I just accidently carried my handgun through tsa security at Austin airport. I'd packed it in this bag for local travel and somehow completely missed that it was in there when I rush packed last night. Austin PD secured my weapon, made a report, and rsa escorted me to my vehicle to secure it and then back to the airport so inwouldnt miss my flight. The police mentioned this could be a felony but theybusially see the charges dropped. Does anyone know what future travel will look like for me? Honestly it was a pretty pleasant experience, everyone was so nice and apparently it happens like three times a day. 😳

Edit: Most of you copying and pasting each others comments, are overweight and underpaid. Frankly if you’ve not a veteran brother or sister of mine, your opinions have a difficult time registering with me.

Those of you whose reading comprehension hasn’t failed them, thank you for answering the question! I’m a little concerned about the fact that the weapon wasn’t confiscated, if I’m being honest. Has this occurred before? No, and it’s what happens when you’re on autopilot and not focused on the task at hand. Shit happens, ask your parents.

UPDATE: I have found a stick in Edinburgh! Turns out there are plenty there. Haha. Thanks for all your advice!

Oh, and if you’re curious, I need it for a show I’m performing. :)

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I am flying from Boston to Edinburgh (UK) this Sunday night, and I need to know if I can bring my walking stick through TSA. I’m 5’3” and this stick is 4’7” long and thin (4” in circumference at its thickest).

I’m also a flight attendant, so I don’t want to get in trouble but it’s hilarious and I’m thinking of buying it

Edit: Jesus, all of you must be so fun at parties. No sense of humor whatsoever. And stop asking me if it’s a joke or a troll post, I’m asking a genuine question. Get the stick out of your ass

yeah, the long lines are absolutely because TSA is understaffed. No argument there. But when people show up at 6am for a flight at 12, they’re adding to the exact backlog they’re afraid of being apart of.

When thousands of travelers arrive way earlier than needed, they flood the checkpoints at the same time, and TSA can’t magically scale up just because your flight isn’t for six hours. It turns normal morning crowds into a disaster.

Not blaming individuals, just pointing out that when everyone does it, the system breaks even further than it already has.

ETA: I found another post about the same person. https://www.reddit.com/r/tsa/s/Ywn6mrETzW

I’m looking for some advice, because I’m not sure what to do.

Several weeks ago, I went on vacation. I noticed the TSA agent at the metal detector with some very “pro-republican” tattoos. The agent had on shorts and a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Because my daughter kept leaving metal in her pockets, I had an extra minute to process what I saw. My husband is a naturalized citizen; I am hyper vigilant about hate groups because of my kids. I scanned his body and saw that he had multiple symbols tattooed on him and one could be associated with a hate group.

I recently googled “white supremacy tattoos symbols” and THREE of his tattoos were on the list. He also had multiple bandages/tape on his legs. I recognize that pro-trump tattoos are freedom of speech, but are symbols of white supremacy?

I get the need to protect free speech even though I might not agree. However, hate groups are not legal… and agents cannot have bias with safety.

Should I email the TSA? Contact the airport? This seems like it’s something other than the “contact us” link. Any advice is appreciated.

I am in a very, very blue state, in a very blue county, in a very blue city. I honestly thought I was over reacting, or I’d have done something at the airport.

Passengers, please when you’re packing please keep in mind you’re subject to search as soon as you enter an airport, we already dislike having to go into your bags as much as you guys do, so don’t over stuff your bag with stuff you probably didn’t even use/need especially down in checked bags, we have to dig to find your laptops, and then repack but we don’t have the luxury of time or to pack as meticulously as you did, so please keep mind when you travel there’s always a chance of us looking through your stuff nd to make it easy for the both of us don’t over stuff.

It is shameful the way Transgender Officers are being targeted, and not allowed to perform the full scope of their duties, due to hatred and bigotry.

They say for now it won’t affect promotions, etc, but it could easily go that way if this chaos continues.

Know that a lot of us at the agency know you personally, and have your backs, and we love you.

Hello general traveling public! Thanks for booking a flight and ensuring we keep our job. Just a couple of things!

When you are at a airport, dont expect the rules and regulations to be the same as a different airport. We do not care about what you didn't have to do at a different airport. We operate based on our equipment at our airport.

When you are at the part of the TSA process to remove items or put your stuff in bins. Please dont interrupt us if we are in the middle of saying what you have to do. Chances are almost all of your questions will be answered in the spill we do. Including what you can and cant keep on, what you can and cant have in your bags.

Also please actually listen to what we have to say, dont just assume you know what you do or dont need to do. Even if you travel through the same airport once a week. It could've changed since the last time you travel. Especially dont get angry and berate us for your failure to listen. If you had just done what we asked in the first place as we explained it to you at least twice before your items went into the XRAY you wouldnt have to be delayed.

We don't like doing pat downs, especially senstive areas pat down. However if you alarm somewhere we are required to pat you down in the highlighed areas. You arguing with us about this does not change what we are required to do. Also dont make it weird. Just because we are touching a private area doesn't mean you can say something gross. Examples include but not limited to "not even my (husband/wife) touches me like that!" Or "no one touched me there in a while" etc etc. We are just doing our job.

Thanks for your time.

Edit: a ton of yall are arguing in the comments about how different airports have different rules is exactly why I posted this. It also makes it even more clear who listens and comperhands and who doesn't. My whole post was about just listening instead of reacting. Which is exactly why I said to listen to whoever is at whatever part of the TSA screening process and not assume you know what to do.

it’s for my halloween costume

Or jewelry as well. I tell passengers to put their phone and wallets in their bag to keep it safe and they look at me like I told them to perform brain surgery. I noticed the phone is the first thing to be put in a bin or the first question asked is “do we take cell phones out” I’m not sure what airports you guys are flying to where they’re making you take out phones. But when we ask you to put it in your bag, please don’t refuse or challenge us on it. It’s actually for your benefit.

