Air travel comes with its fair share of rules and regulations, and it can be difficult for travelers to keep track of all of them. That’s especially true when you consider that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made some major updates to its security screening procedures in recent months, from banning certain household items to allowing passengers to keep their shoes on for the first time in 20 years. While most passengers still pass through the checkpoint without issue, there are a handful of dangerous items that carry serious penalties if you’re caught carrying them — to the tune of thousands of dollars for a single fine. Here are a few of those prohibited items that passengers should be aware of. 

Prohibited Items That Carry Civil Penalties

On its website, the TSA notes that it has the authority to impose civil penalties on individuals who attempt to bring prohibited items in both carry-on and checked baggage. These fines can exceed $17,000 per person, per violation, and can sometimes even lead to arrest, so it’s worth checking the list of prohibited items carefully before you pack.

Fortunately, many of these regulations follow common sense. For example, it’s unlikely you’ll be packing dynamite or hand grenades anytime soon, but if you attempt to do so and get caught, you’ll face a fine ranging from $10,230 to the maximum of $17,062. 

Similarly, if you try to bring a loaded firearm in your carry-on, the fines range from $3,000 to $12,210 for your first violation, plus a criminal referral to law enforcement. Repeat violations range from $12,210 to $17,062. The TSA notes that it “considers a firearm to be ‘loaded’ when both the firearm and its ammunition are accessible to the passenger. For example, if an individual has a firearm in accessible baggage and ammunition in his/her pocket, or any combination where the individual has access to both, the firearm is considered ‘loaded’ for purposes of assessing a civil penalty.”

As the TSA explains, “Passengers may transport unloaded firearms in checked baggage if they are transported in a locked, hard-sided container and declared to the airline before traveling.”

You may also face civil penalties for “realistic replicas” of explosives, BB guns, frames and receivers of firearms, 3D-printed firearms, novelty fireworks, self-defense spray, flammable liquids such as lighter fluids, silencers, and cellphone stun guns.  

Some items carry a warning notice for your first violation, with penalties (ranging from $450 to $2,570) for subsequent violations. Examples include ice picks, switchblades, butterfly knives, meat cleavers, sabers, and throwing knives. 

Other Banned Items

The prohibited objects above can be considered dangerous, so it makes sense that penalties for violations can be steep. But there are other seemingly innocuous items that the TSA has banned in certain types of luggage, and while you won’t face civil penalties if you pack one, the item may be confiscated. 

Items containing lithium-ion batteries — found in personal tech devices such as laptops and cellphones — are the most prominent example. A new rule concerning these items was enacted in March 2025, after a string of recent events in which devices containing lithium batteries overheated and caught fire on commercial aircraft. 

What does this mean for travelers? You’re now prohibited from packing portable chargers, power banks, and cellphone battery charging cases that contain lithium-ion batteries in checked luggage. The TSA says they must be packed in your carry-on. This rule also applies to spare external lithium batteries. While personal electronic devices that contain such batteries — e.g., laptops, tablets, and cellphones — are still permitted in checked bags as long as they are powered off, the TSA recommends that they be carried on board with you.

Many airlines are enacting even stricter rules. As of May 2026, anyone flying on American Airlines has to keep their power banks out of the overhead compartments; these items must be visible and within reach at all times during the flight.

Last year, the TSA also banned any “cordless curling irons containing a gas cartridge,” along with “butane-fueled curling irons,” from checked luggage. Cordless flat irons are subject to this same rule. However, you are permitted to travel with these types of irons inside your carry-on bag.

What Can You Bring?

As you can see, the TSA has extensive rules about what you can and can’t pack in your bag. Some items are allowed in your carry-on, but not in checked luggage (and vice versa). To cut down on confusion, the TSA has a helpful webpage entitled “What Can I Bring?” 

It details dozens of highly specific items and whether they are allowed in carry-on or checked luggage. If you’re packing anything unusual before a trip, we suggest you start here. If your item isn’t listed, you can contact AskTSA on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook messenger, Apple Business Chat, or text message at 275-872. Doing so can help prevent you from facing any surprise fines at the security checkpoint. 

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