If you have holiday travel plans, top transportation officials are issuing a warning about…fruitcake. Admiral James Loy, undersecretary of transportation for security, toured an airport in Florida and reminded reporters that by the end of the year all airports must have bomb-detection equipment installed for screening checked luggage. That equipment, already installed at some Iowa airports, uses sophisticated sensors to pick up vapors emitted by explosive substances. But plenty of things can fool those sensors, and give a false positive. Des Moines International Airport spokesman Michael Audino confirms that one of the most likely aromatic imposters is…food. With the screening equipment in place this holiday season, travelers are warned not to pack holiday treats in their luggage because the fruitcake could fool the federal screening machines and set off alarms.
