TSA Checkpoint Main – Pittsburgh International Airport

About a month ago I had to pass through this checkpoint with my mother’s ashes. I was dreading being turned away if they couldn’t confirm that they were really just ashes, but had made sure they were in a wooden box with plastic lining (per the funeral director’s suggestion) and had all of the paperwork with us. We even had a family member waiting in the cell lot to take the ashes back, just in case.
A TSA agent pulled us to the side after the ashes went through the metal detector and my stomach dropped. His first comment was that he was sorry for our loss, then proceeded to explain that he just needed to perform an additional noninvasive test. He swiped the box and bag that we were carrying the box in, ran the swiped material through a machine, and we were free to go on our way.
The fact that the agent first and foremost was kind to us was unexpected and appreciated. The noninvasive test took little time and (as per regulation) did not involve opening the cremation container. Thank you for making this very hard journey as painless as it possibly could be without compromising safety.

Ugh. We recently had an early flight out of PIT and were given TSA Precheck and lined up with a few others. We were was surprised to find that pre-​check line doesn’t open until 4:15 am. Yes, only in Pittsburgh.