Dress for the Check-in, Dress for the Flight
It's really embarrassing to set off the metal detector while you frantically pat your pockets. It's worse to get called aside to for a secondary X-ray search. This can happen over a simple, forgotten tie tack. A secondary inspection involves:
- an intimate pat down with someone's hands,
- and a metal detector web wand set at an absurdly high sensitivity.
- This is all in full view of everyone passing through the gate. This is pretty irking, but even worse, can make you miss your flight during peak travel times.
Best to just be proactive; dress simply, in loose, comfortable clothing. Wear shoes that slip off - you will have to take them off anyway for X-raying. No hair ties, belts, jewelry, doodads or watches (check the time on your cell or PDA instead).
Wear a comfortable, clean outfit with elastic, like an attractive jogging suit or other stylish or sporty casual wear. This will be much more comfortable on the plane for prolonged sitting, and attempted sleeping.
This kind of attire won't wrinkle, either. No one says a business traveler has to look like a cardboard cutout in a power suit. Find some leisure-wear that says "expensive" and no one will question your judgment or taste in business class. Try shopping at Nordstroms - tell the sales staff exactly what you are looking for. This should not be a new request to them.
Wear slip on shoes. You will have to remove your shoes for the security check, for one thing. And for another, feet will swell during flight, so slip on shoes are a great choice. Wear fresh socks in consideration to others if you have smelly feet.
Don't Bogart the Line
Keep your pockets empty - everything but your boarding pass and ID belongs in a carry-on.
If you are traveling without a carry-on bag, you will need to place all your personal items through the X-ray conveyor belt in something. Don't hold up the line while you check all your pockets. Have everything ready to go in a Ziplock or other see-through plastic bag. Lay the bag on the conveyor belt in the provided bins. If everyone did this ahead of time, security checkpoints would be a breeze. Remember that jackets go through the X-ray machine as well.
Various items of dress can contain enough metal to set off the security check point machines:
- Hair clips
- Clothing buttons
- Tie clips
- Money clips
- Cuff links
- Belt buckles
- Jewelry
- Watches
- Military dog tags
- Pocket change
- Hat buckles
- Underwire bras
- Fancy pens
- Lighters
- Personal electronics
- Body piercings
- Pins, plates and other metal in the body
- Contraband (This is a joke. Don't fly with weapons)
As always, the Transportation Administration Security (TSA) website offers the last word in what you can take on a plane. Good to check before you fly.
Related: Security Checkpoints Basics
