The summer travel season is starting to pick up with the Independence Day holiday.
TSA spokesperson Jessica Mayle works at the state’s busiest airport, and says they one key to successful air travel is to give yourself plenty of time. “Think about every step of your travel journey, not just going through TSA, but also parking your car, checking your bag getting to your gate, you just don’t want to be in a rush,” she says. ” So two hours is our recommended amount of time you should give yourself when you’re flying out.”
Mayle says they see a lot of people who unintentionally bring items in their bags that can’t be taken on the plane. “Start with an empty bag. A lot of times when passengers have prohibited items, they aren’t even items they meant to bring, they sort of grabbed a bag that maybe was half pack from an earlier trip, they weren’t really sure what was in it. And then they said, ‘Oh, gosh, I didn’t even need to bring that,'” Mayle says.
She says there’s a place you can go to learn what is and what isn’t allowed. “While you’re at home, before you leave, go to our website, tsa.gov. We have a feature called ‘What can I bring?’,” she says. “You can get very specific and type in the name of an item and it will tell you this can go in your checked bags or in your carry on. You know fireworks, for example, we’re coming up on the Fourth, those are not allowed in either Do not pack them in your check or your carry on bag.”
Mayle says they also answer questions on social media. “You can Tweet us, Facebook message us, we have an account called App TSA. We have had examples of people asking, tweeting us in line and they get their answer before they even make it to the checkpoint. So we have a really quick response time during business hours,” she says. “And definitely I would say you would want to find that out before you get to the checkpoint and have to abandon that item or walk it back to your car.”
Lines sometimes get long and people get impatient, but she says don’t take it out on the T-S-A workers who are checking you in. “You know, they’re on their feet, they’re working hard, they’re keeping you safe. They’re really dedicated to the mission, they’re doing their best to help you get where you’re going safely. So you know, treat them with respect and kindness,” Mayle says.
She says you can speed things up with the TSA PreCheck expedited screening program. “You know, you don’t have to remove your your shoes, your liquid, your light jackets and $78 for five years, and the overwhelming majority of precheck passengers wait less than five minutes. So if you haven’t already looked into that, I’d encourage you to go to our website tsa.gov/precheck. And, you know, start the process. ”
While the lines at Iowa airports may not be as long as others across the country, Mayle says the tips are also important for the airports at your destination when you are getting ready to return from your trip.