Jackets and Coats During airport screening, you'll be asked to remove coats and jackets, including bulky outerwear such as hoodies, parkas, sweaters, and vests.

You can wear a hoodie to the airport, but you will almost certainly be required to remove it before passing through the security scanner. TSA classifies hoodies, sweatshirts, and light jackets as "outerwear," similar to a coat. Because the loose fabric of a hoodie can easily hide prohibited items, agents require you to take it off and place it in a bin for separate X-ray screening. This rule applies even if the hoodie is your only top layer, so it is a high-fidelity travel tip to wear a T-shirt underneath. The only major exception is for travelers with TSA PreCheck; in many cases, PreCheck passengers are allowed to keep on "light" outerwear like a thin hoodie or sweater, though the final decision always rests with the individual officer. If the hoodie has excessive metal (like heavy zippers or grommets), it will likely trigger the metal detector anyway, so removing it remains the fastest way to "breeze" through the checkpoint without being pulled aside for a secondary pat-down.