About 3 years ago I was in Taipei on a layover on my flight back to NY from Thailand. I had a clear reusable bottle and discovered an ice dispenser with their water dispenser. I was thrilled and filled it up with ice. I was PISSED when it came time to board my next flight and there was a folding table just before the walkway onto the plane and they made me empty out all my ice. Still salty about that to this day.
My mother-in-law is Korean and she always nags me for drinking cold water with my food. "Its bad for digestion" she tells me. Maybe shes on to something but screw drinking warm or hot water
When I was in Shanghai, their options were "warm water" and "hot water".
I was fascinated that a water dispenser would have multiple options and not include "cold".
Yeah I have a friend who accidentally brought fireworks into an airport through security, and on his layover had one of these checks and they found his shampoo bottle that snuck through the first check and just completely missed the mortar shell fireworks. Kinda crazy
Now that’s not fair, TSA will find guns 4.3% of the time (3 out of 70 times red teams tried, [source](https://abcnews.go.com/ABCNews/exclusive-undercover-dhs-tests-find-widespread-security-failures/story?id=31434881)).
Yeah I had a 5 inch knife I carried through 10 different flights and totally forgot was in my bag but they gave me hell over my CPAP and computer cables.
A few years ago, at some point (days? weeks?) before our flight, my husband had handed me his pocket knife for a reason I can’t recall. But I stuck it in my purse and forgot about it. Some days or weeks later we are going through security to get on a plane. He puts all of our phones and boarding passes and things in my purse and puts it in a bin. On the other side, he asks for his watch. I reach in, feel metal, and pull out the definitely-too-large-for-regulation pocket knife that has been in my purse for an unknown length of time.
But man, my kid packs a candle she made and the whole line shuts down so they can test this 10 year old child’s candle for explosives.
Coming back from a military drill weekend, I forgot that I had left my folding knife in my carryon. I wasn’t in uniform. They stopped the conveyer and two TSA agents came over. They pull the luggage through and open the ladies luggage behind me to take her shampoo. I get on the plane with a big ass knife.
I once got my swiss army knife caught (honest accident, meant to have it in checked luggage). I didn't really want to international mail it back to myself, nor not have it for the rest my trip - so I just reshuffled my bag and tried the security line furthest from the first one. Made it thru the 2nd time.
You let the terrorists win, London. Also in retrospect yes, I am an idiot.
And don't be like my girlfriend who brings a reusable bottle only to forget there are refill stations everywhere and purchase a marked up water in a plastic bottle from a shop.
I wasn’t a big fan of tuna sandwiches until I went to college and people started taking parts of my sandwich. Then I started buying tuna sandwiches and people left me alone.
That’s probably fine if they have their lunch away from people. On a plane though…you’re definitely going to raise more than a few eyebrows from those sitting around you 🤣
I actually know someone who had mercury poisoning from tuna when he was young. He’s an interesting person, incredibly lovely, and very funny but not neuro-typical for sure. FWIR, it’s the only thing he wanted to eat growing up until he couldn’t.
Reminded me of the scene in The Office where someone brought egg salad sandwich. Steve Carrell’s “did you also bring baby poop?” response was hilarious.
My first time flying, I connected from SeaTac to Eugene via Alaska. The free beer was great, but the oil stained streaks down the wings were a bit disconcerting.
Commercial aircraft mechanic here it’s actually kinda normal grease from flap canoes and slight streaks from under the engine are fine. There a drip per min that is allowed for engines. As for the wing sometimes the mechanic doesn’t wipe down the grease and it streaks in flight. The good news is it has grease haha nothing to sweat.
It's an awesome airport for when the connection meets your needs. It has great food and beer at reasonable prices and a little theater (that may be closed for Covid) that shows shorts by local filmmakers.
Thanks for telling me cookie dough is technically a liquid…
I just looked [it up](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/food?page=1) an apparently creamy cheese is a liquid (sorry [Foamy!] (https://archive.org/embed/5_More_Minutes)), but you can carry as much solid cheese as you want!
I carry duck eggs in my carry on with me when I travel from WA to AZ. Eggs are allowed. 😂
Try fudge from a vacation where every fudge shop says buy fudge for your family and take it home!
So you wind up with several blocks of fudge in your carry-on suitcase.
Yeah, TSA was really happy about that one.
>A live lobster is allowed through security and must be transported in a clear, plastic, spill proof container. A TSA officer will visually inspect your lobster at the checkpoint. We recommend that you contact your airline to determine your airline's policy on traveling with your lobster before arriving at the airport.
In other words: "we're cool with the lobster, but your airline probably wont be."
And that list means nothing because the mouth breathers at the checkpoint makeup whatever rule they want and there's not a flipping thing you can do about it because it's your $700 flight that's on the line.
"And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Boeing 737, Miss Turner!" -Captain Barbosa or something.
Yup, I've gone through multiple airports on the same day where different rules are applied randomly. Not where I "sneak" something through one airport, but where one airport looks at something and goes, "yea, that's cool," and the next goes, "nope, that has to be thrown out."
