A former TSA agent reveals little-known tips about getting through airport security, including taking frozen water bottles on a plane

15.01.2024 - 17:09 / insider.com

A former federal security officer has shared tips for when people go through screening at the airport that few people seem to be aware of.

Caleb Harmon-Marshall was a TSA agent for about eight years. He is now a travel influencer with 150,000 followers on TikTok, where he's better known as Harmony.

He runs the travel newsletter Gate Access where he provides tips and tricks for air travel, such as how to properly use overhead bins, and which airlines have a "customers of size" policy.

Harmon-Marshall told Business Insider that airport security is nothing to fear, and staff are first and foremost there to keep you safe.

He said while working at the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, he heard many of the same questions and repeatedly sorted out the same problems. So his main objective with his newsletter is to help people know and understand their rights.

"People think that the officers are mean and they feel like their prisoners when they go through security," he said.

"And I just wanted to let passengers know that this is here for your safety, they're working for you, they're not against you."

Harmon-Marshall said he reads the terms and conditions posted by every airline and breaks them down for people who don't have the time to sift through.

There are a few main tips he thinks travelers should be aware of, which seem to be little-known.

For starters, you can bring water, or any liquid, with you through airport security as long as it's frozen. This is confirmed on the TSA website, which states that frozen liquid items are permitted "as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening."

"If frozen liquid items are partially melted, slushy, or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they must meet 3-1-1 liquids requirements," it reads.

Harmon-Marshall posted a TikTok about this a while back and it amassed more than a million views because so many people weren't aware.

"If you freeze your water, you can take it past TSA," he said. "A lot of people, they'll get their own bottle, they'll put their water in there, they'll freeze it, and then they'll just thaw out and they'll drink it as it thaws out."

Food is also permitted, he said, which some don't seem to know — and end up spending excessive amounts on meals when through security.

"Why would you spend all your money on airport food?" Harmon-Marshall said. "It's very expensive to buy anything at the airport. Buy something before you go, take it with you, and you can even take it on the plane and eat it."

At the security screening, you also have rights that aren't widely known. For example, you don't have to go through the body scanner if you don't want to.

"You don't necessarily have to go through