The thing about a major comic book conference like Comic-Con? People are probably going to buy stuff, including comic books, likely in large quantities. But some travelers leaving San Diego after this past weekend’s Comic-Con International were confused by signs informing them that comic books are not allowed in checked baggage. However, that’s just not true.
Folks leaving Comic-Con warned their fellow travelers flying out of San Diego yesterday (note: Tweets include harsh language):
United Airlines noted in replies to travelers that comic books must be carried on, per the Transportation Security Administration:
TSA: It Wasn’t Us
We reached out to TSA for more information, and were told by a spokeswoman that the warnings about not allowing comic books — or any kind of book — in checked bags are simply not true.
There is “no restriction on anything related to putting comics or any type of books” in baggage, and TSA never put out any guidance to that effect, she said.
“In fact, they are allowed in both checked and carry-on baggage,” the spokeswoman told Consumerist, adding that there were no delays in the processing of checked bags out of San Diego yesterday.
She also noted that while sometimes when you have a large amount of a particular type of item in a checked bag — say, a suitcase filled with comic books — it may trigger an alarm in the screening technology. All that would require is a quick check of the bag’s contents.
She adds that TSA will now be contacting any airlines that did post notices to that effect.
We’ve reached out to United for more information and will update this post if we hear back.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist