The 5 Craziest Things Passengers Tried to Sneak by the TSA in December
Every week, the TSA blogs about items (mostly weapons) that agents have confiscated at airports around the country, and the agency posts some of the crazier ones on its Instagram page. Below are the five most ridiculous items that were confiscated this month — at least according to us at Team TPG. As always, we're grateful that the TSA remains diligent in preventing passengers from boarding aircraft with such dangerous weapons.
1. Designer Dagger
This weapon may be a looker, but good looks don't go very far when trying to get a knife past the X-ray screening machines at a TSA checkpoint. This intricate dagger was discovered in a carry-on bag at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF). Note that you can travel with knives, as long as they're packed safely in your checked luggage.
2. Roman-Style Sword
Here's another stylish weapon that someone tried to carry on a plane with them. The Roman-style short sword, known as a gladius, was confiscated at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). Note that if you want to travel with your sword, you have to pack it in your checked luggage.
3. Hand Grenade
Someone who was meant to receive a hand grenade for the holidays is sure to have been disappointed, as this one was confiscated at a TSA checkpoint at Richmond International Airport (RIC). Remember that all grenades — even fake or inert ones — can't travel with you in carry-on or checked luggage.
4. Blowtorch
Highly-flammable propane certainly doesn't belong on an airplane. Good thing the TSA found and confiscated this propane blowtorch in Atlanta (ATL) before someone was able to bring it on board. You're allowed to bring the headpiece of the torch with you on your travels, but the canister is not allowed in either carry-on or checked luggage.
5. Cattle Prod
Well, this is a new one. A passenger at Chicago's Midway International Airport (MDW) tried to bring this electric cattle prod on board a plane with them before it was discovered and confiscated by the TSA. Note that you can't bring any shocking device on board with you, but they can travel if they're packed in checked luggage with the batteries removed.
What's the strangest item you've seen at a TSA checkpoint?
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
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- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
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- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month