Airport X-ray reveals extra passenger tucked inside traveler’s carry-on bag, TSA says

The cat was out of the bag.

A TSA X-ray revealed a pet cat hidden inside a traveler’s carry-on at an airport in Virginia, officials said.

“Just when you thought it was safe to bring your pet cat on a trip,” Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, tweeted on March 3. “A traveler left their pet cat in its travel carrying case at a @TSA checkpoint this morning at @NorfolkAirport.”

TSA released the X-ray image of the feline, which appears to be crouched on all fours.

Upon seeing the X-ray image, TSA officers removed the animal from the carrying case and a new screening process was initiated, Farbstein said, adding that the cat was not harmed.

“Please do not send your pet through the X-ray unit,” Farbstein said. “Cat-astrophic mistake!”

An X-ray picked up another cat tucked inside a traveler’s luggage in November at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to previous reporting from McClatchy News.

The animal belonged to someone in the traveler’s household, according to McClatchy News.

According to the TSA, small animals are permitted to pass through security checkpoints, but they should be removed from their cases.

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Airport X-ray reveals extra passenger tucked inside traveler’s carry-on bag, TSA says."