'Petty airport security overdoes it': Power-tripping airport security employee has to "bite his tongue" after traveler outsmarts him

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 1, 2024 5:00 PM EST

If you've ever flown on a budget like this couple, you know that you've got to pack as light as possible. 

Some airlines will let you fly for a double-digit price, and you think to yourself, "What a fantastic deal!" Sure, you may have long layovers or have to fly at 3 AM, but you're saving so much money! But once you read the fine print, you may realize that you're stuck. That airline is only going to let you bring a bag and a personal item, and they're going to be very strict about the measurements and weight of those items. They have to keep their costs low somehow, so they'd rather make their customers pay extra to bring luggage instead of factoring that cost into the ticket. 

So, you find yourself trying to pack shirts as flat as possible, or rolling up your clothing as tight as you can. You might have to wear three pairs of socks or layer up four shirts in order to get through TSA with all of your belongings! Packing light is an art form, and if you scroll down, you can read about the way this person got through security with their own light baggage. 

Next up, read the eye-opening tale of the teenage concession stand by overcharging 5,000 people, revealing that they made $3,000 extra! 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10434907392
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Petty airport security overdoes it S OC My bff and I travel on a budget & the nameless budget airline in question has a strict 1 bag, 1 personal item per person policy when you don't check a suitcase.
    via u/EmperorB***man
  • 03
    We're on the return flight out and before they even let us through to the x-ray machines we have a security in our face telling us we're violating policy (we each have 1 bag and only one of us has a personal item - a tote bag we had on our flight there with the same airline). Man's clearly got a problem and when I cite the actual policy he insists it's a baggage item.
    via u/EmperorB***man
  • 04
    So I do what any normal person would do: don the the bathrobe and cat themed neck pillow (only items in the bag), fold up the tote and stick it in one of our bags.
    via u/EmperorB***man
  • 05
    Man still clearly needs his power trip so he now sends us to another colleague to measure our bags - they fit the measurements perfectly - and as soon as we walk through his gate and hit real security I take off the neck pillow & bathrobe and stick them back in the bag. Was satisfying to see the guy bite his tongue from the other side. Edit: thanks for all the comments telling me it was an airline employee (even more mystified that they didn't know their own policy now)
    via u/EmperorB***man
  • 06
    Diberries Yeah that's not security. That's an airline employee being a dummy
    via u/Diberries
  • 07
    TraptorKai Most airline security ive run into has been the smallest amount of power that most quickly goes to someones head. They think theyre dealing with life or death when theyre harassing people about robes and neck pillows.
    via u/TraptorKai
  • 08
    captaindomon I got so tired of this that I started just booking tickets on airlines that treated me like a human.
    via u/captaindomon
  • 09
    bdonvr In the US nobody really checks this until you're boarding. TSA doesn't give 2 craps about airline policies. Unless maybe you checked in at the ticket counter and the employee saw I suppose but who doesn't use mobile ticketing now eh?
    via u/bdonvr
  • 10
    Slokunshialgo Had a similar thing happen to me when boarding an airplane at one point. I had a backpack and a (nearly empty) courier bag with me. When I went to board I was told it was two bags, and I was only allowed one.
    via u/Slokunshialgo
  • 11
    I undid the flap on my backpack and half-assedly stuck the courier bag in the flap. It was now one bag, they were content, and I was free to board. As soon as I made it past, I took the courier bag back out.
    via u/Slokunshialgo
  • 12
    Meggarea Honestly, the employees don't like it any more than y'all do, but they need a job, and this is part of their job. If you can make it look good, we are happy. If you have a carry on, and you know you're flying a cheap airline, just pay for it in advance. Save everyone the hassle, and yourself a lot of money.
    via u/Meggarea
  • 13
