, so don’t assume that these machines will ignore silver and gold jewelry. The detection technology and signal processing software newer machines use is getting better and better at seeing dangerous metals v. clothing metal, jewelry, etc., but the system is not perfect.
For safety and personal comfort reasons, I will continue to wear sturdy shoes and underwire bras. I can’t run across O’Hare in a flimsy bra, and if I’m ever in an emergency requiring me to go down a slide, or in plane that ditches in a river or ocean, I’m not going to be handicapped by wearing flipflops, mules, or high heels.
BTW, Lsembard, it’s easy to stay hydrated while traveling. Take an empty container through security and fill it, free, with water from a drinking fountain inside the airport’s secure area. No one will hassle you for carrying it on board and if you take a big container, you’ll have much more water to drink than is usually provided during the flight.
The rules attempt to differentiate between items you might be using merely for comfort and convenience, and items that are medically necessary. You don’t “need” gel inserts in your shoes but a woman who’s lost a breast to cancer is a little more justified in needing to wear her gel-filled prosthesis. Granted, an evildoer could always try hiding dangerous substances in a mock prosthesis. In fact, Atlantic magazine had an excellent article in (I think) its Jan ’09 issue about a guy who tested the system by carrying a “beer belly” through security.
Just a clarification, I included the mention of nail clippers because the TSA still confiscates some types according to what some travelers have reported to me. I did not mention scissors in the article anywhere because the TSA now allows most small round-edged scissors (less than 4 in, as the writer stated), but knives of any type still seem to be off the list. I took most of the above info directly from the TSA’s site within the last week, but as usual it can be subject to change at any time.
If you have any concerns about whether something is permitted, check with the TSA prior to flying. The major caveat to any of this is that individual TSA agents still exercise a lot of independent judgment in enforcing the rules. The only advice I can give if you feel that a TSA agent has done something incorrectly is to call for another agent to verify.
I traveled to FL and the Caribbean and got my laptop, in a neoprene case packed flat on top of my clothing in my carry-on, through security that way, thus I mentioned it. You might be asked by some agents to take it out. I wasn’t.
The need for (relative) brevity obviously meant I couldn’t go into specifics in every category. Karen C.’s comments are particularly disturbing because, according to the TSA, individuals with disablities are always to be treated with professionalism and respect, and companions are supposedly ALWAYS allowed to accompany them during screenings (as long as the companion is done being screened). It should be unnecessary, both in terms of the published TSA regulations and moral decency, but if you have a non-visible disability, consider getting a doctor’s statement just to be on the safe side – it would be worth it to spare those with autism, Tourette’s, brain injuries and other conditions, potential discomfort and the misintrepration of an agent.
If you feel you have been treated unreasonably by a TSA agent , please send an e-mail to the TSA and mention the incident so that hopefully they can better train employees.
As for some questions raised by commenters, a doctor’s note about a medical need will go a long way in assisting the clearance process. By even without that, you can still make a case for some considerations. When my husband and I were traveling for cancer treatment and he needed a lot of fluids, the program acceptance letter from the hospital we were traveling to was enough to get his bottles of water by when we explained that chemotherapy had destroyed his saliva glands and he needed it. In my research the exceptions to certain regulations based on medical necessity seemed hazy and probably subject to TSA intrepretation, so I’d say get a doctor’s note (on letterhead, with a medical license number and contact info), but you migth still encounter problems.
I think the delicacy of the topic of cancer+intimate body parts and patient privacy explains why gel breat implants are allowed but not gel shoe inserts, which are usually not medically necessary. Plus, the gel inserts are often obvious when you take off your shoes, as required. Most don’t take off their bras to go through security :), thus the gel implants get by.
I didn’t mention it specifically, but most types of medical devices will require that the pax get a hand-screening and not proceed through the detector. Thus, the possession of a Pacemaker Card itself instructs the agent that you should be hand-screened.
And, I agree, unless there’s a lot I don’t know going on behind the scenes, some of the TSA’s regulations do seem to contra-indicate one another, but I also think that there is still some decency in the world, or a sense of embarrassment, which prevents some sensitive issues – usually medically related – from being raised. The ADA laws also inhibit some procedures which, quite frankly, would prevent a terrorist from taking advantage of our willingness to preserve some medical modesty.
Happy Traveling.