This should be a no brainer to the traveling public. But, when going through a checkpoint, do not engage the xray operator in any way. They need to focus on their important task. Distraction s can cause something undesirable to make it thorough. Thank you.

I will be traveling abroad and need a lock to use at my hostel. I won't be locking anything on the plane just bringing it in my carry on. I thought I read somewhere that you can't bring these locks on planes (after i bought it) but can't find a straight answer. Please let me know, thank you!

I know open food items can’t be accepted because it could be laced with poison, but what about sealed food items? Gift cards? Anything else TSA officers might enjoy?

Edit: I saw a comment that quickly got deleted, and for that person specifically, yes. I was also employed by the government during a shutdown. I was in the Coast Guard and also had to work for free. I don’t know why you were so snarky, literally all I’m asking is a goodwill question.

I want to bring a Lego gun that I got for my bf for Christmas through TSA in my carry on but I was just wondering if that’s allowed? It’s unbuilt and I haven’t opened it yet

Zipper is shaped as a bullet but it’s not a real bullet, not sure if they are gonna question it or not allow me to bring it on my trip internationally.

I can’t find the charger I used to travel with, and this is all I’ve got. Is this okay?

To passengers: Please stop assuming you know what you're doing in a checkpoint. Equipment and procedures may be different than your last airport. Please just listen, put your phone down, and ask questions after all instructions have been given.

Sooo I'm trans (MtF) and have a flight in a couple weeks. I have pre-check and added touchless ID to my Delta flights. My RealID driver's license has Sex: M (I can't change it), my legal guy name (matches my tickets), and a photo that literally does not resemble me at all anymore... A couple professional level facial matching and recognition tools I have access to (obviously not as good as IDEMIA / CAT2) report negative matches (ranging between 20-40% similarity) due to bone structure changes from surgery.

My state takes forever to mail a new license when you renew or get an updated picture, and they take your license and give you a "temporary" one which is just a piece of paper. I didn't realize I'd be flying any time soon, so I haven't bothered getting a new one since I'm starting a name change process. I definitely wouldn't get it in time if I went to a DMV on Monday.

With all the anti-trans stuff getting worse and worse, and "trans-ideology" being included as a target in the counterterrorism strategy released this week... I'm a little worried about getting through TSA or getting detained or something. I'll be going through security at three different airports - SEA, MCI, and SFO. I don't have any other sort of ID with a new photo to bring with me...

Would TSA agents still let me through? Or is there a good enough chance I could get suspected of fraud and detained that I should cancel my flights?

(Sorry if this doesn't belong here or if I did something wrong since it's getting downvoted, I'll remove it if I did.)

To be clear, I think you should be able to refuse the photo and still board your flight. However, TSA PreCheck is a voluntary (on both sides) program where you voluntarily waive some of your rights, and in exchange, you receive expedited screening in airports. Absolutely nobody is forcing you to participate - standard screening is always, and will always, be an option for you to safely board your flight. And as is made very clear from the moment you sign up, Trusted Traveler Programs are privileges that can be revoked at any time - not rights that are guaranteed.

So you shouldn’t be able to refuse the photo and still use TSA PreCheck. I’m not suggesting you be removed from the program - simply that if you would like to not participate in the photo, TSA will be happy to serve you over in the general screening lanes today. First of all, it delays everybody behind you, sometimes pretty significantly depending on the station. We all paid a fee and waived some of our rights for expedited screening. It should be exactly that - expedited. I didn’t pay extra to miss my flight because you wanted to put on a performative display of “but muh freedumbs” when you already gave up your biometrics at your enrollment appointment.

Second of all, TSA PreCheck memberships are non-transferable. It is important that there be a positive match between the person who initially enrolled in the program, and the person physically presenting themselves for screening today. If you’d rather have this checked manually, that’s fine, but humans make mistakes, and the compensating control should be a little more screening (the same as if you’d forgotten your ID or didn’t have a compliant ID).

Again, I’m not suggesting your freedom of movement be restricted for a refusal (and in some countries it would be - for example UK/CTA domestic flights out of LHR). All I’m saying is if you want special treatment, you should be prepared to play by the rules - otherwise, you can opt to be screened just like any other passenger would be.

Sincerely, an exhausted passenger whose home airport has a very above average refusal rate.

Yes, I know half of the answers are going to be, "ultimately it's up to the officer" which seems foolishly arbitrary and exactly the opposite of creating a federal department and having official policy (as well as ripe for corruption and discrimination) but that's a different thread and not really what I'm curious about.

I forgot to empty my water bottle and he refused to dump it in the water fountain that was right next to him. Instead he walked me back to the beginning and said I could drink it there or dump it there and then go through security again. He was very clear that I could just drink it but I would still have to do it at the beginning of security and go through again either way. (Of course, this part made me giggle later because I would still be taking said liquid on to the plane with me if I had drank it. ; )

I've never heard of this and was curious if this is a common variation on the rule or not. It's been a while since I made this mistake but in the past they've just dumped it out and then neither my nor their time was wasted.

I know my post is a bit sarcastic, I know it's my fault for not dumping my water bottle and I know I can't change anything by complaining on Reddit. I'm really just wondering how common this practice is. I will try harder in the future to remember to dump my water bottle before going through.