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safety pins question

Are safty pins allowe din carry-on?
I asked TSA and they gave me a very smart answer. It's up to the TSA agent.
I want to carry a few of them to pin my money pouch inside my coat or t-shirts.
Tahnks

Posted by
1003 posts

I've been traveling for about 5 weeks and have flown out of the US and into and out of many other countries too, haven't had a problem with safety pins. :)

Posted by
79 posts

Why don't you wear them through security? They probably won't set off the metal detectors, they're so small. You may want to wear your money belt while traveling anyway. I don't think you would have a problem carrying them in your carry-on, but you never know what kind of day the TSA officer you get has had. You should be fine, though. Good luck!

Posted by
36 posts

While travelling this summer, I used safety pins to secure my money belt to clothing (as an extra precaution), and I also included several extra pins inside my money belt, fastened to an inside seam. Even when the security folks were at their most vigilent (Koln Airport) my safety pins were allowed through. Koln Airport was the only place where I was required to step inside a curtained off area and show the contents of my money belt to the guard. Perhaps different places have different guidelines. I travelled through Schiphol in Amsterdam, Koln, Marco Polo in Venice, Praha Airport, and Mozart in Salzburg and was only required to open it once.

Posted by
683 posts

We fly only when we must but about TSA we know this:
the individual TSA people can ban anything they wish based upon their own interpretation of what is or is not a security threat. The "Guidelines" are precisely that- guidelines. So, if you encounter reasonable TSAers, the pins are fine. If you meet up w Little Napoleons or people whose day started badly or who have been hectored and upset, they are terrorist items!

Posted by
808 posts

I always carry a few safety pins inside my blazer and have never had a problem. But that is not to say that it never will be a problem.

Here is an idea to keep the zippers on a moneybelt shut...
Have one or two minature grommets (about 1 mm or less) put into your moneybelt where the safety pin would normally pierce the moneybelt. Then you can secure a small sturdy key ring through the zipper pull and through the grommet to keep it shut. At least the key ring is removable, isn't a sharp object with the added bonus of not being able to poke into you!
Bea, if you wanted the safety pins to pin your money pouch inside your coat, why not consider this option...
Sew a removable open end zipper on your moneybelt into the coat you plan to use most often? You'd have to buy a couple of them but that gets you around using safety pins.