TSA May Let PreCheck Travelers Bring Full Water Bottles Through Security. Here’s What Travelers Need to Know

There are certain airport rituals most frequent flyers could probably perform in their sleep.

Shoes stay on if you have TSA PreCheck. Laptop stays in the bag. ID comes out. Carry-on goes on the belt.

And then there is the water bottle.

Drink it, dump it, or stand there at the checkpoint wondering how you somehow forgot, yet again, that a 24-ounce bottle of water is apparently the enemy.

That particular ritual may finally be headed for a change.

The Transportation Security Administration is reportedly considering allowing some TSA PreCheck travelers to bring full water bottles through airport security at select airports in the coming months. Senior administration officials confirmed to CBS News that the idea is actively being evaluated.

Before you fill up the Yeti and head to the airport tomorrow, however, there are several important catches.

This is not a new TSA rule yet

Let’s start with the most important part.

TSA has not announced that PreCheck passengers can begin carrying full water bottles through security.

Right now, the familiar 3-1-1 liquids rule still applies. Liquids, gels, aerosols, creams and pastes in your carry-on generally must be in containers of 3.4 ounces or less, with those containers fitting inside a quart-size bag. TSA’s own current guidance still lists that requirement.

So if you’re flying this weekend, don’t stroll into PreCheck with a full 32-ounce Hydro Flask and tell the TSA officer Tommy Pags said it was OK.

Tommy Pags most definitely did not say that.

What TSA is considering

According to reporting from CBS News, TSA is evaluating a program that would allow PreCheck passengers to carry full bottles of water through security at certain airports equipped with newer screening technology.

The important word here is water.

There is currently no indication that TSA is preparing to throw out the entire liquids rule and let you start carrying full-size shampoo, sunscreen, coffee, soda, bourbon or that suspiciously large bottle of ranch dressing through security.

The proposal appears to be a narrowly targeted exemption for water.

And honestly, that makes sense as a starting point.

The technology is changing

The reason TSA can even consider something like this is the growing use of computed tomography, or CT, scanners at airport checkpoints.

Instead of producing the traditional flat X-ray image of your bag, newer CT systems create three-dimensional images that security officers can manipulate and examine from different angles. TSA says the systems improve the ability to identify prohibited or dangerous items and can reduce the need for travelers to remove certain belongings from their bags.

According to officials cited by CBS, some newer systems also have automated detection capabilities sophisticated enough to distinguish water from other liquids and identify potential threats.

That is the real story here.

For years, airport security rules have often been built around what screening equipment could reliably identify. As the technology gets better, some of those blanket restrictions can potentially become more targeted.

The catch: not every airport has the technology

This is where things get complicated.

Even if TSA decides to move forward, don’t expect every airport in America to suddenly allow full water bottles.

The initial program would reportedly be limited to airports equipped with the newer CT screening technology. Officials have not yet identified which airports would participate.

And there is another problem: money.

The technology necessary to screen full bottles already exists, but TSA reportedly does not have enough of the equipment deployed to support a nationwide rollout, even one limited to PreCheck travelers. Officials also indicated that funding for a nationwide expansion currently isn’t available.

That could create one of my least favorite things in air travel: airport-by-airport rules.

Imagine flying out of one airport where your full water bottle is fine, connecting through another where it isn’t, and returning from a third airport where nobody knows what you’re talking about.

Frequent flyers know exactly how that conversation goes.

“But they let me do it in Denver.”

The TSA officer in Philadelphia does not care what happened in Denver.

Is this connected to TSA’s new Gateside program?

The timing is interesting because TSA has also just launched Gateside by TSA PreCheck, which allows approved PreCheck members without airline tickets to pass through security and enter the secure side of the airport at 13 participating airports.

That program allows people to meet arriving family members, walk someone to a gate, meet a traveler during a layover, or visit restaurants and shops beyond the checkpoint.

Some reports discussing the water-bottle proposal have mentioned Gateside alongside it, but don’t assume the water-bottle pilot will automatically operate at those same 13 airports.

At this point, TSA has not publicly announced which airports would participate in the water program.

That distinction matters.

My two cents

As someone who spends a lot of time going through airports, I’m all for this one.

Is carrying a full water bottle through security going to revolutionize air travel?

No.

Most of us already know the workaround. Carry an empty reusable bottle through TSA and fill it at a water station on the other side.

But that’s not really the point.

Airport security has accumulated a lot of procedures over the past 25 years. Some remain necessary. Others were designed around the threats and technology available at a particular moment in time.

If technology can now reliably screen something that previously required a blanket restriction, then the policy should evolve with the technology.

And if TSA wants PreCheck to represent more than just a shorter security line, this is exactly the type of practical benefit that makes sense for a trusted-traveler program.

We’ve already seen PreCheck evolve beyond “keep your shoes on.” Gateside is another example, and allowing water through checkpoints could be another small step toward making airport security smarter rather than simply more restrictive.

But don’t change how you pack yet

For now, my advice is simple.

Keep following the existing TSA liquids rules.

Bring your reusable bottle empty, fill it after security, and don’t assume anything has changed until TSA officially announces otherwise.

If the program launches, you’ll also want to check the rules for the specific airport you’re departing from because this almost certainly won’t be nationwide on day one.

I’ll be watching this one closely.

Because after enough early flights, delayed connections and airport water bottles that cost roughly the same as a small mortgage payment, I’ll gladly take any travel improvement that lets me bring my own water through security.

Even if it took us 20 years to get there.

Travel smart,
Tommy Pags