A TSA travel advisory board at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport. (PHOTO/WTAQ News)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The TSA is issuing a number of reminders for travelers this holiday season – as many people haven’t boarded a flight since this time last year, and some things have changed.
Obvious changes include COVID precautions like required masking in terminals and on planes.
“Make sure you have masks. The airports have them, but make sure you have them,” said Federal Security Director for TSA in Wisconsin Mark Lendvay. “TSA is, in fact, allowing one 12-ounce container of liquid hand sanitizer per passenger. That’s permitted inside the carry-on bag.”
But other requirements are simple things people may have forgotten, or just don’t know about. One of those tips, don’t bring a wrapped gift.
“Gifts, we highly encourage the public [to not] wrap them. Whether it’s in carry on or checked baggage…our officers are going to have to open it to resolve the alarm,” Lendvay said. “If the package causes an alarm, our TSA officers may need to unwrap it. And that makes everybody unhappy during the holiday season.”
The TSA recommends using gift bags or waiting until you reach your final destination to wrap a gift.
Another common sense step that seems to escape the flustered traveler is being prepared once they get to the airport.
“Have an acceptable ID and boarding pass or electronic device out prior to entering the checkpoint…For passengers that utilize electronic boarding passes, we encourage passengers that have the bar code read and up on the screen while you’re waiting to reach our officer, which is located at a podium at the front of the checkpoint,” Lendvay told WTAQ News. “Too often, passengers arrive stop at our officer and then they have to pull up the bar code, which then slows the screening process. This action will avoid delaying other passengers behind you, especially at larger airports.”
If you’re traveling with larger quantities of medically-required liquids that may be greater than the 3.4 ounce requirement, let the TSA officers know right away and they will be checked separately.
If you have any specific questions about what is or isn’t allowed on a plane, or what certain requirements might be in place, there are options to find out the answer ahead of time. One option is to check out TSA.gov.
“Simply type in an item to find out what’s authorized through checked baggage screening and carry on screening at our passenger security checkpoints,” Lendvay said. “Travelers with questions about security can contact a TSA employee for live assistance 365 days a year by tweeting questions or comments to @askTSA.”
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