Ellen Pompeo, best known for her role on Grey’s Anatomy, recently shared a surprising travel mishap with Travel + Leisure. While going through TSA, she was detained for carrying what seemed like an innocent snack. “I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy. They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in. And I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke?” she said.
According to TSA, a chemical on the packaging of the unopened seeds likely triggered the alarm. “They said it was most likely a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds. My protein on the plane!” She offered to throw them out, but officials made her wait for the bomb squad to assess the situation. “I almost missed the flight. It was really like no one would ever believe this! I was texting my publicist saying, ‘I might not get on this plane, and you’re never gonna guess why.’”
Her story instantly reminded me of a run-in my family had with TSA at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. My wife, our 9-month-old son and I were heading back to Los Angeles after a quick trip to Seattle. It was our first time flying carry-on only since becoming parents and things didn’t go smoothly. TSA flagged my bag for our son’s oversized eczema cream and flagged my wife’s for baby food that had been placed in the same bin as her laptop.
While the cream was eventually permitted after testing, the screening officers were not especially friendly. I asked my wife to film my pat-down, which upset the agent. He called for a supervisor. Then my phone and the baby food tested positive for some sort of chemical. That triggered a response from the Explosives Unit. At first, I thought it was a prank, but it wasn’t. Two agents arrived to run extra tests and hand search our bags.
Thankfully, they were calm and professional. They quickly realized it was a false alarm. Still, the process took about 30 minutes. It felt even longer with a fussy baby and frustrated passengers waiting in line behind us. The whole situation was stressful and unnecessary and it reminded us how quickly things can escalate even for frequent travelers.
So I can relate to Ellen’s sunflower seed saga. In our case, it felt like the agent was just on a power trip. Here are a few lessons I learned that might help you avoid a similar experience:
- Arrive at the airport earlier than you think you need to, especially when traveling with kids or unfamiliar items. You never know what could trigger extra screening.
- Keep food items in a separate bin from electronics when going through security.
- Avoid packing liquids or creams over 3.4 ounces unless they are medically necessary. If they are, you’re allowed to bring them but they may require extra screening.
- Stay calm and polite with TSA officers but if you feel something is off, don’t hesitate to ask for a supervisor. They usually know the rules better than line agents.
- And maybe skip the organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon if you want to board on time.
Despite the sunflower seed debacle, Pompeo says she still loves to travel, even if it means giving up her daily wellness routine of a sauna and cold plunge at home in Los Angeles. She tries to book hotels with saunas and a pool. “I do love to wake up and swim,” she says, and I can attest. I saw her once at the pool at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach with her family.
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I was once denied boarding in Colorado Springs because I had a cast on my hand and it tested positive for explosives. I was placed in a room and had two women TSA agent with me. One of them asked me if I had washed my hands in the rest room outside of the security check point. I said yes and she said that was the problem. The soap there is a glycerin based soap. Their supervisor refused to let me through and told me to drive to Denver where they had a cast scope so they could make sure I didn’t have a bomb in my cast.
Now instead of flying to LAX and then a cheap rental car I had to fly into Bakersfield and drive in a blinding rain to Palm Springs. I didn’t get to my hotel until 2 am and had to be at a meeting by 9 am.
OMG! That’s crazy but good to know about glycerin soap — I now have to check before using. Thanks for sharing