What can we bring thru airport security drinks/snacks??

[scottie]

We will be flying from Columbus Ohio to Orlando soon with a 18 month old. Can we bring juice boxes and snacks thru security and onto the plane, to keep the little guy happy in flight? Just was curious what type of beverages/snacks we can/cant pack

 

[Donald is #1]

My advice is to check out the TSA's website. http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm

But basically for food, you can not bring through any drinks. You need to buy them inside in secure area. You can bring food as long as it is not liquid. For example, you can bring a bagel with cream cheese on it, but you can't bring a bagel with cream cheese on the side.

 

[CleveRocks]

We will be flying from Columbus Ohio to Orlando soon with a 18 month old. Can we bring juice boxes and snacks thru security and onto the plane, to keep the little guy happy in flight? Just was curious what type of beverages/snacks we can/cant pack

It's a very simple and straight-forward rule. No liquids or gels can go through security, except for those liquids and gels in 3 oz. or smaller containers, and those containers are in 1 quart-sized zip-top bag, no more than 1 such bag per ticketed passenger. They call it the 3-1-1 rule.

There are small exceptions, such as breast milk/baby formula. But there are no exceptions for things like juice boxes.

There are no restrictions on food, as long as the food isn't a gel or liquid. So pudding and Jell-o and applesauce would be no-go, but cookies and fruit and Cheerios are cool.

I agree you should check out the TSA website.

 

[goofy4tink]

You should be able to purchase juice boxes once you get through the security area. I have seen a lot of places that sell them close to the gates.

 

[snowy76]

I'll echo goofy4tink... and if there aren't juice boxes, bring an empty sippy with you - buy some bottled juice after the gate. Good luck!

 

[mrsnj91]

Oh wow so no sippie cups or anything? Glad you posted this! So I can bring the cups empty and then find milk and such once I get through security?

 

[mrsnj91]

Just copied this from that link....

Declare larger liquids. Prescription medications, baby formula and milk (when traveling with an infant or toddler) are allowed in quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint.

 

[scottie]

I was just reading this info on the TSA site also, if I am reading it correctly it sounds like we can bring bottled water/milk/juice for our little on?

"Exceptions include: baby formula/breast milk/baby food while traveling with a small child, medications, liquids (to include water, juice or liquid nutrients) or gels for diabetics or other medical needs. All exceptions must be declared to the Security Officer for screening."

http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/311-brochure.pdf

 

[gw_lit]

I was just reading this info on the TSA site also, if I am reading it correctly it sounds like we can bring bottled water/milk/juice for our little on?

"Exceptions include: baby formula/breast milk/baby food while traveling with a small child, medications, liquids (to include water, juice or liquid nutrients) or gels for diabetics or other medical needs. All exceptions must be declared to the Security Officer for screening."

I read the above as meaning "baby formula/breast milk/baby food" applies for small children, and "liquids (to include water, juice or liquid nutrients) or gels for diabetics or other medical needs" applies for medical needs, not small children.

And I'm sure you'll get different interpretations from differrent TSA agents as well. Every airport I've ever been in has places to buy milk, juice or water after security. I think you're best bet would be to bring a sippie cup empty and fill it after security. Also, if drinks are served on your flight, most flight attendants are happy to fill sippie cups with juice to keep their littlest passengers happy.

 

[NotUrsula]

I was just reading this info on the TSA site also, if I am reading it correctly it sounds like we can bring bottled water/milk/juice for our little one?

... liquids (to include water, juice or liquid nutrients) or gels for diabetics or other medical needs.

That punctuation is misleading. Juice is only allowed for diabetics and people with similar blood sugar problems, and only if they have proof of having such a medical condition. For healthy toddlers, you can bring only formula, human milk, or commercially-packaged pureed baby foods. No bottled water, no cow's milk, no soy milk, and no juice.

However, if you bottle your cow's milk or soy (rice, etc.) milk in a baby bottle and say that it is human milk, they will let it through, because they are not allowed to question what they are told is human milk when it is in a baby bottle and there is a child present. (That would be a bottle with a nipple, not a sippy cup. They frequently will insist that the contents of sippy cups be dumped out before passing through the checkpoint.)

Your best bet for a child on table food is to bring empty sippy cups, then purchase juice, water or milk airside to take onto the plane. If you bring a little lunch size cooler bag and some ziplocs, you can get ice from the airside food vendors to keep it cool for the flight. Most domestic flights do not carry milk these days. (Think twice about feeding dairy on planes, anyway -- it makes a monster smelly mess if the child gets airsick.)

 

[mrsnj91]

Good ideas! Thanks!

 

[scottie]

I called the TSA center because their wording peaked my interest and the rep checked with a supervisor and stated that you can bring any amount of juice/water/milk on the plane for an infant, as long as you declare it at the security gate first. She asked what the age of the child was (18 months) and placed me on hold. She came back and told me that it would be fine to bring on juice boxes as an example. I asked if there was a limit as to how many. She said no, TSA will not decide how much liquid is enough for your young child.

 

[NotUrsula]

All I can tell you is that I've seen a whole lot of juice boxes hit the trash cans at checkpoints all over the country. I hope that you got the telephone rep's name and title, because I think that you may need to invoke them when you argue to get those juice boxes through.

 

[bavaria]

I called the TSA center because their wording peaked my interest and the rep checked with a supervisor and stated that you can bring any amount of juice/water/milk on the plane for an infant, as long as you declare it at the security gate first. She asked what the age of the child was (18 months) and placed me on hold. She came back and told me that it would be fine to bring on juice boxes as an example. I asked if there was a limit as to how many. She said no, TSA will not decide how much liquid is enough for your young child.

Frankly, that is no help to you at all. The text may be subject to interpretation, as we see here. There is no guarantee that your TSA agent will interpret the rule the way that you would like.

Plan NOT to bring liquids and to purchase them airside - thousands of children have travelled every day since last August and have abided by the rules.

 

[scottie]

I believe we will likely pack empty cups and just fill them with juice from the flight staff or a store after security. Just was curious with the wording from the website so made the call. I was under the impression the boxes would be required to be tossed before passing thru security too.