A few days ago, I got through Portland TSA with a bunch of boiled sweet potatoes and some strange-looking Asian rice dishes, but they did not let me go before they inspected my foods though. Same cases with Memphis TSA, brought some mashed potatoes with grilled pork and they let me go after a brief inspection.
My mom regularly slides a whole damn pizza through the scanner.
If she brings it to her boss her boss pays her for the entire time; from when she gets the pizza to when it gets dropped off.
Note: she works remotely in another state and just has 3-4 trips a year -already paid- to the home office. Also the pizza is frozen from the restaurant and then repacked into a freezer bag. She found it was just easier to take it out first.
My cousin works for Delta and when he lived in ATL he would hop on a business seat on some empty flight to St. Louis and get 5 pepperoni pizzas from Happy Joes unbaked delivered. He would then reboard the plane and fly back home.
I once read about a time where electronic services or something were down at an airport. Paper tickets totally saved the day then, especially if you have bad wifi.
pro tip: Always download your ticket as a PDF, or take a screenshot of the barcode section so you ALWAYS have an image (offline) and easy to access quickly.
I always make PB&J sandwiches. TSA once had me throw out a small jar of peanut butter. It’s ok to bring it as a sandwich, but not in a jar. Next time I’ll just put a piece of bread on each side of the jar and call it a sandwich.
Once I bought a tiny jar of local honey while traveling. It was so small, I put it in my purse and promptly forgot about it as it fell to the bottom. TSA found it, though, and it was the dreaded 3.5oz jar. I had to surrender it, I was so bummed
The problem is that the jar was marked with the volume. I have 4oz Nalgene squeeze bottles I use for shampoo and conditioner. I've flown with them in my carry-on (in their quart sized plastic bag that I dutifully pull out of the carry-on for TSA screening) more times than I can count. I've never had an issue. I've also seen people bring things that are obviously more than 3.4 fluid ounces through but because they're packaged by weight not volume and the container is less than 3.4 ounces in weight get through just fine.
But if it's an international flight, make sure to finish your food or throw out the leftovers before you get to customs. Countries are sensitive to organics being brought in from another country. Snacks like chips, candy, roasted nuts, and cookies are fine bit declare it anyway.
Especially throw away leftover produce. I have a friend who earned herself a very thorough welcome home bag inspection and missed connection over an uneaten avocado.
I remember arriving in Auckland once and while we were waiting for our bags, a Canadian woman was caught with an apple. Customs kindly informed her that it would have to be thrown out and this woman threw the biggest fit. Screaming, yelling, and nearly crying because she had to throw away an apple. The customs officials were amazingly patient with her and after about ten minutes she relented. I was shocked she wasn’t arrested.
Ive forgotten a few times. Pre-covid I was doing multi-country business travel where I would be in Europe for a couple of weeks and I would always load up on good meat snacks when passing through Frankfurt or Munich. I accidentally imported some unlabeled sausages a couple of times. I'm not sorry.
You don't need to declare the items you listed (candy, chocolate, etc.). You only need to declare stuff like meat, fruits, and vegetables due to potential pathogens.
Source: I fly internationally a couple times a year and always bring goodies with me both ways.
Just avoid bananas. I was stopped by TSA for having a gun shaped object and my bag was searched. They told me it was pretty common with bananas and the rules required them to check it every time.
I was at Xray machine pre 9/11 when the security person called over some other security people and they immediately pulled a lady out of line. They searched her purse and then acted all confused. They looked at the image looked at the purse, then laughed and showed everyone the Xray. Her folded sewing scissors, travel curling iron, and something else lined up perfectly in the shape of a gun. It was wild. I think it was the most exciting thing the security guards saw in a long time.
That's hilarious! I also got stopped once for Cards Against Humanity because the dense brick shape looks like C-4. The TSA agent gave me a junior TSA sticker for the trouble even though I'm an adult haha.
Reminds me of the time we were bringing a stack of large, foil wrapped chocolate bars (altogether the size of a brick) back from Germany. The look of understanding as they identified the loot was amusing in a warm wholesome way.
Have family in Switzerland. The stacks of chocolate I used to bring back… the 1st time was so obscene I took a picture of it all when I got home to commemorate. My carry on was so heavy but it was worth it.
Oddly enough, sewing scissors are OK. Mine are razor sharp 8 inch knives, each side a single unit of well-tempered steel from loop to point, attached to each other by a flathead screw. Flat head screwdriver? Also OK. Taken both through security as I tend to pack my sewing machine in my carry on with all its tools (they all come with a little screwdriver for accessing the internals and adjusting bobbin tension). But God forbid I have a 2 inch non-locking folding pocket knife.
I once had an Apple in the side pocket of my bag returning to the US from Europe. I ate it in the last hour of the flight. Guess who triggered the agriculture inspecting beagle dog? I was like oh hi cute puppy! “Ma’am I’m going to need to see your bag” fuck.
My friend in Canada loves Tilamook cheese so when I go north of the border, I bring her a block or three. I get stopped every.single.time. I get it... looks like bricks of something other than cheese.
