I am not going
to try to provide an exhaustive list of items that passengers
are prohibited from carrying on to airplanes. The TSA web site
is a good reference for that. Instead, I am going to mention
some items I see fairly frequently that folks may not know are
prohibited in carryon bags. When a prohibited item is discovered
during screening, the passenger has a choice – he/she can
abandon it (we take it and it is discarded), go back to the
airline counter and check it, leave it with someone who is not
traveling, or put it in your car if you happen to have driven to
and parked at the airport.
Here are some
things to be aware of:
Water
globes, snow globes. These are those plastic or glass orbs
filled with water and “snow” that you shake up and watch
the snow descend on a scene or character. Well they can’t
go in carryon luggage. Usually people have purchased them
as souvenirs and they are fairly inexpensive. Around the
holidays though, I have seen some large, expensive-looking
ones with Nativity and winter scenes and some of them have
integrated music boxes. They can’t go in carryon bags so
remember to put them in your checked luggage.
Pasty or
gelatinous foods are considered gels and prohibited in
amounts exceeding 3.4 oz. These include hummus, jelly,
peanut butter, Nutrella, hot sauce, salsa, curry paste,
cottage cheese and yogurt. Also items packaged with liquid
like canned or fruit cups, olives, pickles and peppers are
prohibited.
Appliances with a blade
that can be removed, like blenders and food processors,
are an issue. The appliances can go in carryon bags but
the blades cannot. So either pack the blade(s) or the
entire appliance in checked luggage.
Things
that could be used as weapons.
Pocket
knives, even the small Swiss army knives, can’t go. Cork
screws are OK by themselves but many of them also have a
blade attached for cutting the wine bottle seal – the
blade makes those kinds of cork screws a prohibited
item. Scissors can go as long as they are less than four
inches from the tip to the point at which the blades
cross. That typically includes most scissors. Some of
the exclusions may seem a bit extreme, but I know that I
sleep better on a long flight knowing that the person
seated next to me doesn’t have any sharp, pointed
objects in his/her pocket.
For
the athletically inclined:Golf clubs, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks,
croquet mallets, ski poles, and baseball bats are
prohibited. Tennis, squash and racquetball racquets,
however, are allowed (go figure, I don’t make the
rules).
Nail polish
remover, lighter fluid, and anything containing peroxide
are prohibited. Peroxide is an ingredient in some eye care
and face care products so check the label.
Replicas and toys that
resemble weapons or explosive devices are prohibited in
carryon bags. (Hopefully it is obvious that real weapons
or explosive devices are not allowed either.)
Remember
that these restrictions pertain only to items carried on the
airplane. Almost all of the things prohibited in carryon bags
are allowed in checked luggage. Check the TSA website for
special requirements in checked luggage.
Disclaimer: This material was written by a private citizen
hoping to be helpful, not as a representative of the federal
government, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority or of
the Transportation Security Administration. Any opinions
expressed as well as any inaccuracies are solely the author’s.
