Review the rules of travel established by your chosen airline and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). See Resources for the TSA's list of items prohibited when traveling by air (in some cases, certain airlines may expand upon this list).
Pack your bags in an organized manner. Organize your bags with layers so security screeners can see what is inside. When packing your carry-on bags, place all heavy items on top of your layers of clothing.
Remove oversized electronics--laptops for example--from your carry on bag. These types of electronics must undergo a separate x-ray screening. Place undeveloped film in your carry-on bag. To avoid having your film x-rayed, ask a security officer to physically inspection it. Leave gifts unwrapped and wrap them when you reach your final destination.
Place liquids (less than 3.4 oz.) in a one, quart-sized, clear, zip top bag. Inform the security checkpoint if you possess larger quantities of certain liquids, such as medications, as some are allowed to exceed the three-oz. rule.
Prepare yourself for the metal detector screening. Remove metal items--keys, belt buckles and body piercings--to avoid alarming the detector. If the metal detector alarm goes off, security officials will perform additional screening steps, such as the hand wand and pat-down search.
Present your boarding pass and identification to the security officer at the checkpoint. Keep these documents accessible until you complete the security screening process. See Resources for a list of acceptable ID.