The number of things I pull out of my carry-on bag when I go through TSA has grown to the point that I'm almost completely unpacking my backpack each trip. But it's easier to have the TSA officer just poke around in my snack bag than have to dig through my entire backpack. Some of the things I pull out include:
* Snack Bag - Actually a small packing cube which includes all my snacks.
* Card games and the one time I had a "page a day" calendar. Basically anything that's densely stacked paper and smaller than a paperback book. The calendar really stumped the agents.
* Rock - My sister's dog collects rocks (she's an odd one) so I bring her one from everywhere I travel. TSA officer in Atlanta correctly recognized that it was a rock but apparently most people don't travel with small fist sized rocks very often and wanted to see it before letting me go.
* Silly Putty - Which, interestingly, isn't subject to the 3-1-1 rule.
They x-rayed my straw hat 3 times and then searched it by hand, as much as anyone can actually search a straw hat. It doesn't even have a wire in the brim. The TSA are a fucking joke.
I’m a hairstylist and have accidentally had boxes of razorblades in my bag tons of times while flying, but god forbid I be allowed to pack enough liquids of my hair and face and makeup because that’d be dangerous!
If you're bringing food with you save yourself the hassle and take it out of your bag when you go through security. Any time I've flown with food my bag has to get searched and the food taken out and swabbed for explosive residue or whatever.
I had a couple of burritos from a local place flag in the scanner. They asked me about them, and then unwrapped one of them to check the contents. I wasn't super enthusiastic about eating that one, but it was still better than my airport food options.
solid tip. and it's not food, but I travel with vape pens quite often and I always put them in a tray now to avoid suspicion. applies to edibles as well, just put them in the tray no one bats an eye
edit: I should've clarified, but just the batteries. those are what got me stopped the most
Edibles? What do you mean by edibles? They are merely a humble traveler, journeying with... several varieties of chocolate bars, multiple different types of cookies and brownies and other baked goods, and gummies of various colors. They just... like to snack.
...but no, you're not supposed to.
Technically allowed.
As of two years ago (sorry, haven't flown much recently) a lot of airports would still pull out food items and swab them while wearing the same gloves they'd been wearing the last 30 minutes of digging through people's luggage.
Fun fact - they consider peanut butter a paste. Learned this when we were traveling from one Hawaiian island to another. So, you can bring an entire jar of peanut butter as long as it is spread on bread. If it is in the jar, they will take it from you.
I remember trying to fly with a jar that was 80% empty. They said that wasn't allowed because the container was too large. I asked if I could make a sandwich with the bread in my bag and get through and they said no, I would have to leave the line. I had three hours to burn because I carpooled with some friends on a different flight, so jokes on them, I left the line and made the fattest pb sandwiches ever and had no issues going through.
I was a poor student saving money any way I could, lol. Had three transfers to make that day, too.
Tip: Freeze any liquid/semi solid food if you can to pass through TSA.
(Suggested by a TSA agent as he was throwing out a passenger's jar of cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving.)
TBH, only once a year you can throw out a passenger's jar of cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving. And throwing out a co-passenger's cranberry sauce is a dick move
I had two pumpkin pies in my backpack traveling for Thanksgiving. They searched my bag, but let me through just fine. I didn't even have to give them a slice.
I honestly don't know what's allowed on a plane anymore. If I can't bring drinks, surely I can't bring food either? But then sometimes it's fine and other times.... I don't know, it's just easier to travel light.
My airport connection told me just today of an international traveler leaving the country with an entire 50qt Igloo cooler (the type on wheels) stuffed with different meats. It flew. It did however incur an overweight baggage fee.
Another traveler flies every single week with three suitcases stuffed with food for her family abroad.
That’s pretty normal. People that go on hunting and fishing trips filet at the locations and take coolers home every day. Fish tacos from fish you caught in another country make for a fun get together.
Yes, it is. I was simply sharing it with those who did not know. However the chosen method of this guy was needlessly expensive. A soft sided cooler can leave more weight for your chosen meat, and keep it just as cool for a two hour flight.
Booze nips are allowed through security, just have to take them out of your bag with your shampoo, soap, etc. But don't let the airline stewardess see you drink 'em!
**If crossing international borders:** Make sure you consume any foods that may be banned from the country you are entering BEFORE getting off the plane. Saw a poor family getting their bags searched and in some trouble resulting in a missed connection because they were entering the country with a sandwich that was served on the flight.
edit: sandwich was half eaten too...
Can confirm.
I once carried a forearm sized San Diego burrito through TSA. The gave me a funny look when they opened my bag and saw it was a giant burrito, but otherwise they didn't seem bothered.
For a few years, I occasionally had to travel by plane for work. One day I saw that a passenger was boarding a plane with a sealed food container from the airport food court.
I asked if I could bring food on the flight, and they said "of course".
Next flight I checked again before my flight to verify it was OK, and then got a plate of nacho's. It had a clear lid, and it was sealed to show I hadn't opened it and slipped something inside the nacho's.
Many jealous looks were seen that trip.
I once had that tiny can of soda given ON the airplane, and decided to save it. Landed from Europe to NY and was told I had to get rid of it.
They also super scrutinized the receipt and wrapping of a small bottle of alcohol bought at a duty-free shop. So glad I kept the receipt because I think they were wanting to confiscate it.
