If you plan to travel by air this Halloween, the Transportation Security Administration wants to remind you that normal travel regulations still apply on the spookiest day of the year.
First and foremost — because of the COVID-19 pandemic — TSA is asking passengers to wear a face mask that does more than frighten fellow passengers. When passengers arrive at TSA security checkpoints, they will then be asked to remove their masks — pandemic protection or otherwise — briefly, so that they can be identified before heading off to their gates.
TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said they always count on a few people going through security in costume.
“There will be a handful of people that show up at every airport with Halloween masks, and we do just want to remind them that they will need to remove their costume mask or their pandemic masks, or both, to help verify their identity to make sure their face matches the photo on their federally-issued ID,” Farbstein said.
The TSA also recommends passengers hold off on putting a costume mask on until after they make it through security, in case anything on them trips an alarm.
If passengers come decked out in their full Halloween regalia, they should expect to face a slowdown at security as TSA agents check the layers of their costume for hidden items.
And what costume would be complete without the accoutrements? However, the TSA said, replica pitchforks, chain saws, witch’s brooms or prop guns and explosives should be left in checked baggage and not carried on.
They also warned that prop weaponry will be treated as the real deal until agents can determine otherwise. This means that those items will need extra time to go through the clearance process and run the risk of not making it onto their appropriate flights.
Alright, so now that the fun vampires have had their fill, how about some candy? The TSA said there’s no limit to how much candy passengers can bring.
If there are any remaining questions about what Halloween items can and cannot be brought onto a plane, the TSA has their own app that allows passengers to check if an item is allowed ahead of their flight.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.
