I was traveling with my H this week and we just returned home last night. When I opened my bag to unpack, I had a notice of TSA inspection. This was a bag that I checked. As I was unpacking my toiletry bag, I noticed that the caps on all of the face/eye products had been removed. When I found the caps in my bag and went to put them back on, I noticed that TSA (I know I didn’t do it) had emptied the containers!!! I’m really annoyed. In fact, the face serum was brand new. Is this normal?
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I thought they just test the liquids with the paper strip.
I have had them leave a notice of inspection a lot. Never had any liquids emptied but I’m not sure I ever traveled with liquids other than the carry on.
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There are limits on toiletries in checked bags. I doubt you exceeded them though. I’d call the airline, even though TSA did it, and ask. You might (but probably not) get some compensation.
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Never had TSA empty out sunblock or shampoo, but they did once stuck fingers into a jar of honey we were bringing from Hawaii. The honey was creamy, so it did not leak, but the lid was obviously unscrewed, and the sticky fingerprints were all over jar and the lid!!!
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My sons regularly had bags gone through by TSA back in the day when this was first a thing (last name profiling), but I’ve never heard of either of them having liquids dumped.
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Thanks for the link @eyemgh . I travel a lot, often with only a carry-on, and did not know this. I could see myself running afoul of it for a longer trip.
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That is so interesting. I regularly check six-packs of bottled Diet Coke, and it never occurred to me that they would care. I wonder why toiletry articles are such a thing. Maybe because they may have clearly been opened and therefore a tampering risk?
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I’d be mad. If you have tiny bottles of expensive creams, they could carelessly “test” and waste the whole thing, nevermind the contamination.
Once they examined and stole a ziploc I had of spices.
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I think TSA agents are the best and the worst - too many freaky videos and stories about what they do or don’t do…
Not my check in, but this a funny story of being pulled by TSA which is an essay I wrote (I hope I haven’t told it before, if I did, oh well):
When I was visiting D in Portland I needed to buy some laxative, so I bought the smallest container of Miralax powder.
On my way home, I tucked the now open container into my carry on and off I went to the airport. My bag went through the scanner and was flagged.
A nice older (this is a key element) TSA lady called out “whose bag is this?” I raised my hand and she asked me to step aside and asked “Is there something in the bag you might want to tell me about?” Me “Um, no” - she opened the bag and reached her hand in. She pulled out my tiny cosmetic bag…“your liquids?” Me “yes ma’am” she reached in again and pulled out the tiny Miralax bottle and again asked me “Is there something in the bag you might want to tell me about?” Me “it’s laxative” Her “Well, I’m going to have to swab it down on the outside you know?” Me “Sure. Ok. It’s just laxative.” Swab comes out and she is frantically swabbing that plastic bottle. Me “between us, this stuff is a miracle” Her “OH! Do you think it would be ok for kids, because I have a granddaughter who is down syndrome, and needs some “help” now and then” Me “I would ask a doctor, but I swear by the stuff” Her “Thank you! Oh, and sorry to stop you, you’re good to go!” -
I actually was thinking how funny a scene this would be in a movie, with an aging rock star, who once-upon-a-time might have had some actual contraband in the carry on, and now “only” has a bottle of powdered laxative!
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Only times I had the note that TSA opened and inspected bag it was expected - back in my skydiving days. I had a lead weight belt and lead blanks on the x-rays so they always check.
If you ever watch “border security” - the only reality show I watch, lol - toiletry bottles seem to often be used to conceal drugs, so that may be why they checked. I’ve never had an issue with that but i normally travel with travel sizes of everything, not full size.
What airport? TSA at SLC has been very weird lately.
My friends and I sometime bring bottles of wines back. A friend has a professional wine suitcase. I would be upset if they were to open my bottles.
I’ve had a TSA tag in my suitcase once. It looked like they went through my suitcase pretty well, but didn’t harm any of my stuff.
We always bring wine back from Napa/Sonoma. I think TSA at Bay Area airports is pretty familiar with wines… so they ignore those bottles and focus on the other stuff.
I had a keratin treatment on my hair the morning before a flight. So when I walked through the tunnel that measures chemical exposure? not sure exactly what it measures-- it triggered an alarm.
They went through EVERYTHING.
So I’m guessing that it wasn’t just the presence of tiny bottles and jars… it must have been something else that got them worried about your luggage?
If you pursue it and learn something- feel free to share.
I learned that the hat-trick of keratin, an underwire bra (with actual wire, not a wire free travel bra) and surgical staples in my body triggers the TSA.
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We had bocce balls in our luggage on our way to the Virgin Islands and got grilled about what they were.
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The one time I was absolutely positive my bag would get pulled and I’d get grilled was when I was carrying a sous-vide cooker in my carryon. For those not familiar, it’s literally a metal tube with wires and electronics. I imagine on x-ray it would look just like Hollywood’s ideal depiction of an explosive device.
But nope, no raised eyebrows - it sailed right through. On another trip they almost confiscated a cheese kit gift I’d received because it had a dull cheese spatula thing (think triangular scoop you’d use for brie). I was trying to tell them to just keep it because I didn’t want it in the first place, but they called a supervisor and had a whole discussion before concluding it was ok.
I had TSA stickers many times but never destroyed or stolen items. The item that used to trigger most inspections were my ice skates.
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Yes!!! It was a flight from SLC to BOS.
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I rarely check bags, but the ones I do check tend to arrive with a TSA notice in them. They usually have sporting equipment (not shooting sports, archery, or similar where the equipment has obvious weapon uses).