Just a clarification, I included the mention of nail clippers because the TSA still confiscates some types according to what some travelers have reported to me. I did not mention scissors in the article anywhere because the TSA now allows most small round-edged scissors (less than 4 in, as the writer stated), but knives of any type still seem to be off the list. I took most of the above info directly from the TSA’s site within the last week, but as usual it can be subject to change at any time.
If you have any concerns about whether something is permitted, check with the TSA prior to flying. The major caveat to any of this is that individual TSA agents still exercise a lot of independent judgment in enforcing the rules. The only advice I can give if you feel that a TSA agent has done something incorrectly is to call for another agent to verify.
I traveled to FL and the Caribbean and got my laptop, in a neoprene case packed flat on top of my clothing in my carry-on, through security that way, thus I mentioned it. You might be asked by some agents to take it out. I wasn’t.
The need for (relative) brevity obviously meant I couldn’t go into specifics in every category. Karen C.’s comments are particularly disturbing because, according to the TSA, individuals with disablities are always to be treated with professionalism and respect, and companions are supposedly ALWAYS allowed to accompany them during screenings (as long as the companion is done being screened). It should be unnecessary, both in terms of the published TSA regulations and moral decency, but if you have a non-visible disability, consider getting a doctor’s statement just to be on the safe side – it would be worth it to spare those with autism, Tourette’s, brain injuries and other conditions, potential discomfort and the misintrepration of an agent.
If you feel you have been treated unreasonably by a TSA agent , please send an e-mail to the TSA and mention the incident so that hopefully they can better train employees.
As for some questions raised by commenters, a doctor’s note about a medical need will go a long way in assisting the clearance process. By even without that, you can still make a case for some considerations. When my husband and I were traveling for cancer treatment and he needed a lot of fluids, the program acceptance letter from the hospital we were traveling to was enough to get his bottles of water by when we explained that chemotherapy had destroyed his saliva glands and he needed it. In my research the exceptions to certain regulations based on medical necessity seemed hazy and probably subject to TSA intrepretation, so I’d say get a doctor’s note (on letterhead, with a medical license number and contact info), but you migth still encounter problems.
I think the delicacy of the topic of cancer+intimate body parts and patient privacy explains why gel breat implants are allowed but not gel shoe inserts, which are usually not medically necessary. Plus, the gel inserts are often obvious when you take off your shoes, as required. Most don’t take off their bras to go through security :), thus the gel implants get by.
I didn’t mention it specifically, but most types of medical devices will require that the pax get a hand-screening and not proceed through the detector. Thus, the possession of a Pacemaker Card itself instructs the agent that you should be hand-screened.
And, I agree, unless there’s a lot I don’t know going on behind the scenes, some of the TSA’s regulations do seem to contra-indicate one another, but I also think that there is still some decency in the world, or a sense of embarrassment, which prevents some sensitive issues – usually medically related – from being raised. The ADA laws also inhibit some procedures which, quite frankly, would prevent a terrorist from taking advantage of our willingness to preserve some medical modesty.
Happy Traveling.
Sorry, should have added good post! Waiting on the next post!
Forget about that impressive card signed by your doctor with his hospital affiliation. In my experience with two hip implants, TSA waves the card aside and you get a pat-down, rub-down hand job. In addition, the agents are also impelled to forage through my hair, presumably looking for silkworms.
I use a cane and the TSA gave me a wooden cane to go through the screening. I request the pat down as I have so much metal in me that I set off the machine even if I stripped all my clothing off. I am looking forward to this new screening machine and do not care if someone gets a jolly from seeing this 75 year old body.
I feel that 98%+ of the TSA personnel have treated me in a courteous and proper manner. The only time that I was upset when someone wanted to open my liquid meds and wanted to smell them. The supervisor stopped this before the bottles were opened.
Have a wonderful day – Cliff
My husband has brain implants (neurostimulators) and a brain pacemaker, so he cannot go through metal detectors or be wanded. He always shows his Medronic ID card, yet TSA agents have told him to “run through” or that everyone must go through the metal detector, no exception. They have made him walk, without his cane, despite his advanced parkinson’s disease. We are always required to go through the entire line and only after approaching the metal detectors do they allow him to turn around and go around security. We are frequent flyers but I always dread this part of the flight. TSA agents need a lot more training in dealing with disabilities. it is totally different in Europe, where we have invariable met with respect and accommodation for his very obvious disabilities. There ought to be a law….