Travelers At BWI Check Patience, Along With Bags At Security

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Airline travelers who faced long waits at security checklines over the Memorial Day weekend may have learned a thing or two about what not to pack in a carry-on bag.

Pat Warren reports the TSA is following up on that experience with information that could make your next trip more pleasant.

Frustration with long waits at airport security lines built to a pitch just before the Memorial holiday.

"We actually learned some things before Memorial Day weekend. We saw the lines had been growing, we saw the wait times increase," said Lisa Farbstein, Transportation Security Administration.

So the TSA addressed shortstaffing and is also explaining why we go through what we go through.

"Somebody used a shoe just like this to try to blow up an aircraft," said Farbstein. "Here's the underside of this laptop, we remove the battery pack and we can see the battery has been removed and the bombmaker has inserted explosives."

Little things -- like keychains with pen knives, full-sized toothpaste and regular-sized shampoos -- are going to hold up the line while you decide what to do with them -- even wearing shoes that slide on and off is a time-saver.

"So if you're coming here to BWI, please come prepared, come two hours in advance, and you should be able to get through the checkpoint in under 20 minutes," said Farbstein.

Despite your best efforts, there are still likely to be some snags, so carry your patience on, along with that bag.

The TSA expects more than 230 million passengers to go through security between now and August.