TSA officers discovered six smoke grenades in a man’s carry-on luggage at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 16. The items were spotted during screening at an airport security checkpoint and removed before the passenger boarded.
While smoke grenades are not outright illegal in all contexts, they are prohibited from being taken aboard commercial aircraft for safety reasons. If detonated inside the cabin, they could produce dense smoke that impairs visibility, alarms smoke detectors, disrupts the flight crew’s ability to operate the aircraft, and endangers passengers and crew.
An officer monitoring the X-ray monitor flagged the bag for additional inspection and it was pulled off the conveyor. During the secondary inspection, officers found six smoke grenades, each individually bubble-wrapped.
“It’s quite shocking that someone thought he could bring them on the plane at all because something like that is not even allowed in a checked bag,” said Christopher Murgia, New Jersey deputy federal security director for the TSA.
“This is a perfect example of the fine work our TSA officers do,” Murgia added. “The officer staffing the X-ray machine noticed something unusual, called for the bag to be opened and inspected, and that proved to be the right call.”
After the grenades were identified, the passenger chose to leave them with a non-traveling companion and was permitted to continue to his flight to the Dominican Republic. The incident highlights the importance of screening procedures and passenger awareness about restricted items in both carry-on and checked baggage.