Photo: TSA
Security guards at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have become annoyed by the large number of passengers who have been seen recently taking their pets through airport security and having them run through Xray machines (some in suitcases).
That’s why the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and two volunteers organized an awareness campaign at the terminal last Tuesday to teach travelers how to properly transport their pets. The Chihuahua poodle Fifi and the mini poodle Chino helped with “lessons” for the travelers.
According to Robert Duffy, TSA’s director of federal security for LaGuardia Airport, it’s important to know that pets should never go through a checkpoint xray unit. Passengers must transport their fourlegged friends in a portable carrier and remove them from the carrier before screening begins.
The empty box must be placed on the mat at the checkpoint to be screened, and the pet must be passed through the metal detector like humans during the screening process.
Despite occasional actions at the busy New York airport, passengers must remember that this rule applies to all other airports as well.