    dcgirl17 Yep, done this before. I have a tiny crossbody purse that's just big enough for a credit card, a phone, and your passport. It's so they're always on my body and I don't leave them anywhere. One attendant gets in my face about me having too many bags and doesn't listen when I point out it's purpose (basically an external pocket).
    via u/dcgirl17
  • 14
    So I look her deep in the eyes while I take it off, open my tote bag, and put it in. She had bulging apoplectic eyes when she scanned my ticket but didn't say anything else. Then immediately slung it back on my body when I passed her. Some people just like power?
    via u/dcgirl17
  • 15
    CoderJoe1 Next year they'll probably have an additional fee for thwarting their baggage policy.
    via u/CoderJoe1
  • 16
    myxomatosis8 I once had them tell me my carry-on was too heavy, but a tiny bit, but rules is rules. I stepped aside, wore a pair of jeans around my neck, tied a sweater around my waist, put my jacket on, and stuffed some electronics in my pockets. Reweighed the bag, and it was all good. At the gate I put all my crip back in.
    via u/myxomatosis8
  • 17
    PistachioMaru I hate going through security. I'm an airline pilot, so I go through all the time. And in uniform, 99% of the time it's fine. No issues, they're friendly, it's all good. Plain clothes? Totally different experience. I can still skip the lines when I'm traveling for non work reasons, I have to show my security pass, which says that I'm a pilot and the airline I work for. They still know I'm an airline pilot at that point. But completely
    via u/PistachioMaru
  • 18
    different experience nonetheless. They're ride, often intrusive, impatient. It's nutty. And one of my personal biggest issues is traveling internationally when you're in a different country, airport security knows they're interacting with people from all over the world where normal things aren't necessarily normal to these people because they're from a different country with
    via u/PistachioMaru
  • 19
    different standards. And yet they still treat people like complete morons for not inherently knowing each different countries different customs. I've found America is particularly bad for this.
    via u/PistachioMaru
  • 20
    garylapointe I have a ScottEvest for flying, it's got 20 plus pockets. One is big enough for an iPad (I could put my 11" MacBook Air in a pocket). Besides NOT being a bag, it distributes the weight nicely, plus everything is spread out so you can find things. I had 25 pounds of stuff in there once.
    via u/garylapointe
  • 21
    When I travel I take a lot of cameras, lenses, video, and computer tech to use the content. It's all heavy and full of wires. Very handy.. Everything thing zippers up nicely too.
    via u/garylapointe
  • 22
    Pablo Dabscovar Wait.... You travel with your bathrobe? 12 Reply Share EmperorB man OP Just this once for a funny video
    via u/Pablo Dabscovar
  • 23
    Ophelia Morningwood My hometown airport calls itself "International" because it connects to hubs that fly overseas but is so small it has maybe 4 gates and 1 baggage carousel. I was heading home after a quick visit and my mom had carefully wrapped up several large seashells from her collection to take with me to my landlocked destination. Nothing larger than a can of soda, but wrapped in paper and bubble wrap and stowed in my carryon backpack. Went
    via u/OpheliaMorningwood
  • 24
    through screening and Security insisted on taking everything out, unwrapping them for inspection, said, "oh, shells", then wadded it back up and shoved them back in my bag. My mom watched the whole thing unfold on the other side of the plexiglass divider. One look and I know she was thinking, "this fool lives 10 miles from the ocean and can't recognize a conch on an xray"?
    via u/OpheliaMorningwood
  • 25
    garryblendenning I've never understood what the person on the ground gets out of this. Just ignore it as much as reasonable, it makes your life more pleasant
    via u/garryblendenning
  • 26
    hooplah_charcoal Similar thing happened to me. Was traveling with my friend. She had a big bag and her purse. They wouldn't let her carry both so I grabbed her purse, put it around my neck, and said "my purse now". Gave it back to her once we were through security. It's pure silliness
    via u/hooplah_charcoal

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bag malicious compliance airport bags malicious-compliance-reddit flight seating seats plane passenger flights malicious compliance reddit airplane flying
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