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Get TSA questions answered
Can I bring nana’s metal knitting needles on the plane? How about wearing that plastic Viking helmet I got in Iceland on board? Practically no questions are off limits for AskTSA, the Transportation Security Administration’s social media outreach program. Through Twitter and Facebook Messenger, AskTSA’s 10-person team has assured passengers that, yes, they can board the plane with a vacuum and ostrich egg. That, no, bricks, tent stakes and more than 3.4 ounces of sherbet or miso paste are not permitted as carry-ons. And that while the TSA does not ban the transport of marijuana, the feds do. The experts also assist distressed passengers who may have forgotten a valuable on the X-ray machine or experienced a touchy-feely pat-down. The team works from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. holidays and weekends. Response times average about 25 minutes, depending on the complexity of the problem and the length of the virtual queue.