A FREQUENT flyer has warned passengers not to make a critical mistake when going through airport security.
Many seasoned travellers will be more than familiar with the usual safety rituals at the airport.
Transportation Safety Administration agents guard a security checkpoint[/caption]
But one travel expert has urged people not to put their phones loose in the bins at security.
Tiffany from Pittsburg took to TikTok to share her personal experience of the matter.
“The thing I’m absolutely never doing when I’m going through TSA — I am not putting my phone directly into one of the containers,” she said.
“It’s always going in a zipped pocket in my bag.”
She told her followers that she once made that very mistake of putting her phone straight in the security bins – and was scolded by a TSA agent.
The agent warned her that putting her phone in the security bin would be an easy way to get it stolen.
“The TSA agent looked at me and was like, ‘You don’t like your phone?’ And I looked at him like he was a little crazy and I said, ‘Yes’,” she said.
“He said, ‘This is the fastest way to get it stolen’.”
Tiffany warned flyers that placing your phone there unprotected can be a fast track route to seeing it swiped.
She added: “The number one thing they see stolen on a regular basis is phones and it’s because they are left out and available.
“The lines can back up, you’re not paying attention until you realize and it’s too late.”
It’s why passengers are urged to make sure they keep a careful eye on their valuables at the airport – and make sure they’re not left unattended.
“Always make sure your valuables are zipped up [inside] your bag when they go through the scanners”, Tiffany said.
A recent Air France flight from Paris to Guadeloupe had to return to the airport after one passenger lost their phone.
According to the TSA, some 100,000 lost items are recovered every year.
Its website reads: “Passengers are encouraged to place their contact information on the outside of their electronics, such as laptops, in case the item is left behind.
“TSA will make every effort to reunite passengers with their belongings.
“Unclaimed electronics will have its memory removed and destroyed (e.g. laptop hard drive) or be destroyed completely (e.g. items with non-removable memory) to protect personal data after the 30-day holding period.”