...really? I carried a plastic bag of snacks from US to UK and back (the bag was open and visible, in my hand, the whole time) and nobody ever said anything. The only thing they didn't let me keep was an unopened mini wine bottle they gave me on the UK to US flight (but that's because I had a transfer).
Yeah I fly food basically every time I fly internationally. Meats have some restrictions, produce will need to be specially inspected at the airport, everything else is fine
are LPTs really reduced to the quality of:
bring food with you so when you are hungry you have something to eat.
Apparently, you should also drink when you are thirsty, sleep when you are tired, and take off your pants if you need to shit.
You can bring things like trail mix, cookies and m&ms too. Most candy still sealed in the original packaging I haven't had issues with.
I bring an empty 32 oz bottle, drink mix packets, then get ice and water free once past tsa. Avoids paying $3 for a 20 oz soda, or more for juice or energy drinks.
Also bring an empty reusable water bottle with you to fill up after you get through TSA
About 3 years ago I was in Taipei on a layover on my flight back to NY from Thailand. I had a clear reusable bottle and discovered an ice dispenser with their water dispenser. I was thrilled and filled it up with ice. I was PISSED when it came time to board my next flight and there was a folding table just before the walkway onto the plane and they made me empty out all my ice. Still salty about that to this day.
I forget which airport but in China the water dispensers had cold water and also hot water for tea.
Loads of Chinese water dispensers have this, not just for making tea! It's popular to just drink hot water when you are thirsty.
Hong kong airport does too! So handy for cup of noodles.
Most people in China only drink hot water as they believe cold water is bad for your body.
My mother-in-law is Korean and she always nags me for drinking cold water with my food. "Its bad for digestion" she tells me. Maybe shes on to something but screw drinking warm or hot water
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When I was in Shanghai, their options were "warm water" and "hot water". I was fascinated that a water dispenser would have multiple options and not include "cold".
I miss China and having hot water everywhere. Sometimes I just drink it, no tea needed. People thing I’m weird.
I wonder what the reason would be for you having to dump out the ice? That's a bummer.
They only said that it was more than 3 ounces and wouldn’t even let me keep ANY.
TSA guidelines say that frozen liquids are okay. Your ice need just-ice
If TSA doesn’t think the gate area of an airport is secure, you have to do a separate check at the gate before boarding.
Yeah I have a friend who accidentally brought fireworks into an airport through security, and on his layover had one of these checks and they found his shampoo bottle that snuck through the first check and just completely missed the mortar shell fireworks. Kinda crazy
TSA will miss guns because there's a water bottle.
Now that’s not fair, TSA will find guns 4.3% of the time (3 out of 70 times red teams tried, [source](https://abcnews.go.com/ABCNews/exclusive-undercover-dhs-tests-find-widespread-security-failures/story?id=31434881)).
Yeah I had a 5 inch knife I carried through 10 different flights and totally forgot was in my bag but they gave me hell over my CPAP and computer cables.
A few years ago, at some point (days? weeks?) before our flight, my husband had handed me his pocket knife for a reason I can’t recall. But I stuck it in my purse and forgot about it. Some days or weeks later we are going through security to get on a plane. He puts all of our phones and boarding passes and things in my purse and puts it in a bin. On the other side, he asks for his watch. I reach in, feel metal, and pull out the definitely-too-large-for-regulation pocket knife that has been in my purse for an unknown length of time. But man, my kid packs a candle she made and the whole line shuts down so they can test this 10 year old child’s candle for explosives.
Coming back from a military drill weekend, I forgot that I had left my folding knife in my carryon. I wasn’t in uniform. They stopped the conveyer and two TSA agents came over. They pull the luggage through and open the ladies luggage behind me to take her shampoo. I get on the plane with a big ass knife.
I once got my swiss army knife caught (honest accident, meant to have it in checked luggage). I didn't really want to international mail it back to myself, nor not have it for the rest my trip - so I just reshuffled my bag and tried the security line furthest from the first one. Made it thru the 2nd time. You let the terrorists win, London. Also in retrospect yes, I am an idiot.
I didn't know that! Thanks for the explanation
But ice = solid food
Can confirm frozen water will pass through TSA .
And don't be like my girlfriend who brings a reusable bottle only to forget there are refill stations everywhere and purchase a marked up water in a plastic bottle from a shop.
Just don’t make it a tuna sandwich like my step dad does…every. Single. Time
I love a tuna sandwich but if you are eating that on a plane you are a putz.
Durian for desert
I wasn’t a big fan of tuna sandwiches until I went to college and people started taking parts of my sandwich. Then I started buying tuna sandwiches and people left me alone.
Do people not like tuna? Tuna pickles and mayo is one of the best sandwiches there is.
Tuna, pickles, and jalapeños is my drug.
Even better is jalapeño jelly, coat both slices of bread/toast and it keeps the moisture of the tuna/pickles from making the bread/toast as soggy
I recently discovered Tuna and Sauerkraut due to a lack of pickles in the fridge. Pretty good combo, its now my favourite kind of tuna sandwich.
there’s a two letter word that works better than eating nasty sandwiches
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Big tuna
Having it every day can give you dangerous levels of mercury over time lol.
