r/tsa

Just wanted to say I flew out from MYR on 8/14, and my TSA agent was pretty damn good-looking guy. Quite tall, blondish, and very nice personality. Made my night! Whoever you are, thanks!

I will be taking a trip with my soon to be fiancé in October, we originally were going to make it road trip but plans changed and we are flying now. I’m a little nervous going through the airport with the ring and TSA giving it away when the bags get scanned/checked (I’ve never flown, so I don’t really know how all that works😅). Do you guys have any tips on how to keep it hidden and what not?
Thank you in advanced!!

Hi there.

I travel quite frequently (internationally at least 2x every year). I’m a US citizen (born in NJ) as are my family members. I got PreCheck over 9 years ago, Global in 2019 and upgraded to NEXUS in 2022. Whenever I travel I always ensure that my carry ons are fine (nothing sharp, no liquids, etc.).

I’ve really had no problems going through security until this year. I’ve never been stopped before, traveling with or without others, until May. I was at Dulles with my grandparents (flying to LHR) and I was the only one stopped. During our return (KEF-JFK-IAD) I was stopped too (in Reykjavik - we took a cruise that started in Southampton and ended there).

I just got off another cruise with my family that started in Vancouver and ended in Honolulu and the same thing happened: got stopped in PHL going to YVR, and was stopped in HNL flying back to PHL; I was the only one of us four to be stopped at all. The officers in HNL said that it was because my bag was flagged, but my bag hadn’t even gone through the x-ray when he told me to step aside.

Can anyone shine a light on why this may be happening? I really really dislike bringing race into this, but could it be because I’m of Indian descent (albeit 2nd generation) with an Indian name? Every single time I’ve done a background check for a job or apartment it’s come up 100% clean so I’m really confused why I keep getting stopped.

I apologize that this message is so long but I would really appreciate anyone’s insights on why this keeps on occurring. Thank you so much.

I recently submitted a transfer request to a large airport (MSP), and got listed as ineligible. While I am uncertain as to why, I believe it is because the airport may only he accepting females at this time, as this has happened at other airports I've applied for. If anyone here works at Minneapolis, can you confirm this for me? I'm just trying to make sure that I didn't do anything wrong

Anyone do their's yet? PSOs are taking forever this year and I just realized my airport only have 6 weeks left in the FY to complete the PSOs for Xray. What are we doing this year? I hope we go back tonthe old system next year.

I renewed my drivers license last week before finding out I would be flying this Friday, I currently only have my temporary license and paperwork from renewal as well as the old license from last week that has been clipped but has not yet reached expiration date. Will these be able to get me through security or should I just plan to go through Confirm ID? I don’t have a passport or any other acceptable ID that I’m aware of (SS card, birth certificate, conceal carry permit) is there any other supporting documentation (credit card insurance cards bank statements) I should bring or do they even consider that?

Is this something that is approved by TSA, airline, or airport at PIT?

Hello! I’ll be going on an international trip soon and was wondering if I can put shampoo, soap, and skincare in 5-35ml feeding syringes that will be capped off. These are different from IV syringes and have no needles/curo caps.

I saw this hack on social media and wanted to try it out to save space. What are the chances that my toiletries will get confiscated.

Hello,

I’m traveling with my 75 year old mother in a weeks time, and she had her wallet either lost or stolen a few days ago.

She immediately went to the NY DMV to get a replacement, but expected delivery time is 10-14 business days, and the flight was 8 business days from the time of the appointment. NY doesn’t have a rush option. So we’re hoping the new ID will arrive by the flight, but chances are, it wont.

She doesn’t have a passport or any other form of Real ID at the moment. Ironically she’s currently in the middle of getting a passport, but that also won’t be available in time (this is a domestic flight so can’t get that rushed either).

I had her fill out the ConfirmID form online, but I’m wondering if there’s anything else she can do or bring to the airport when we travel that will help? Every form of picture ID she had was in her wallet.

Would bringing an expired passport help at all, or any sort of mail? Or does she just need to show up at the airport and hope for the best?

Thanks so much

As long as you can do so w/o giving away any proprietary comany of government info -- Anybody in this role willing to share what the work is really like, beyond the describoption in the recruitment ad below? Best anbd worst parts fo the job for you?

... entry level Part time on-call Data Technician for upcoming work in various locations throughout the US. In this role you will support operational testing of various types of security equipment located in the nation’s airports. Data collection tasks may include manual data collection using mobile handheld technologies, downloading data stored on security equipment, conducting operator interviews, timing of processes/procedures, evaluating vendor/contractor-provided training, and providing daily input of activities to site lead(s) in a timely manner. Duties may also include passing through security equipment to test equipment and/or procedures. Candidates can be located anywhere throughout the United States near a major airport to be considered for this position. This is an on call position for surge support. You must be able and willing to travel up to 3 months at a time as needed....

I only know of one officer personally who used to be in the behavioral detection officer program, and when it was discontinued, they allowed him to keep his G band pay grade.

My friend and I are just trying to figure out what is going to happen when she steps down. She’s been a supervisor for more than 2 years, has no behavior issues, and is clean.

If you yourself have been in this situation, or know how this works, please let me know, thanks.

Jfk airport. I arrived 2 hours in advance but the line was HUGE so by the time i got to security check my boarding had already started and i was really stressed. They sent my bag to the more thorough check where they open it up and inspect the items.

The worker took my bag (it was the only one there) and instead of proceeding to open it was chit-chatting to his coworker. I tried to tell him as politely as possible: "Sorry, my flight is leaving in 15 min, can you please hurry up?" Now i would never say that to him WHILE he was checking the bag, but he was talking and i had no idea how much time that would take. He replied that i need to relax and i can't tell him how to do his job, to which i stayed quiet.

I need opinions, did I have the right to ask him that? Is there a more polite way to phrase it? Or was he in the wrong?

Yes i already know how dumb i am. I haven’t had solid plans to travel and the last time i traveled i was under 18 and didn’t need a real id. I booked this flight before knowing if id get tickets to a show and was unfortunately unsuccessful and it made me really put the whole trip on the back burner well now im in a spot where i believe i can buy a ticket off of someone and it just hit me theres 12 days left and i have 0 real ID. I found this backup option for a 45 dollar fee TSA may be able to verify you in person. For those who used it how did it go? i hate that this is my option but unfortunately due to my stupidity it’s pretty much my only option i’m gonna try for a real ID too but i don’t think i’ll get it in time.

When I last traveled by plane two years ago, I brought my power bank (Anker 337) with me in my personal bag, and had no issues going through security checkpoints at either JFK or LAX. However, I recently learned of capacity limits. I may also have a 5000 mAh (Anker 622 MagSafe) and a 10,000 mAh battery (part of my Belkin carrying case for my Switch 2) for my flight in two weeks, so those aren't gonna be an issue. The FAA website on lithium batteries mentions that any batteries between 101 and 160 Wh (Anker 337 has 134 Wh) requires airline approval. Would I be able to get airline approval before going through the security checkpoint, or am I better off leaving it at home?

I’m sure this question has been asked several times -

I’m 7 hours into this drive and realized I forgot my ID and passport at home. The only thing I have with my name and picture is my student ID.

What should I do? I read about the TSA ConfirmID - am I just suppose to pay the fee and tell the TSA officer when I show up or like do I need to fill something out?

Thank you.