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“Danger Noodle” Discovered in Carry-On Bag by TSA Agents at Florida Airport

tampa international airport

Agents with the Transportation Safety Administration at airports near Disney World found a record number of weapons and other restricted items in passengers’ carry-on luggage in 2022, but one of the items, discovered by agents in December, trumped them all.

Tampa International Airport Gives Tips for Summer Travel - Guide to Greater Tampa  Bay

Credit: Guide to Greater Tampa Bay

Guests who frequent the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios Orlando Resort have a myriad of choices when it comes to transportation that will ultimately land them in the Orlando area. Those who live in and around the Central Florida area can simply drive or take an Uber to either theme park resort, and for those whose trips to Central Florida would cost them too much time and stress if they chose to drive, there’s of course the option of flying to Florida. 

RELATED: Universal Studios Is Making it Easier for Guests to Visit Them Than to Visit Disney World

Everyday, airliners land on the runway at Orlando International Airport (MCO) from the United States and from locations around the world. Floridians can even choose to fly into MCO from airports in Miami, Jacksonville, and other major cities in the Sunshine State.

orlando international airport cinderella castle

Over the last few weeks, airports all across the globe have been packed with happy (and unhappy) holiday travelers, and the Transportation Safety Administration plays a huge role in every flight into and out of the United States. TSA agents scan carry-on luggage, laptop bags, purses, and other items to ensure that no restricted items are taken onto an aircraft, and the situation was no different when a woman approached a TSA check station at Tampa International Airport in December.

Well, not that different.

Whether she was headed to Disney World or Universal Studios, we aren’t sure. But we’re positive that she wouldn’t have made it into the gates at any of the two resorts’ theme parks. That’s because she didn’t make it past the TSA check at the airport, and it’s all because of what she had packed in her carry-on luggage.

cinderella castle and caution sign

A spokesperson for TSA tweeted about the scenario, in which the woman apparently didn’t want to travel without her emotional support animal. No harm, no foul, right? Well, that would be the case with a typical emotional or medical support animal. But the woman at Tampa International Airport failed to be forthcoming with her emotional support animal and, instead, packed him in her carry-on.

The gig was up, however, when TSA agents scanned her bag, only to find an animal named “Bartholomew” hiding in the woman’s carry-on.

Do you see Bartholomew in this photo taken by the TSA agents’ scanner?

The Transportation Security Administration says that a traveler attempted to bring an "emotional support pet" boa constrictor snake through security.

Credit: TSA

Yep, Bartholomew is a snake–a four-foot-long boa constrictor, to be exact.

The Transportation Safety Administration agent responsible for updating the official TSA Instagram page was seemingly in good spirits and took the liberty of having a little fun in sharing the story Bartholomew, the emotional support boa constrictor, and his journey into the mysterious cave, otherwise known as the TSA checkpoint scanner.

boa constrictor tsa tampa international airport

Say hello to Bartholomew, the emotional support Credit: TSA

The agent reminded passengers not to attempt such a move, saying, among other things, “We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an x-ray machine.”

“There’s a danger noodle in that bag . . . Our officers at Tampa International Airport didn’t find this hyssssssterical! Coiled up in a passenger’s carry-on was a 4’ boa constrictor! We really have no adder-ation for discovering any pet going through an x-ray machine.

Do you have asp-irations of taking a snake on a plane? Don’t get upsetti spaghetti by not understanding your airline’s rules. For instance, airlines don’t allow nope ropes in carry-on bags, and only a few allow them to slither around in checked bags, if packaged correctly.

Has all this left you wanting to squeeze out more travel answers? You can always mamba on over to our friends at AskTSA! They’ll rattle out responses to your questions 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. (ET).”

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Travel Tips & Dad Joke Hits ? (@tsa)

It seems that no boa constrictors were harmed in the exchange, and TSA quickly reached out to the airline with which the woman was flying, and received confirmation that Bartholomew would not be receiving a boarding pass.

About Becky Burkett

Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!