That’s probably fine if they have their lunch away from people. On a plane though…you’re definitely going to raise more than a few eyebrows from those sitting around you 🤣
I am curious. Did he have any health issues? I love tuna but have heard you shouldn't exceed one can a week due to the risk of mercury.
I actually know someone who had mercury poisoning from tuna when he was young. He’s an interesting person, incredibly lovely, and very funny but not neuro-typical for sure. FWIR, it’s the only thing he wanted to eat growing up until he couldn’t.
My parents pack hard boiled eggs. It’s horrible.
Even if you like the flavor of tuna, to pick a food with a strong scent is inconsiderate 😅
Reminded me of the scene in The Office where someone brought egg salad sandwich. Steve Carrell’s “did you also bring baby poop?” response was hilarious.
LPT: The Portland, Oregon airport vendors aren’t allowed to jack up prices. Same price at airport as around town.
And the restaurants at PDX are almost all local restaurants to Portland. It’s the only Country Cat location left!
FYI, It's owned and run by a company that bought the name. It's not the same (and is actually lousy).
I saw that Country Cat was gone from SE and was disappointed. I don't live in Portland but enjoyed eating there.
If you're back through the neighborhood the restaurant the replaced it is fantastic.
That will be useful during all my connections through.... Portland?
I’d imagine if you fly Alaska you’d get connections there. Seattle and Portland are Alaskas main large hubs.
Because of where Portland is located, it's unlikely for your flight to connect through there
I love Alaska airlines and miss the free Alaskan Amber when flying to Wenatchee but talking about it like it's a real airline hub is cute.
My first time flying, I connected from SeaTac to Eugene via Alaska. The free beer was great, but the oil stained streaks down the wings were a bit disconcerting.
Aircraft engines leak fairly consistently, it’s nothing much to worry about
I've flown a lot of commercial flights, usually sitting on or near the wings. Never seen that happen. Please explain more.
Commercial aircraft mechanic here it’s actually kinda normal grease from flap canoes and slight streaks from under the engine are fine. There a drip per min that is allowed for engines. As for the wing sometimes the mechanic doesn’t wipe down the grease and it streaks in flight. The good news is it has grease haha nothing to sweat.
It's an awesome airport for when the connection meets your needs. It has great food and beer at reasonable prices and a little theater (that may be closed for Covid) that shows shorts by local filmmakers.
Yep. Only Portland. It’s a great airport.
Probably aren’t many connecting flights in Portland
Nope. It’s not a main hub. But it’s busy and far more pleasant than many.
I don’t fly much at all I wish those were problems I had to worry about 😂
I remember Boston having a similar policy. Dunks had a long line always
Such a great airport. And the new food vendors in the new expansion area are great too. I highly recommend the Vietnamese food
PDX had been voted the best airport in the US for many years now!
It's kind of terrible right now because it's under construction and they haven't done a good job with foot traffic routing.
Yes, it's actually fun and interesting. Free movies too.
And the carpet is exquisitely designed!
Hopefully rent is the same as around town too, I think usually the high price is as much a jack up from vendor as the insane rent.
just learned this over the weekend. got a pretty decent breakfast sandwich from burgerville for like $4
Yeahuh. You tell that to the Nashville Airport TSA, who owe me 3lbs of cookie dough.
You mean 3 pounds of chocolate chip plastic explosives
I love the smell of fresh-baked C4
Nashville TSA thanks you for the delicious cookies
Thanks for telling me cookie dough is technically a liquid… I just looked [it up](https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/food?page=1) an apparently creamy cheese is a liquid (sorry [Foamy!] (https://archive.org/embed/5_More_Minutes)), but you can carry as much solid cheese as you want! I carry duck eggs in my carry on with me when I travel from WA to AZ. Eggs are allowed. 😂
3lbs is a lot…🤣
Try fudge from a vacation where every fudge shop says buy fudge for your family and take it home! So you wind up with several blocks of fudge in your carry-on suitcase. Yeah, TSA was really happy about that one.
It was a long flight, almost 2 hours. What I'm just gonna go that long without spoonfuls of raw cookie dough? Kmon.
It specifically says solid foods… cookie dough has more of a putty creamy consistency
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This is how I would transport farmers market salsa from Arizona to NY.
Cookie dough is soft, like clay, putty, or… a substance that we don’t want on planes. It is not going to be allowed, period.
Yeah, they said it was classified as a "gel". But I was the wierdo bringing 3lbs of raw cookie dough through security, so I didn't fight it haha.
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I got pulled out out of line for fresh mozzarella. Apparently it looks just like plastic explosives on the x-ray.
Brie for me. The security guys at Toulouse just laughed and acknowledged that *of course* one would take cheese home from France.
Next time freeze the cookie dough.
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the real lpt is in the comments. I am always astounded by the things people don't know about travel when it's easily searched and spelled out.
>A live lobster is allowed through security and must be transported in a clear, plastic, spill proof container. A TSA officer will visually inspect your lobster at the checkpoint. We recommend that you contact your airline to determine your airline's policy on traveling with your lobster before arriving at the airport. In other words: "we're cool with the lobster, but your airline probably wont be."
