Avoid the X-ray machine! TSA offers tips on traveling with pets through security

WASHINGTON (7News) — Don’t put pets through the X-ray machine — seems obvious right? Well, you’d be surprised. As more Americans travel with their pets these days, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is putting out a warning.

Most travelers know small pets can travel in the cabin of an aircraft with their owners after TSA officers screen pets at the security checkpoint. But how a pet goes through security checkpoints has some people confused.

TSA says currently, it is seeing a tremendous and alarming amount of pets being left in baggage and sent through the X-ray units. Pet parents are traveling with their furkids more than ever.

SEE ALSO | Travelers at Dulles Airport fail to report over $350k, violating customs laws

“A lot of people got pets during the height of COVID, they were working at home and they got pets. And now maybe they are traveling with them for the very first time or maybe they are a little rusty because they haven’t traveled with them since the early days, pre-pandemic,” said Lisa Farbstein, Spokesperson for TSA.

Approximately 78 percent of Americans who have pets travel with them each year.

Here are the tips from the TSA:

• 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 process
• 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
• The X-ray at the security checkpoint is used to screen passengers’ personal property and carry-on luggage only

SEE ALSO | TSA officer finds orange cat in checked bag at busy airport

Pet travel restrictions vary by airline and airport, so it is important to check with the air carrier before traveling with a pet. You should definitely notify the airline if you are traveling with something other than a dog or cat. As many are getting ready to take off for spring break, TSA is running a safety campaign.

According to the International Pet and Animal Association, over 4 million pets and live animals are transported by air each year. Alternatively, a pet can walk through the screening process if the owner has the pet on a leash. A TSA officer may give the pet owner’s hands an explosive trace detection swab to ensure no explosive residue on the owner’s hands.

“Pets often travel with their humans and are thought of like family members,” says Scott T. Johnson, TSA Federal Security Director for the airport. “That’s why it’s important that if a passenger is traveling with their pet to become familiar with the security procedures for pets and how to go through the checkpoint security screening process together quickly and easily. Key in the screening of pets is to know that they should never be screened through a checkpoint X-ray unit.”

Dulles International Airport has four pre-security pet relief areas, with two located outside the terminal. There are six at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

SEE ALSO | One week left until Dulles Toll Road becomes cashless — what you need to know

Other helpful travel tips to make a trip through security with a pet as easy as possible include:

• Acclimate the pet to the process of traveling by familiarizing it with the travel carrier in the days leading up to the trip. This familiarization will help ensure the pet is more relaxed as it travels through the security process and the airport.

• Be on the lookout for “working” canines and handlers at the airport. Areas, where it is common to see a working dog at airports, may include a security checkpoint or in the terminal concourse. If you encounter a working canine, please consider shifting to an alternate checkpoint so that there is no interference with a government working dog’s tasks.

• Know the temperament of your petand ensure that you can maintain control of it in a busy and potentially crowded airport. This is especially important for cats, who often get skittish when they are removed from their pet carrier and hear and see the sounds and sights of a checkpoint.