People travel a lot during the holiday season that covers Thanksgiving to New Year and when it comes to what people try to bring through the airport checkpoints, we have seen and heard about everything. People try to bring into the plane as part of their hand-carry luggage home-cooked food that they want to share with the relatives they are going to visit or items from their destination that they found to be really interesting which they want to take home. When you pass through the airport checkpoint, you will notice travelers being held on the side and being examined or questioned for a myriad of things they are attempting to carry with them.

When passengers are found to be carrying items that are prohibited on their carry-on luggage, they are given the option of putting them in their checked luggage, mailing them home, or simply discarding them. The airport checkpoints are teeming with trash bins that will be the final resting place for most of these items.

Scenes at airport security checkpoints sometimes border on the hilarious. You can just imagine a passenger arguing with security screeners as he tries to bring into the plane not-so-pleasant-smelling food items which they claim to be part of their diet. And what about the family that insists on bringing a birthday cake on-board because they want to celebrate a family member’s birthday during the flight?

To avoid being pulled aside at the airport security checkpoints and be subjected to further screening, passengers should check first with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the list of prohibited items that they must not carry in both their checked luggage and carry-on luggage. The easiest place to access this information is at the TSA’s own website, www.TSA.gov. There are many items that are prohibited for carry-on luggage but may be allowed in your checked bags and at the same time, there are items that are prohibited for both checked luggage and carry-on luggage which consequently must not be carried at all.

While some items may be allowed to be carried into the plane as a carry-on, there could be additional restrictions or screening. Remember the case of the cake-carrying family? Cakes and pies may be brought through the security checkpoints. But people need to bear in mind that they are subject to additional screening (just pray that the screener does not poke his finger through the cake to check for hidden weapons).

Gifts carried by passengers are subject to additional screening also. But remember, leave them unwrapped. Screeners may have to unwrap the gifts for them to take a closer look so it’s a good idea to leave them unwrapped during your travels and just plan on wrapping them once you have reached your destination.

And what about your turkey? What’s Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey, right? TSA regulations do not specifically prohibit cooked foods being carried on, such as turkeys. But, to play it safe, and so as not to waste your precious Thanksgiving dinner, please check with the airlines first to see if they will allow you to check in and fly your turkey.