This Viral Clothing Packing Method Probably Isn't Worth Risking A TSA Mishap

As a traveler, you want to make sure your trip through airport security is a breeze. As you approach security, you're feeling confident knowing that you've researched TSA's carry-on luggage rules before heading to the airport. You've even followed all the best hacks for making the best use of your luggage real estate, but little did you know that the viral clothing packing method you followed may actually get your suitcase flagged by TSA officers.

While vacuum-sealing your clothes in bags might be a smart method to avoid overpacking, it also might land you in hot water in the security line. According to the official TSA website, while vacuum-sealed bags are not prohibited, they really aren't encouraged either. While each TSA officer might approach this situation differently, if the contents of your bags are too compressed, it might be hard for the scanning officer to decipher what's actually inside, leading them to flag it for further inspection.

What seemed like a smart packing method to you is an absolute headache for TSA officers. To verify that there's nothing illegal in your bag, some agents might need to pull your luggage to the side to sort through it by hand.

Security lines are rammed with travelers all throughout the day in many busy airports, and agents definitely want lines to move fast and efficiently. If you pack airtight or vacuum-sealed bags in your luggage, when it goes through the scanners, the agents can't tell what is in those bags. The resulting inspection will not only delay you, but other travelers in the airport too.

Put yourself in the shoes of other travelers for a moment. You're waiting in line, packed smartly and efficiently, but you've got a short connection for your next flight. A fellow traveler just a few people ahead of you in line is flagged by security and forced to occupy the time of the TSA agent to have their vacuum-sealed bags torn open for secondary manual inspection. The line will move slower, and your connection time will get tighter, which causes additional stress that nobody needs.

Packing vacuum-sealed bags effectively may not get you flagged if the contents inside are visible to TSA officers and are easy to see, but there has been some chatter on social media in regards to curious travelers asking each other if they've had any security issues with vacuum-sealing their belongings. On the r/onebag subreddit, one Redditor asked the community for its opinion on the trendy vacuum-sealing hack for packing clothing. They said that they've seen many YouTubers, TikTok users, and Instagrammers vacuum-seal their clothes in order to pack as many outfits as physically possible into their carry-on bag. In the comments, u/TheAbleArcher said, "This feels like more trouble than it will be worth. You could almost get the same result with compression cubes." Another user, u/tuskenraider89, said, "They do also have vacuum seal bags that you can manually roll. Like a giant Ziploc basically."

Another Redditor provides a dissenting opinion: u/LadyLightTravel said, "I find it ridiculous." They listed the cons of using this hack, saying that it wrinkles clothing, doesn't make your bag any lighter, and lets people bring extra clothes in their bag, which only increases the weight. They said that all of this headache could be resolved, though: "You know what pays off? Coordinating your wardrobe. I can take 6 tops, 3 bottoms, a cardigan which yields 36 different outfits." Instead of being burdened with a secondary search by TSA, having your bag opened, and then being stuck with the issue of repacking, rethink your packing methods to avoid making additional work for TSA officers, delaying travel for other passengers, and creating less stress for yourself.