A PSA from the TSA for KU fans: Special instructions for handling NCAA game programs
Kansas fans who are flying out of New Orleans this week following the men’s NCAA Tournament national championship game were given a piece of advice from the Transportation Security Administration.
Specifically, the TSA wants fans to know what to do with commemorative game programs from the NCAA Tournament. That’ll be a special keepsake for KU fans who watched the Jayhawks defeat North Carolina 72-69.
If fans plan to take the program in carry-on luggage, TSA said, they need to place it in a bin, just as you would with a laptop or tablet. Anyone who puts the program in a checked bag should make sure it is in an outer compartment, TSA said.
Travelers from the women’s national championship game in Minneapolis were advised against putting a program in a carry-on bag. And they were told not to put more than four programs in a checked bag.
So what’s the deal with the programs? Well, no one has come out and cited a specific reason.
But an 11Alive Story from 2019 noted the commemorative programs can cause issues.
“The materials used in producing the book is setting off scanners that are forcing security agents to pull luggage off of conveyors to check individual pieces of luggage, which causes its own set of problems,” that story said.
That was the deal following Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix. After the game, there were long lines at Sky Harbor Airport and the programs were creating “total chaos,” as a Sports Illustrated story noted.
“The cover detail was setting off alarms when placed in checked luggage,” SI reported in 2015, “which led to each bag containing a program having to be hand checked.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 9:03 AM.
