If you do any airport travel, you’re going to want to hear what this TSA agent has to say.
TSA security check is the wild, wild west. Depending on the airport and travel time, you’ll have completely different experiences.
You might get to breeze through TSA, calmly passing your items through the scanner, or you may feel like a frenzied mess seeing a slow-moving line that’ll easily take an hour to get through. When it’s finally your turn, you’re doing your best to quickly yet clumsily remove your shoes and unpack your laptop.
While you’re just thinking about getting through the process and hoping your bag doesn’t get pulled for additional screening, the TSA agents have something else on their minds.
TSA agent shares the truth about airport bins
In a viral video with more than 224,000 views, Jauan Kenney (@patchouli_julio) revealed that those bins you use in TSA are dirtier than you think.
“I just scraped [expletive] out of a tray,” Kenney said.
At first, it seemed Kenney might be referring to stuff in the general sense. For instance, something dirty (maybe some sticky snack spilled) in it that he had to clean.
But as the video went on it became clear that he was referring to it literally. As in, he scraped feces off of a tray. Yikes.
“These trays are dirty. You may not see it because I cleaned it, but there was [expletive] in a tray,” Kenney said.
“So you put your vapes in a tray? Just know someone has probably stepped in dog [expletive]. Someone stepped on the ground and put their shoes in a tray,” he added.
Kenney suggested putting your items in your bag instead of a tray or holding it in your hand if it’s something small (though this isn’t allowed at many airports that require you to have nothing on you when you pass through the human scanner).
Are airport bins really that dirty?
A 2018 study found that airport security trays carry more germs than toilets and can potentially lead to illnesses like the flu and common cold, CBS News reported.
The study was conducted three different times at a Finland airport during peak flu season.
Interestingly enough, while the bins tested positive for germs like influenza A and rhinovirus (the main cause of the common cold), none of these germs were found on the surface of airport toilets.
“These boxes typically cycle with high frequency to subsequent passengers and are typically seized with a wide palm surface area and strong grip,” Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CBS News.
The trays are also made of a non-porous material which allows viruses to live on them longer.
Researchers noted that airports can lower the spread of illness in their facilities by offering hand sanitizer before and after security screenings and increasing how frequently the bins are sanitized.
Commenters react
“I’ve just been throwing my phone & wallet in there oh my godddd,” a top comment read.
“Now I don’t even want my bag in a tray,” a person said.
“I wish the rules would be uniform between airports. Go to Philly and don’t put your stuff in a tray and you are reprimanded/yelled at for not using the required tray,” another wrote.
@patchouli_julio ♬ original sound – Jauan Kenney
The Daily Dot reached out to Kenney for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to TSA via email.
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