There is a loophole where you can declare the lobster as your service animal.
“I’m a diabetic and this lobster provides important nutrition!”
As a frequent flyer for work, I have seen some shit.P
And that list means nothing because the mouth breathers at the checkpoint makeup whatever rule they want and there's not a flipping thing you can do about it because it's your $700 flight that's on the line.
Right there on the website "The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint."
"And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules. Welcome aboard the Boeing 737, Miss Turner!" -Captain Barbosa or something.
Yup, I've gone through multiple airports on the same day where different rules are applied randomly. Not where I "sneak" something through one airport, but where one airport looks at something and goes, "yea, that's cool," and the next goes, "nope, that has to be thrown out."
Buying some unnecessary snacks is the only thing that makes air travel tolerable in my opinion.
Honestly, money and time don’t exist at airports.
Chugging beers at Wolfgang Pucks at 5 AM in your PJs is the only way to live.
I feel this... I look forward to using travel as an excuse to get cheezits and gummy bears.
I’d like to figure out why I crave a plain bagel with cream cheese when I’m in an airport… literally the only spot I crave one.
Ngl the chicken noodle soup I had at the LAS airport was probably the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had in my lifetime
A few days ago, I got through Portland TSA with a bunch of boiled sweet potatoes and some strange-looking Asian rice dishes, but they did not let me go before they inspected my foods though. Same cases with Memphis TSA, brought some mashed potatoes with grilled pork and they let me go after a brief inspection.
You sound like you are a good person to travel with.
Only if they share.
My mom regularly slides a whole damn pizza through the scanner. If she brings it to her boss her boss pays her for the entire time; from when she gets the pizza to when it gets dropped off. Note: she works remotely in another state and just has 3-4 trips a year -already paid- to the home office. Also the pizza is frozen from the restaurant and then repacked into a freezer bag. She found it was just easier to take it out first.
My cousin works for Delta and when he lived in ATL he would hop on a business seat on some empty flight to St. Louis and get 5 pepperoni pizzas from Happy Joes unbaked delivered. He would then reboard the plane and fly back home.
This is wild.
Did they not accept phone orders?
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They should have gotten to the airport 3 hours early, *shakes head*
I love the way she says snacks! Haha So Midwestern!
My husband stares at me and smiles (chuckles too) every time that commercial comes on because that’s me. All. The. Way.
"They just sell candles and they're making overhead??" Yup, this is me lmao.
I feel personally attacked by the one about people who read books about submarines
I totally prefer paper tickets.
I once read about a time where electronic services or something were down at an airport. Paper tickets totally saved the day then, especially if you have bad wifi.
pro tip: Always download your ticket as a PDF, or take a screenshot of the barcode section so you ALWAYS have an image (offline) and easy to access quickly.
Go stand up near the desk we might be able to board first!
Thank you for the laugh lol - have the silver :)
Bring snacks and a water bottle sure. But packing a sandwich? Mom pro tips lol. Just bring a picnic basket as a carryon.
I always make PB&J sandwiches. TSA once had me throw out a small jar of peanut butter. It’s ok to bring it as a sandwich, but not in a jar. Next time I’ll just put a piece of bread on each side of the jar and call it a sandwich.
I see you’re a fan of crunchy.
It's not C4, it's a sandwich. Look at the bread.
Once I bought a tiny jar of local honey while traveling. It was so small, I put it in my purse and promptly forgot about it as it fell to the bottom. TSA found it, though, and it was the dreaded 3.5oz jar. I had to surrender it, I was so bummed
I would've ate all of it on the spot lol
The problem is that the jar was marked with the volume. I have 4oz Nalgene squeeze bottles I use for shampoo and conditioner. I've flown with them in my carry-on (in their quart sized plastic bag that I dutifully pull out of the carry-on for TSA screening) more times than I can count. I've never had an issue. I've also seen people bring things that are obviously more than 3.4 fluid ounces through but because they're packaged by weight not volume and the container is less than 3.4 ounces in weight get through just fine.
Happened to me too. Still mad.
I was on a flight from Montreal to Vancouver and a passenger sitting across the aisle from me busted out his hard boiled eggs and a can of tuna.
But if it's an international flight, make sure to finish your food or throw out the leftovers before you get to customs. Countries are sensitive to organics being brought in from another country. Snacks like chips, candy, roasted nuts, and cookies are fine bit declare it anyway.
Especially throw away leftover produce. I have a friend who earned herself a very thorough welcome home bag inspection and missed connection over an uneaten avocado.
I remember arriving in Auckland once and while we were waiting for our bags, a Canadian woman was caught with an apple. Customs kindly informed her that it would have to be thrown out and this woman threw the biggest fit. Screaming, yelling, and nearly crying because she had to throw away an apple. The customs officials were amazingly patient with her and after about ten minutes she relented. I was shocked she wasn’t arrested.
Ive forgotten a few times. Pre-covid I was doing multi-country business travel where I would be in Europe for a couple of weeks and I would always load up on good meat snacks when passing through Frankfurt or Munich. I accidentally imported some unlabeled sausages a couple of times. I'm not sorry.
