TSA Confiscation Madness

Other posts by MudslideMama

Christmas Snow Globe - don’t pack it in your carry-on!

Picture this: Preparing for winter holiday season air travel. A security checkpoint line at the airport, as long as the eye can see. People looking forward to their Christmas vacations are busily unwrapping the gifts they plan to give, while others hush bored children and take off their shoes. A familiar scene, no doubt, played out over and over throughout the holiday travel season.For me, last year, the line was the first part of our vacation in Hawaii. No American Airlines frequent flier miles over this peak flying season (whenever we can take a family trip seems to be blackout days), so we booked cheap tickets (well, relatively cheap tickets) on Delta. And yes, those were my bored kids getting hushed. Thanks for reminding me.

But what’s this? The elderly woman ahead of me on line is upset, her voice raising angrily. It seems that the TSA has decided to ban snow globes in carry-on bags, so hers was confiscated. A gift, she explains, for grandchildren in Hawaii who have never seen snow. No matter; her snow globe is taken from her, and she bitterly passes through the metal detector. When it’s my turn, I ask the security dude why the TSA has decided to ban snow globes on airplanes, and he explained that terrorists could replace the water inside the globe with nitroglycerin. I glance at the elderly woman, who is unhappily recovering her Sudoku book and AARP magazine. Ladies and gentlemen, there it is: The face of terrorism! Go, TSA. Nice to know they’ve got the grannies-who-love-sudoku terrorist cell covered.


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January 9, 2008 | Filed Under Family Travel, Flying High, Travel News 

Comments

6 Responses to “TSA Confiscation Madness”

  1. cajunmama says:
    January 10, 2008 at

    Checking out of a hotel once, I was given a gift of a nice vodka pair. It was too late to put it in my suitcase (which would have injured an innocent bystander should I have tried to open it), so I had to place it in my carryon. Yup, it was confiscated. I’m sure some nice TSA officer enjoyed a martini with top shelf vodka.

  2. MudslideMama says:
    January 10, 2008 at

    Something like that happened to me on a couple of press trips too! What’s the point of going to Northern Cali wine Country if you can’t take a couple bottles of the good stuff home to share? Oh well – the most important thing is probably not to say anything snarky to the TSA officer, unless you want the possibility of getting tasered added to the end of a vacation. :)

  3. FREE Shipping from DermStore.com « Traveling Mamas says:
    January 11, 2008 at

    [...] I dig the little carry-on-approved containers and the fresh scent of the Purifying Cleansing Gel I tried tonight. I can’t wait [...]

  4. Top Rated Luxury Sunblocks, for Upscale Beach or Desert Vacations « Traveling Mamas says:
    March 18, 2008 at

    [...] in travel friendly sizes of 1.7 ounce tubes – no need to see luxury products get confiscated by overeager TSA employees. I didn’t like that the 1.7 ounce tubes cost $24 (for SPF 30) and $27 (for SPF 40). At that [...]

  5. Don’t Lose Your Stuff! Top 10 Tips for Safe Travel « Traveling Mamas says:
    May 5, 2008 at

    [...] Put a TSA-approved lock on your checked luggage. These ensure that the TSA won’t have to cut open your lock if someone decides your suitcase needs a closer look. In fact, [...]

  6. securoseal says:
    October 18, 2009 at

    A point to note if you’re checking in luggage is that many of the travel accessories that are sold as luggage security items (locks, cable ties, security seals, etc) do not actually work to protect your luggage. You’d think for the money spent on these things it would take time to break into a bag, but it’s as simple as several seconds with a paperclip or even a pen. And people wonder why there is a problem with luggage theft.

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