Just in time for Christmas, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has added a new directive to its front line playbook. This morning, the 23rd of December, the TSA began mandatory explosive trace detection (ETD) on all thermoses and insulated children’s sippy cups. While thermoses and sippy cups must be empty when passing through an airport security checkpoint, intelligence reports from mid-December indicate that terrorist cells may have experimented with smuggling explosives inside the insulated lining of plastic thermos bottles.
At this time the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has no information regarding the timing of targets of a potential attack … but as a precaution if you’re flying with kids, their insulated sippy cups will be pulled aside for ETD testing.
Happy Flying & Happy Holidays!