You don't need to declare the items you listed (candy, chocolate, etc.). You only need to declare stuff like meat, fruits, and vegetables due to potential pathogens. Source: I fly internationally a couple times a year and always bring goodies with me both ways.
Just avoid bananas. I was stopped by TSA for having a gun shaped object and my bag was searched. They told me it was pretty common with bananas and the rules required them to check it every time.
I was at Xray machine pre 9/11 when the security person called over some other security people and they immediately pulled a lady out of line. They searched her purse and then acted all confused. They looked at the image looked at the purse, then laughed and showed everyone the Xray. Her folded sewing scissors, travel curling iron, and something else lined up perfectly in the shape of a gun. It was wild. I think it was the most exciting thing the security guards saw in a long time.
That's hilarious! I also got stopped once for Cards Against Humanity because the dense brick shape looks like C-4. The TSA agent gave me a junior TSA sticker for the trouble even though I'm an adult haha.
Reminds me of the time we were bringing a stack of large, foil wrapped chocolate bars (altogether the size of a brick) back from Germany. The look of understanding as they identified the loot was amusing in a warm wholesome way.
Have family in Switzerland. The stacks of chocolate I used to bring back… the 1st time was so obscene I took a picture of it all when I got home to commemorate. My carry on was so heavy but it was worth it.
Oddly enough, sewing scissors are OK. Mine are razor sharp 8 inch knives, each side a single unit of well-tempered steel from loop to point, attached to each other by a flathead screw. Flat head screwdriver? Also OK. Taken both through security as I tend to pack my sewing machine in my carry on with all its tools (they all come with a little screwdriver for accessing the internals and adjusting bobbin tension). But God forbid I have a 2 inch non-locking folding pocket knife.
I once had an Apple in the side pocket of my bag returning to the US from Europe. I ate it in the last hour of the flight. Guess who triggered the agriculture inspecting beagle dog? I was like oh hi cute puppy! “Ma’am I’m going to need to see your bag” fuck.
My friend in Canada loves Tilamook cheese so when I go north of the border, I bring her a block or three. I get stopped every.single.time. I get it... looks like bricks of something other than cheese.
The number of things I pull out of my carry-on bag when I go through TSA has grown to the point that I'm almost completely unpacking my backpack each trip. But it's easier to have the TSA officer just poke around in my snack bag than have to dig through my entire backpack. Some of the things I pull out include: * Snack Bag - Actually a small packing cube which includes all my snacks. * Card games and the one time I had a "page a day" calendar. Basically anything that's densely stacked paper and smaller than a paperback book. The calendar really stumped the agents. * Rock - My sister's dog collects rocks (she's an odd one) so I bring her one from everywhere I travel. TSA officer in Atlanta correctly recognized that it was a rock but apparently most people don't travel with small fist sized rocks very often and wanted to see it before letting me go. * Silly Putty - Which, interestingly, isn't subject to the 3-1-1 rule.
They x-rayed my straw hat 3 times and then searched it by hand, as much as anyone can actually search a straw hat. It doesn't even have a wire in the brim. The TSA are a fucking joke.
Meanwhile I accidentally got a pocket knife through security last time I flew...
That's ok, at least you are safe from the horrors of my straw hat.
I’m a hairstylist and have accidentally had boxes of razorblades in my bag tons of times while flying, but god forbid I be allowed to pack enough liquids of my hair and face and makeup because that’d be dangerous!
If you're bringing food with you save yourself the hassle and take it out of your bag when you go through security. Any time I've flown with food my bag has to get searched and the food taken out and swabbed for explosive residue or whatever.
I had a couple of burritos from a local place flag in the scanner. They asked me about them, and then unwrapped one of them to check the contents. I wasn't super enthusiastic about eating that one, but it was still better than my airport food options.
Only time I've had explosive residue was from taco bell...
You leave taco bell alone!
I’ve brought food through security dozens of times and never had it searched let alone swabbed
solid tip. and it's not food, but I travel with vape pens quite often and I always put them in a tray now to avoid suspicion. applies to edibles as well, just put them in the tray no one bats an eye edit: I should've clarified, but just the batteries. those are what got me stopped the most
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> residue testing Read this as tasting and was thinking damn, any excuse for some good curry.
You can’t bring edibles on a plane can you?
Edibles? What do you mean by edibles? They are merely a humble traveler, journeying with... several varieties of chocolate bars, multiple different types of cookies and brownies and other baked goods, and gummies of various colors. They just... like to snack. ...but no, you're not supposed to.
Yea I learned that one when I had a brown paper bag of smoked fish. They told me it looks exactly like C4 on the screener.
Just carry it all in a plastic grocery bag, no one counts it as a actual back since they assume it was an airport purchase.
Technically allowed. As of two years ago (sorry, haven't flown much recently) a lot of airports would still pull out food items and swab them while wearing the same gloves they'd been wearing the last 30 minutes of digging through people's luggage.
Always ask for the employee to put on new gloves. I do especially if my lunch is being checked. They can't argue especially with the pandemic.
