Story perspectives

TSA weighs letting PreCheck passengers keep water bottles

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 11:24 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

The Transportation Security Administration is evaluating a policy to let TSA PreCheck passengers keep water bottles through security, announced September 2026.
The proposal relies on newer 3-D CT scanners and may roll out after the holiday travel season at select airports.
Security experts warn many smaller airports lack the required 3-D CT scanners, potentially delaying a nationwide rollout.

History

Historical Context

The TSA’s backscatter scanners, used until 2013, drew criticism after 2012 videos by researcher Jonathan Corbett showed they could be bypassed, and a German trial of more than 800,000 passengers highlighted high false-alarm rates, prompting the European Commission to ban the technology. Those controversies shape the agency’s current PreCheck water-bottle proposal.

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Story summary

The Transportation Security Administration is evaluating a policy to let TSA PreCheck passengers keep water bottles through security, announced September 2026.
The proposal relies on newer 3-D CT scanners and may roll out after the holiday travel season at select airports.
Security experts warn many smaller airports lack the required 3-D CT scanners, potentially delaying a nationwide rollout.

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