No Fireworks Through Security Please

With 4th of July falling on a Wednesday this year, many people are taking the opportunity to take an extended vacation. In fact, a record number of travelers are expected to hit the road this holiday. Expect the air to be just as crowded. While we wish everyone an eventful firework filled 4th of July, we thought about the best way we could commemorate the holiday for the GateGuru community.  With that, we wanted to take this opportunity to review a few of the latest things TSA has done to make airport screening easier, and then follow that up with a game about what is and isn’t allowed through security.

First, a few updates regarding our favorite airport security department.

TSA PreCheck has been rolling out and expanding. In case you are not familiar (or want a refresher) with the program check out our post from a few months ago. PreCheck is now at 16 airports, expected to grow to 35 by end of year, and available on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and US Airways. Not everyone is happy though, as you don’t know until you get to the airport which line you’ll have to go through (so doesn’t help much with planning) and you aren’t guaranteed the fast lane every time.

Secondly, TSA has decided to ease the screening process for certain senior citizens  (based on age). In general, senior citizens who are 75 or older will no longer have to take off their shoes, removed light outerwear such as sweaters, and if they trigger a metal detector they will be allowed to pass through again before the infamous pat down. While this is a step in the right direction, we’d still love to see these rights extended to other groups of travelers.

With TSA updates behind us, onto some fun. We put together the list below to see how well you stack up against other flyers. For each item below, state True or False as to whether the item is allowed through carry on security. For each correct answer, give yourself a point. At the end, see which bracket you fall in. Feel free to test your friends!

Make sure to tweet at us (@gateguruapp) to let us know which bracket you fell in! Use #RoadWarrior

1)   Box cutter 

2)   Lighter (under 3oz of liquid)

3)   Meat cleaver

4)   Ice skate

5)   Cricket bat

6)   Knitting needle

7)   Baseball bat

8)   Parachute

9)   Screwdriver (7inches or less)

10) Hammer

11)  Dry ice

12) Butter knife

13) Deceased remains

14) Snow globes

15) Nunchucks

Answers: 1.F, 2.T, 3.F, 4.T, 5.F, 6.T, 7.F, 8.T, 9.T, 10.F, 11.T, 12.T, 13.T, 14.F, 15.F

1-4 points: please don’t be in our line at security

5-9 points: well-informed traveler

10-13 points: Road warrior

14-15 points: you must work for TSA