Planning on flying during your vacation but not quite sure what you can bring in your carry-on luggage? Wondering if you can put all your gifts in your checked luggage? Wondering if you can bring holiday food and snacks on board?
Never fear; AskTSA is here. The Transportation Security Administration is offering a text-based option for mobile phones so travelers can find answers to pressing travel packing questions.
This text option is in addition to TSA’s social media accounts and its “What Can I Bring?” Web page.
So, how does it work? More importantly, do we like it? Read on to learn all the details.
How to use AskTSA
First, an important point. When we talk about TSA, we’re specifically focusing on domestic flights. For questions about what you can take out of the country, check with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
For domestic travel, the recently added AskTSA saves multiple steps of searching the TSA webpage or accessing their social media accounts.
To get started, just text “Travel” to AskTSA (275872). The service provides automated response 24 hours a day, with TSA experts available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
Note that during a recent test run, we found that answers were under-supplied late at night, and we noticed a higher number of answers during the day when lines were fully staffed.
The interface requires the user to select one of the following themes to get started:
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- TSA Pre-Check
- What can I bring?
- identify
- medical issues
- Damages/Claims
- recruitment
- other
We decided to give the “What Can I Pack?” section a try for some holiday packing help.
RELATED: TSA Liquids Rule: Learn about 3-1-1 before heading to the airport
After selecting this category, the next question is whether we prefer to interact in English or Spanish. Next is the choice between “Carry-on or Personal Baggage” or “Checked Baggage” luggage, and then we see the following item categories:
- CBD products
- electronic cigarette
- electronic products
- firearms
- Flammable aerosol
- food
- beauty products
- Knives
- lighter
- liquid
- Lithium battery
- infant formula
Here’s how we looked at packaging tips for some popular items.
sports equipment
First up was TPG contributor Ashley Kosciolek, who set out on a multi-stop trip with skates and fishing lures in her carry-on bag.
When she asked AskTSA, it took several minutes for her to receive word about the skates, which is the same lag I’ve experienced. While two to three minutes isn’t really a long time, it definitely feels like you’re not receiving messages when you’re staring at your phone.
This answer about skates provides the same information Ashley found on the TSA website when she searched online.
It took 13 hours (overnight) to get a reply to her fishhook query. However, when replying, it appears to be sent by a human rather than a bot.
Gift
Next, I asked one of the questions I hear most often from friends: Can I bring a wrapped gift through security?
This is always a tough question. I once witnessed a worker at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) unravel a set of tightly secured candle holders from Tiffany’s and watched as layer after layer of bubble wrap was removed while the passenger in front of me grew increasingly distraught.
I haven’t wrapped a gift since (instead, I bring gift bags and tissue paper for quick gift giving). However, I have since witnessed this again.
The official line is that the Transportation Security Administration “recommends” waiting. It’s easy to see why travelers would be confused by this directive.
food
Readers often ask which TSA-approved foods can pass through security. Clint Henderson, TPG’s lead spokesperson, asked the TSA a question I haven’t considered yet: Can I bring a frozen turkey on a plane?
Luckily for Clint, he could bring his frozen turkey on the plane. This also works with other frozen foods, including butter, which I recently asked about, and even water. Note, however, that any frozen items need to remain solid, not soft or liquid, in order to pass security.
RELATED: Here’s what you can bring with you for Thanksgiving and what you must check out
For more food questions, TPG Newsletter Managing Editor Becky Blaine contacted AskTSA.
When Becky asked about “creamy” foods, she thought of pumpkin pie, one of two categories offered for food questions (along with “solid”).
When she answered “no” to whether the automated system had received a satisfactory answer, she was told a “social care specialist” would contact her between 8am and 6pm
While this answer is helpful, we can type “pie” on the TSA “What can I bring?” web page and receive an immediate reply.
bottom line
If you’re not in a hurry and want to know what to pack, the AskTSA texting option is a helpful tool, especially if you want to get personalized answers about items you’re not sure how to sort.
However, we can find information faster simply by searching Google for most items.
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