Smoke bomb, hand grenade intercepted by TSA at Pittsburgh airport

TSA agents accused of stealing from passengers at security checks in Miami International Airport

File Video: Two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents were accused of stealing money from passengers at Miami International Airport in Florida in September 2023, after video emerged of them appearing to rummage through luggage at a security checkpoint. (Credit: Miami-Dade State Attorney Office via Storyful)

TSA agents at Pittsburgh International Airport confiscated a smoke bomb and a hand grenade from two separate passengers going through recent checkpoints.

According to TSA post on X, formerly Twitter, the smoke grenade was intercepted on Wednesday.

"Had it been triggered, thick yellow smoke would have been everywhere!" a TSA spokesperson said on X. "Yellow is just not a good look. And besides, you know that there's no smoking on a plane!"

The same day, another passenger tried to carry on an inert hand grenade, which wouldn’t have exploded, but is still banned from planes.

"Most people plan on having a blast on their trip, but this guy wasn't thinking along those lines when TSA officers intercepted this grenade," a TSA spokesperson said. "Fortunately it was inert, however grenades, live or inert are not allowed on planes."

TSA checkpoints will be busier in coming months as summer travel season heats up.

The number of travelers going through U.S. airport checkpoints in 2023 was up 12.4% over the year before, and 1.4% higher than in 2019, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

According to a report from AirHelp, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the worst airport for flight disruptions, while Salt Lake City International Airport was ranked the best for travelers.