Why did TSA swab my bag?

The airport official swabs the outside of your hand luggage liberally, before inserting the swab into a mysterious machine. This process, known officially as explosive trace detection, is doing just that—checking to see if your luggage has come into contact with a bomb or explosive material.



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You, your carry-on bags and your electronic items will be swabbed and the swab will then be analysed for any traces of explosives. If you are unsure whether these measures apply to your flight, check with your airline or the airport you are visiting.

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This could happen without warning or you could see it coming based on your boarding pass. For example, if you had SSSS on your boarding pass then you will have to go through the enhanced screening process which will require swabbing.

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One of the most common reasons you will get a pat down is if you refuse to go through the walk-through metal detector or the full body scanner. For some people going through a metal detector is not an option, while others just may prefer to not go through these.

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Knowing it's part of the rules doesn't necessarily make a physical search less uncomfortable. Is there any way around it? Farbstein said the short answer is no, you can't refuse a pat-down. If the millimeter wave scanner is set off, TSA is required to investigate.

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As a result, prohibited items may result in both a TSA civil enforcement action and a criminal enforcement action. Before leaving home, remember to check your baggage to ensure you are not carrying any prohibited items to avoid a possible arrest and/or civil penalties.

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Various nitrates are often used in the making of explosives (e.g., trinitrotoluene, a.k.a. TNT) and they're checking to see if you've been handling any recently. I find it interesting that they were checking hands—perhaps that's more accurate than some of the other sampling sites they've used in the past.

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The TSA largely looks for physical evidence that a passenger could be a threat, so they'll generally have no reason to search through the data on your phone. After all, they're the Transportation Security Agency, not a detective agency. Even if they did have reason to want to access your phone, they'd need a warrant.

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Technically, airport security scanners do not detect drugs but they can provide visual clues of drugs hidden under the clothes and in baggage. Even if the scanners cannot determine the exact composition, they can tell if an object is organic or metallic or how low or high density an object have.

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The following list are the items that look like part of an explosive device and could trigger a TSA search:
  • Personal electronics.
  • Hair driers.
  • Curling Irons.
  • Electric Razors.
  • iPods / Music players.
  • Connecting cables and wires.
  • Battery chargers.
  • Shoes (especially shoe soles)


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Any biological material, including weed, look orange on an airport scanner. The contents in your bag will appear orange, blue, or green depending on the energy that travels through the airport scanner.

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They're trained to detect any item on a person or in carry-on luggage that poses a threat. According to the TSA, agents screen approximately 4.9 million carry-on bags for explosives and other dangerous items each day.

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An SSSS code on a boarding pass stands for “Secondary Security Screening Selection.” While somewhat of an annoyance, this code only means you have been flagged to undergo additional security screening procedures.

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Here are some signs that the Department of Homeland Security says may indicate you've been flagged for additional scrutiny: You were not able to print a boarding pass from an airline ticketing kiosk or from the internet. You were denied or delayed boarding.

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How Does The TSA Open A TSA Lock? Every single TSA Accepted Lock that has the Travel Sentry logo on it, has a keyhole at the bottom that allows the TSA to use their special TSA key to unlock your lock. With a TSA Travel Lock, the TSA can easily open and inspect your luggage without having to cut off your suitcase lock.

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During this journey, your bags will be screened at a security checkpoint. This process is much like the one that you can see when you and your hand luggage go through security, where bags are scanned with an X-ray machine or CT scanner and sometimes are inspected if deemed suspicious or requiring further examination.

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The results of the tests showed that the TSA screeners failed to detect weapons, drugs, and explosives almost 80 percent of the time. While the exact failure rate is classified, multiple sources indicate it is greater than 70 percent.

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For example, trying to go back through the metal detector after setting off an alarm or yelling at an officer might be considered interfering with a TSA official. The TSA can impose civil penalties (fines) for interference; and interference is also a federal crime.

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Other things that accidentally set off body scanners are body piercings and wire supports in undergarments. External tumors might also trigger the machine, but growths inside—such as fibroids—will not. “Perspiration is probably the weirdest thing that can set off the scanners,” Malvini Redden says.

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