DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — The TSA is prepping for another round of congested holiday travel, and agents want to remind you of what can and cannot bring on planes.

A big thing that can slow down holiday travelers is going through security, so to keep things running smoothly, make sure you are not packing anything in your carry-on bag you should not be.

“We have the saying ‘Know before you go,'” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said. “Knowing what is in and among your carry-on items at all times.”

Farbstein said there are some common mistakes, like packing liquids bigger than 3.4 ounces.

“If you can spill it, spread it, spray it, pump it, or pour it, it’s considered a liquid gel or aerosol,” she said.

Another common item is knives. Farbstein said TSA officers see knives of all kinds, but some of the more common ones are Swiss Army knives or keychain knives. Those always need to be packed in a checked bag.

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For holiday-specific items like gifts, TSA tells travelers to keep them unwrapped or in gift bags. If any trigger an alarm, TSA officers will have to open them.

“This time of year, we often see people traveling with food. Cakes, pies, brownies,” Farbstein said.

Farbstein said those kinds of baked goods are considered solids and are fine in a carry-on, but there are trickier holiday items like snow globes.

“If it’s approximately the size of a tennis ball or smaller, odds are it’s 3.4 ounces or smaller. And you can put that in your 311 bag with your other small liquids,” Farbstein said.

The worst mistake is packing a gun in your carry-on. TSA officers at Harrisburg International Airport have found seven so far in 2023.

“The most common excuse we hear is, ‘Oh, I forgot in my gun with me.’ The majority of those guns are loaded. So they’re telling us they forgot that they had a loaded gun with them,” Farbstein said.

Finding a gun stops the whole conveyor belt and can land you with a hefty fine and even an arrest.

“So it’s a very expensive mistake to make,” Farbstein said.

TSA officer Mitchell Wade recommends, to make sure nothing ends up where it should not, “Always start with an empty bag because sometimes people forget what is in their bag.”

Any mistake, even a small one, can cause problems.

“It just generally slows down the entire process for everybody,” Wade said.

If you are still not sure about something, you can use the MyTSA app to search for an item, and find instructions on how and where to pack it.

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