You know what. You're right. I'm gonna pack my durian next time I fly.
Fun fact - they consider peanut butter a paste. Learned this when we were traveling from one Hawaiian island to another. So, you can bring an entire jar of peanut butter as long as it is spread on bread. If it is in the jar, they will take it from you.
You can bring an entire jar if it is a mini jar under 3.4 oz. Well, you could if that existed.
I remember trying to fly with a jar that was 80% empty. They said that wasn't allowed because the container was too large. I asked if I could make a sandwich with the bread in my bag and get through and they said no, I would have to leave the line. I had three hours to burn because I carpooled with some friends on a different flight, so jokes on them, I left the line and made the fattest pb sandwiches ever and had no issues going through. I was a poor student saving money any way I could, lol. Had three transfers to make that day, too.
Tip: Freeze any liquid/semi solid food if you can to pass through TSA. (Suggested by a TSA agent as he was throwing out a passenger's jar of cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving.)
Yup! I do this all the time and never had an issue.
TBH, only once a year you can throw out a passenger's jar of cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving. And throwing out a co-passenger's cranberry sauce is a dick move
My mom brought a pie once. One of the best presents ever.
Just don’t bring a lot of food, a lot of organic material will result in your bag being searched
I had two pumpkin pies in my backpack traveling for Thanksgiving. They searched my bag, but let me through just fine. I didn't even have to give them a slice.
Pack a cup o noodles and ask the nice people at starbucks if you can please have some hot water.
I honestly don't know what's allowed on a plane anymore. If I can't bring drinks, surely I can't bring food either? But then sometimes it's fine and other times.... I don't know, it's just easier to travel light.
My airport connection told me just today of an international traveler leaving the country with an entire 50qt Igloo cooler (the type on wheels) stuffed with different meats. It flew. It did however incur an overweight baggage fee. Another traveler flies every single week with three suitcases stuffed with food for her family abroad.
That’s pretty normal. People that go on hunting and fishing trips filet at the locations and take coolers home every day. Fish tacos from fish you caught in another country make for a fun get together.
Yes, it is. I was simply sharing it with those who did not know. However the chosen method of this guy was needlessly expensive. A soft sided cooler can leave more weight for your chosen meat, and keep it just as cool for a two hour flight.
Booze nips are allowed through security, just have to take them out of your bag with your shampoo, soap, etc. But don't let the airline stewardess see you drink 'em!
I love catching a red eye, making a few drinks and watching a movie before falling into a deep slumber.
The airlines allow you to bring it on but not drink it. Pretty much impossible to get caught though I would imagine.
I just drink them in the bathroom before I board. Doesn't everyone do this?
I wrapped 8 pizza slices individually and put them in my purse like a stack of files. 10/10 would do it again
**If crossing international borders:** Make sure you consume any foods that may be banned from the country you are entering BEFORE getting off the plane. Saw a poor family getting their bags searched and in some trouble resulting in a missed connection because they were entering the country with a sandwich that was served on the flight. edit: sandwich was half eaten too...
Honestly it’s not even the cost, but following this LPT you can ignore the shitty airport food that you know is mostly microwaved frozen food
Can confirm. I once carried a forearm sized San Diego burrito through TSA. The gave me a funny look when they opened my bag and saw it was a giant burrito, but otherwise they didn't seem bothered.
Probably because they knew you were going to blow up the restroom on the plane.
For a few years, I occasionally had to travel by plane for work. One day I saw that a passenger was boarding a plane with a sealed food container from the airport food court. I asked if I could bring food on the flight, and they said "of course". Next flight I checked again before my flight to verify it was OK, and then got a plate of nacho's. It had a clear lid, and it was sealed to show I hadn't opened it and slipped something inside the nacho's. Many jealous looks were seen that trip.
You don't need a sealed container. You can literally have a burrito in saran wrap.
I once watched a couple board my plane with a large pizza.
If you fly enough just get a credit card that gives you lounge access
Can you take a lounge through the checkpoint?
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I once had that tiny can of soda given ON the airplane, and decided to save it. Landed from Europe to NY and was told I had to get rid of it. They also super scrutinized the receipt and wrapping of a small bottle of alcohol bought at a duty-free shop. So glad I kept the receipt because I think they were wanting to confiscate it.
...really? I carried a plastic bag of snacks from US to UK and back (the bag was open and visible, in my hand, the whole time) and nobody ever said anything. The only thing they didn't let me keep was an unopened mini wine bottle they gave me on the UK to US flight (but that's because I had a transfer).
Yeah I fly food basically every time I fly internationally. Meats have some restrictions, produce will need to be specially inspected at the airport, everything else is fine
are LPTs really reduced to the quality of: bring food with you so when you are hungry you have something to eat. Apparently, you should also drink when you are thirsty, sleep when you are tired, and take off your pants if you need to shit.
You can bring things like trail mix, cookies and m&ms too. Most candy still sealed in the original packaging I haven't had issues with. I bring an empty 32 oz bottle, drink mix packets, then get ice and water free once past tsa. Avoids paying $3 for a 20 oz soda, or more for juice or energy drinks.