46 People Reveal The Dumbest Reasons They Got Stopped By Airport Security

I'm a professional musician. Years ago I was touring and flew with my guitar 5-6 times a month.

One idiot said I had to “remove the strings because they could be used to strangle someone.” So I said. “I could stab someone in the neck with a pencil, are those allowed?” Had to call a supervisor and argue for 10 min.

Morons.

A TSA agent tried to take apart my milk pump. She wanted me to “take it out of the case” (it was a Medela Pump In Style that had a soft shell case as part of the pump with a Velcro closure to keep dust out), and was ready to try to pull it apart. It hasn’t even been through X-ray yet, I had just pulled it out because I knew they’d look at it. I informed her that if she didn’t believe me I’d be happy to demonstrate (this was after several minutes of fiddling with it), and if she broke it she’d be replacing it. Her supervisor wasn’t happy with the line hold up, and he ended up just swabbing it and letting us go WITH the pump.

One of the agents told me to leave all my stuff for additional screening. Another one asked me to turn my laptop on and off real quick before I went to additional screening. So I did. The first guy started screaming at me that he had told me to leave my stuff, while the other guy just walked off without backing me up. At the same customs area, I had an agent ask to look at my carry-on. I let him, and he pulled out my duty-free bag and ripped it to shreds trying to open it. He pulled out a bottle of sake and announced, “This has to be in a duty-free bag!” I said, “It was.” He responded, “The bag has to be sealed.” I replied, “It was.” He said, “It has to be completely sealed.” I said, “It was so sealed that you had to absolutely rip it to shreds to open it.” He told me I could either leave it with him or pay $50 to have it checked. I'm 100% sure he just stole my sake

Pre TSA, maybe 1994 or so (Reagan years and Star Wars programs). Was working classified programs in AF and had to fly to Washington DC with a classified document and transparency slides for a status briefing.

It was double wrapped per regulation. Inside manila envelope with security markings and stickers. Outside envelope was clean.

X-ray security flagged it. I open outside envelope and reveal markings and stickers and my documentation. Security guard kept insisting I open the second envelope and I refused. Went through 2 levels of management and phone call (at pay phone) to the Colonel. Finally allowed to board and keep America's secrets safe.

Makes me smile because it was documents related to GPS. Not so secret now.

I packed a frozen uncrustable for my baby, and they debated whether the jelly inside counts as a liquid or not. They let me through but only after they brought us to a room to strip search my baby. Had to take the baby's clothes and diaper off.

For wearing a jacket with a metal zipper. Aren’t there hundreds of thousands of these out in the world?

Not me but, years ago, I went on a series of holidays in the US with my best mate. The first was to Florida - a coach tour with a large group of people, and we were met at the airport by our guide.

I was a little freaked out by my TSA as she was wearing reflective sunglasses, and I couldn't read her expressions at all, so I just defaulted to "polite and cooperative", got through pretty quickly, met up with the tour guide... waited for my mate...

...and waited... and waited...

After something like 30-45 minutes, he finally got through and apologised for keeping all of us waiting. He'd decided to have a friendly joke with his TSA: when asked "do you have anything concealed in your shoes?" he responded "Maybe a bad smell?". TSA was not amused, and went through every single item in his suitcase in minute detail.

They dug through my stuff for a compass I had bought at a tour thing outside of Vegas because it looked like a weapon. I told him it was a compass and he said "show me" so I just held it in front of him and was like "yeah that way is north dude". I was the last person on the plane because he took so long.

My CPAP is often chosen for extended testing. I think it was Chicago where two separate TSA agents were alternately yelling at me, one that I had to stay there while they tested my CPAP, and one that I couldn't stay there and had to leave the security area.

I was a cane user for a long time because of a visual impairment, and the TSA agents would often grab my cane out of my hands and then push me through the detector. They'd proceed to yell at me when I didn't leave the line fast enough with my carry-on and my cane because, well, I kind of need the cane to navigate. I had one TSA agent straight-up throw my cane at me and my sighted guide when she realized I wasn't going anywhere. O'Hare sucks

Got flagged for organic material.

It was an urn. They asked me to open it. I refused. Only time I have ever made a stink in my life, supervisor finally let me go.

In Salt Lake City airport, my partner had broken her ankle and was wearing a walking boot and I was pushing her in a wheelchair. They made her get up and walk through the live body scanner and of course the boot set off the scanner. Then they used a wand on the boot, and finally they had her take the boot off and send it through the x-ray. They had to get a supervisor over for the whole process and it took forever. We almost missed our flight. I had to run pushing her through multiple terminals and barely made it as they were closing the gate.

A small pair of scissors/hair trimmers, still in factory packaging, clearly marked TSA approved.

Mine's not thaaaat stupid, but I was flying out of El Paso, TX and was pulled off to the side to have my bag searched. I had a stuffed animal in there and they couldn't tell what it was, then when they took it out they scanned it separately. There were no substances in the bunny.

Not a hold for an actual reason...

But I was once on a small flight out of a regional airport. It was an early flight and I was the only one in securitybat a two gate airport. And I eventually ended up being one of only 3 people on the flight.

Just me standing in line at security and like 11 TSA agents standing there. But they are yelling and going on like it's a massive crowd.

"Please step up to the id check!! Please have your boarding pass out!!"

I give them the id and boarding pass. The guy rushes me through as if there is a giant line.

Two guys now are walking and yelling the ever changing rigamarole about whatever it is you need to take off or whatever.

I can't help but bust out laughing and ask "who are you folks yelling at?"

Well they didn't like that. And I ended up getting "randomly" selected for more searching. Took an extra 20 minutes and I'm laughing the whole time because I literally have a bag with a laptop and earbuds in it. And they are doing their best to drag it out as much as possible.

I didn't miss a flight or anything. But my gate was right next to security and they continued to yell as people trickled through one at a time over an hour.

I have a pacemaker and can't go through a metal detector. I always get put in timeout till they fire up the body scanner or pat down.

I refused to go through the full-body X-ray while pregnant. I had read prior to going to the airport that I could refuse this and the agents would wand me instead like they do for my dad’s pacemaker.

These three women TSA agents in Denver, CO didn’t like that at all and went on a power trip. I honestly don’t know why such a small, reasonable request would make them so upset? They all said, “oh that’s silly. You’ll be fine.” Sure, but I’m still not going through it. She goes, well I’m going to have to call a supervisor. Go for it, lady. I’ve got time.

They were so unbelievably rude, mean and condescending after that. My shampoo bottle was 3.1 oz so they’re like, we’re gonna have to confiscate this in a sing-song voice. I was like, you can keep the tiny bottle of shampoo. My husband had to stop me from losing my mind, just so we could get on the plane.

My wife had her inhaler, in her medical bag. It was "suspicious".

There was a “suspicious tear” in my shorts pocket.

I had to go through the machine that scans you for metal three times. They did not notice I had braces on my teeth even after I was checked with a wand.