Most Unusual TSA Confiscations: What They’ve Intercepted
If you’ve taken an airplane, then you’ve seen the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA typically examines the clothing, laptops, and shoes of airline passengers. According to the TSA, they screen around 1.4 million checked items daily and about 5.5 million carry-on items daily. Usually, flagged items are oversized bottles of liquids, gels, aerosols, lighters, or sharp objects. However, the TSA encounters items that even the most experienced agent finds astonishing. These items undergo screening and are sometimes featured on the TSA’s Instagram account.
Their Instagram showcases items that might cause raised eyebrows but manage to pass through the security checks. For instance, a zombie-like movie prop was permitted at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The account also provides examples of items that fail to meet the security requirements and must be confiscated. Some of the confiscated items often prompt travelers to wonder, “Did someone really try to bring that onto an airplane?”
Bounce, a luggage storage app, reviewed the TSA’s Instagram account to compile a list of the most unusual items confiscated during security screenings across the United States.
TSA Confiscations
TSA officers stationed at Tampa International Airport likely found themselves wishing that “Snakes on a Plane” was purely a work of fiction. In January, they stumbled upon a 4-foot boa constrictor concealed within a rolling bag. It was coiled among shoes and personal items. This unexpected reptilian traveler was detected by agents as a passenger attempted to send it through the X-ray machine.
Officers at Nashville International Airport had to confiscate oversized ceremonial scissors due to safety concerns.
According to TSA agents, they intercepted a suitcase filled with maggots at LaGuardia Airport. This resulted in the evacuation of the area and the deployment of a cleaning crew to decontaminate the surroundings after this unpleasant discovery.
In another peculiar screening incident at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a traveler attempted to bring a glove resembling Freddy Krueger’s hand. It was complete with attached knives. The passenger learned gloves with attached knives are prohibited in carry-on luggage.
Check out their complete list of TSA-confiscated finds here.