If it’s been nearly a year since you’ve passed through the TSA checkpoints at the airport, things have changed.
Global tensions have led the TSA to tighten security rules for airline passengers.
Standard rules still apply, including the 3-1-1 liquids limit, with no more than 3.4 ounce bottles, in one bag, no bigger than 1-quart. Shoes and jackets off and placed in a bin are also a requirement upon approaching the scanner. The exception is for shoes and jackets is passengers younger than 12.
Prepare to remove watches and hand over key chains. Leave the attached pocketknife at home. Any weapon, for that matter, brought to the TSA checkpoint will be taken. Knives must be placed in checked baggage, firearms are allowed in checked baggage under restricted conditions found here.
Perhaps the biggest change in policies, said Lorie Dankers with the TSA, is the way the agency will handle electronic devices such as cell phone, tablets, e-readers and games. Each electronic item must be pulled from the luggage and laid in a bin without obstruction to pass through screening.
“We know — and there’s been a lot of open source reporting about it — terrorists would like to tamper with those electronics, Dankers said. “That’s why we’re getting another really close look at those.”
Passengers willing to pay an $85 TSA Pre Check fee and receive verification through a prior in-person screening can bypass much of the checkpoint rules at most major airports, including Sky Harbor.
For a complete list of TSA policies at checkpoints, click here.
