NORFOLK, Va. — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) showed people how to travel with pets and get them through security in a demonstration at Norfolk International Airport Wednesday morning.
The demonstration comes as more people are placing their pets in the X-ray units at security checkpoints, according to the TSA.
In early March, security officers at Norfolk International Airport caught a cat that was left in its carrying case as it went through the machine.
While the "cat-astrophic mistake" ended up being okay, the cat's owner had to go through the checkpoint again but with the cat removed from the travel bag.
In the Wednesday morning demonstration, the TSA used a pet owner and pup that was eager to demonstrate the proper way to get through a security checkpoint.
TSA offers several tips to follow for pets to be screened prior to boarding a flight:
- All pets should be brought to a security checkpoint in a hand-held travel carrier
- Remove the pet from the carrier just prior to the beginning of the screening
- Place the empty travel carrier on the checkpoint conveyor belt so it can be X-rayed
- Never place a pet in the X-ray tunnel
- If possible, carry the pet through the walk-through metal detector during the screening process. Alternatively, a pet can walk through the screening process if the owner has the pet on a leash
- A TSA officer will give the pet owner’s hands an explosive trace detection swab to ensure there is no explosive residue on the owner’s hands
- After the screening process is complete, owners should return their pet to the travel carrier at the re-composure area away from the security checkpoint.