About The Checkpoint
The Checkpoint is an independent reference tool for practical air-travel screening and logistics questions: whether a specific item is allowed through security, what the core TSA rules actually say, how early to arrive, and how airline baggage policies compare. It is built to be fast to scan and current, not to replace the official regulator.
We do not coverREAL ID, visa, or passport requirements. Those are legally binding identity and travel-document requirements with real consequences if stated incorrectly, and they belong to the agencies that actually issue and enforce them. If you’re looking for that information, go directly to TSA.gov’s REAL ID page, CBP.gov, or the U.S. Department of State.
How we keep verdicts current
Every item verdict and core rule page carries a “rule last reviewed” date. That date reflects an actual compliance re-check against the regulator’s own source, not just a cosmetic content update.
We attribute every rule to the agency that actually owns it: TSA for checkpoint screening, FAA for hazmat carriage rules like battery watt-hour limits, CBP for Global Entry, DOT for baggage-fee data, and individual airlines for their own carry-on size and fee policy. Mixing these up is a common source of bad information elsewhere, and we try hard not to repeat it.
Even a correct verdict on this site is not a guarantee. TSA and CBP officers retain final discretion at the checkpoint, and we say so on every relevant page.
Where to go for what we don’t cover
- REAL ID and general identification requirements: TSA.gov identification requirements
- Visa and passport applications: U.S. Department of State
- Global Entry and CBP-run trusted traveler programs: CBP.gov trusted traveler programs