TSA ready for summer travel demand at BWI Airport, strongly encourages travelers to “know before you go”

LINTHICUM, Md. — The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is seeing a rise within the variety of vacationers who’re flying this summer season out of Baltimore Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and is ready to deal with the crowds as passenger quantity has been approaching pre-pandemic ranges.

Present checkpoint quantity at BWI is roughly 75 % of pre-pandemic ranges and is predicted to extend this summer season.

The restoration from the low journey volumes through the early days of the pandemic might require extra endurance and planning than was obligatory earlier than the pandemic, which incorporates the significance of arriving at BWI two hours earlier than a home flight and three hours earlier than a global flight.

Nonetheless, passengers who haven’t traveled not too long ago are considerably “rusty” by way of remembering safety checkpoint protocols, particularly on the subject of remembering to not place prohibited objects in a carry-on bag.

“Vacationers play an enormous half in guaranteeing a easy and environment friendly safety checkpoint screening expertise,” stated Chris Murgia, TSA’s Federal Safety Director for Maryland. “Advance planning and packing correctly are keys to a easy safety checkpoint expertise. It begins with figuring out what you must and mustn’t pack in a carry-on bag.”

Vacationers can do to their half to make sure a easy and environment friendly checkpoint expertise by ensuring that they don’t have any prohibited objects amongst their carry-on objects on the safety checkpoint.

“Now we have seen too many prohibited objects in carry-on baggage,” Murgia defined. “Widespread objects embody knives and instruments bigger than 7-inches lengthy. Massive instruments can be utilized as bludgeoning weapons, which is why we encourage vacationers to pack them in checked baggage. As for the knives, we see every kind—butter knives, folding knives, tactical preventing knives, fishing knives, searching knives, Boy Scout knives, throwing knives, bank card knives, Swiss Military knives, keychain knives, cake knives, cleavers and even machetes. If you wish to journey along with your knife, please pack it in your checked bag.”

Know what can and can’t go in a carry-on bag from firearms to oversize liquids to keep away from checkpoint delays. To seek out out if an merchandise needs to be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, both or neither download the free myTSA app, which has a helpful “What can I bring?” feature that permits vacationers to kind within the merchandise to search out out if it will probably fly. Or ask us on Twitter or Fb Messenger at @AskTSA.

Different widespread prohibited objects that vacationers deliver to checkpoints are liquids, gels and aerosols which are bigger than the appropriate restrict of three.4 ounces—shampoo, toothpaste, drinks, solar block, hand lotion, face cream, shaving cream, mouthwash and different toiletries. Every passenger might carry liquids, gels and aerosols which are 3.4 ounces (100 ml) or much less via a checkpoint so long as these objects match right into a one quart-sized, resealable bag. This is named the 3-1-1 bag. Bigger containers of liquids, gels and aerosols may be transported in checked baggage.

TSA officers are seeing vacationers arrive on the checkpoint with bottles of water, juice, power drinks, espresso and soda. The officers will give passengers the selection to exit the safety checkpoint to drink their beverage within the terminal or enable TSA to eliminate it. Vacationers might deliver empty bottles or insulated containers via checkpoints and fill them on the safe aspect of the checkpoint.

The exception to the 3-1-1 rule is that as a result of pandemic, TSA is allowing vacationers to deliver as much as one 12-ounce container of liquid hand sanitizer per passenger in carry-on baggage till additional discover. Passengers can anticipate that these massive liquid hand sanitizers will must be screened individually, which is able to add a while to their checkpoint expertise.

It is usually essential to do not forget that if somebody needs to travel with a firearm, the correct means to take action is to ensure it’s unloaded and packed in a hard-sided case. The case must be locked and brought to the airline check-in counter to be declared. The airline will ensure that it’s transported within the stomach of the plane in order that no person has entry to it throughout a flight. No one ought to deliver a firearm to a safety checkpoint, even when they’ve a hid carry allow.

The highest TSA journey suggestions this summer season:

1. Arrive on the airport early and be ready to see a protracted line. Journey this summer season is predicted to be one of many busiest on file.
2. Whereas standing in a checkpoint line, use the time in line properly. Take away objects from pockets similar to wallets, keys, lip balm, tissues and cell telephones and place them into carry-on baggage as an alternative of placing objects from pockets instantly into bins. It’s additionally one of the best time to have ID and boarding passes in hand previous to strolling as much as the journey doc checking podium.
3. Enroll in TSA PreCheck®. The favored expedited screening program permits vacationers to go away on footwear, jackets, belts and allows them to maintain their electronics and 3-1-1 bags of their carry-on baggage. As a consequence of these advantages, the TSA PreCheck lanes transfer the quickest. 
4. Know earlier than you go! Know what can and can’t go in a carry-on bag from firearms to oversize liquids. Prohibited objects lead to checkpoint delays. Uncertain if an merchandise needs to be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, both or neither? Download the free myTSA app, which has a helpful “What can I bring?” feature that lets you kind within the merchandise to search out out if it will probably fly. Or ask us on Twitter or Fb Messenger at @AskTSA.
5. Vacationers or households of passengers with disabilities and/or medical circumstances might name the TSA Cares helpline toll free at 855-787-2227 at the very least 72 hours previous to flying with any questions on screening insurance policies, procedures and to search out out what to anticipate on the safety checkpoint in addition to organize for help on the checkpoint.

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