NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Amid the excitement of the new Grand Lobby unveiling at Nashville International Airport Tuesday came new luggage scanners at the central TSA checkpoint.
The scanners, which use the same CT technology in use in hospitals, generate a 3D image of items that passengers are carrying onto the airplane.
In a tweet Monday, BNA sent a post that worried some travelers, thinking they may need to buy a smaller suitcase to get past the new security lines.
"If your bag does not fit the outlined dimensions, you will be directed to the ticket counters to check your bag," the tweet said. Another tweet, which appears to have been deleted, admitted the openings to the new CT x-ray scanners are slightly smaller than the traditional x-ray equipment.
But the TSA clarified the update Tuesday, saying anyone traveling with a carry-on that complies with their airline's bag dimension policy should not be affected.
The TSA says that for years a lot of people have quietly gotten away with getting through security and carrying on a bag that should have been checked instead — a bag that may have been larger than the airline carry-on dimension limits — without being stopped by TSA or their airline.
But, the TSA says, the baggage openings on their new CT scanners are smaller — measuring 24.5 inches wide by 16.5 inches high — but still large enough to accommodate any carry-on bag within airline carry-on dimensions.
However, the TSA says if you’ve gotten away before with carrying on a bag that exceeded those limits, you may now have to check it, if it doesn't fit.
The TSA says individual items like car seats, strollers, crutches, and musical instruments can be hand-screened by the TSA if they don’t fit in the machines, and then carried on.
