From a left-behind tooth to a runaway cat and a severed monkey head, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have seen it all.
These crazy stories go beyond common security mistakes like putting keys or wallets into a bin, or accidentally bringing drinks through the screening lane, TSA officers told Travel + Leisure in an interview for the “Travel, Unfiltered” YouTube series.
“I’ve seen dogs that look like wolves, monkeys, parakeets, snakes,” said Xylence, a TSA officer for six years. “It can get a bit crazy.”
For Karis, an officer for four years, one odd item that topped the list was a microwave oven with a raw turkey or chicken. “They brought it through like it was still supposed to be cooking,” Karis said. “I was like, ‘Okay, what are you going to do with this?’ By the time you get to where you’re going, it’s gonna be spoiled, and this is disgusting. But to each [their] own.”
Another notable run-in was a passenger who took off more than just his shoes, opting to pull out a tooth before stepping through the airport’s body scanner. “He just puts it in the bin by itself,” Karis added, returning to security about 20 minutes later in search of the tooth. “I had to go through all the bins to help him find his one tooth... Twenty bins later, I found the tooth.”
Xylence told T+L about a passenger whose carry-on suitcase made even seasoned TSA agents scream. “This guy had a monkey head in his suitcase,” Xylence said. The monkey head was inside a wooden box that was wrapped in towels. “On the X-ray, you can see it looks like a skull... People in suits ended up showing up, and they all were just shaking their head, no.”
Caleb, who has worked for the TSA for eight years, tends to run into cuter creatures, once having to help chase down a cat who got loose coming through security and made a run for it. Another time, Caleb saw a passenger come through with a miniature horse.
“We treated it like a regular animal, and it went through the metal detector,” Caleb told T+L. “We did a little swab of the hands... and they went on about their day. But they were taking a whole bunch of pictures, it was really cute to see.”
Regardless of their sometimes efficient demeanor, even TSA officers enjoy cute moments like this one.
“The biggest misconception is that we come to work to be mean and yell at people,” said Qua, who has worked for the TSA for over four years. Qua’s favorite thing about the job is people-watching.
Ultimately, Xylence urged travelers to remember it’s okay to make small talk with TSA agents. “It’s OK to talk to us. We seem really mean, but those interactions day-to-day help us with the job,” Xylence said. “Everybody is a human, we all like to be social... It feels good to talk to the public that we help protect.”