United Airlines Says It “Misunderstood” TSA About Non-Existent Ban On Comic Books

Image courtesy of @adichappo

Now that the Transportation Security Administration has called shenanigans on United Airlines’ claim that folks leaving last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con could not stow their comics in their checked bags, the airline is admitting that it was wrong about this bizarre request being any sort of federal requirement.

In a statement emailed to Consumerist, a rep for United claims that this was all a misunderstanding of TSA policy.

“While TSA is recommending that customers keep their comic books in their carry-on bags, there are no restrictions on packing them in checked luggage,” reads the statement. “We misunderstood TSA’s instructions and regret any inconvenience this may have caused our customers.”

The United statement appears to be referencing this 2016 TSA blog post, where the the agency does advise Comic-Con goers to “Pack items such as stacks of brochures and assorted comic books in your carry-on bag,” because stacks of comics or similar items can trigger alerts in the bag-scanning process, requiring security personnel to check the contents.

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