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TSA Is Asking Passengers at Some Airports to Take Snacks Out of Carry-On Bags

March 27, 2018
3 min read
As Long Lines In Airports Rise, TSA Struggles To Cut Waiting Times
TSA Is Asking Passengers at Some Airports to Take Snacks Out of Carry-On Bags
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The Transportation Security Administration might be adding one more step to the security-screening process: the removal of snacks from carry-on bags.

Passengers at several airports have reportedly been asked by TSA officers to remove snacks from their bags at security checkpoints, along with the traditional items like liquids and large electronics. Several reports on social media have surfaced from passengers at Newark Airport (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) that the TSA asked flyers to put their snacks through the x-ray scanner separately from their other bags.

Luckily, the TSA told passengers concerned about their travel snacks that there was no formal change, and this was only to get a clearer view of the bags' on the x-ray screen.


“The TSA agents were unfailingly polite and nice," passenger Sree Sreenivasan at EWR said to USA Today. "We made some jokes. I’ve never heard of food being searched. Ever. Nobody had ever heard of it.” Sreenivasan also said that when he asked the TSA agents about the change at EWR security, they told him it was part of a new policy that would be implemented across the country in May. But, the TSA's official Twitter account maintained that there would be no new rules regarding carry-on snacks.

Almost any type of food is TSA-approved, as the agency reminded Chrissy Teigen earlier this year when the model wanted to fly with what she called an "emotional support casserole."

Featured image by Getty Images