Can you bring snacks on a plane?

Is It Allowed To Take Food Into A Plane?

On this page, this author shall provide insights on how carrying your snacks and drinks can make your flight more enjoyable besides saving you some amount of money. However, you are restricted on what foods are allowed to be carried through airport security and into the airplane cabin. Here are some things that you need to know when it comes to the issue of carrying snacks on a plane.

What Snacks Are Allowed On Airplanes: A Guide To Airline Snacks And What You Can Take On Board Through Security

The TSA has guidelines governing what one can carry through security checkpoints, specifically Foods and Beverages. The main limitations are the liquids, gels, and aerosols allowed to be bought and taken inside the planes.

You can pass through security with solid foods of any sort and type; it does not matter the kind, as long as it is a solid. Prepackaged meals include sandwiches, protein bars, fruits, vegetables, crackers, cookies, bags of chips or pretzels, beef jerky, candies, doughnuts, muffins, etc. Unlike liquids and gels, solid foods are allowed past the checkpoints of airport security.

Another option is to take frozen foods with you, for example, a frozen meal, through a TSA checkpoint. Yes, frozen food and ice are allowed but it has to be in a state of being frozen when it is being taken through screening.

For liquids, gels, spreads, and aerosols, a traveler is expected to follow the 311 liquids rule. This means:

• For carry-on bags and liquids, the containers can only be 3. 4 ounces or 100 milliliters in size.
  
• All liquids, gels, and aerosols have to be packed in one bag which cannot exceed one quart in size and should be made of resealable material.
  
• That means one plastic bag for each traveler or one bag per group of travelers.

Thus, based on these quantity restrictions, drinks, soups, sauces, spreads, yogurt, pudding, hummus, peanut butter, wine, etc. must meet these quantity restrictions. TSA will allow liquids in quantities less than 3oz and will take away small bottles and containers larger than them.

An exception is that you can bring onboard factory-sealed bottled beverages such as Coca-Cola, water, bottled water, juice, etc because they had to pass through screening during the bottling process.

Catering Rules: What Foods and Drinks Can You Bring on the Plane?

Therefore, the TSA screening process controls what gets to the security checkpoint but it is the independent airline policies that set the standards for food that passengers are allowed to carry on board an aircraft. Restrictions mainly concern the sale and consumption of beverages or alcohol that were not bought on the plane.

Canteens and foods that come in factory-sealed packages like soda, juices, and water are quite acceptable on almost all airlines. American Airlines is also flexible in its policies, and some airlines such as Delta do not have a specific rule against bringing food on the plane for consumption during the flight.

Free food and beverages can be carried, but not homemade or restaurant-style meals at the time of flying with Southwest Airlines. Alaska Airlines also has policies that do not allow outside restaurant food but allow homemade snacks and foods.

When it comes to drinks containing alcohol, all of the large American carriers have a nobyownbottle policy. Beer is allowed to be consumed on the plane only by the flight attendants who were selling it earlier.

Some international airlines such as Lufthansa may permit their passengers to carry a limited quantity of duty-free alcohol on board. However, there are differences from airline to airline in terms of how passengers are allowed to carry alcohol that was purchased behind the checkpoints, and therefore it is advisable to look for policies on each airline's website.

A Practical Guide to Healthy Eating During Air Travel

When deciding on the snacks to carry along, remember you'll be serving them during a flight and therefore you want those that are light, do not take up a lot of space, and are easy to pack. Some smart options include:

• Fruits such as raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, chip combinations
  
• Meats such as beef jerky, Epic, and other protein bars
  
• Applesauce pouches or individual cups of fruit
  
• Chips, peanuts, cookies, potato crisp, popcorn, nachos, rice crackers, corn chips, pretzels, bread sticks
  
• Rice cakes, Pita chips
  
• Nuts and seeds or Trail mix or Granola bars
  
• PB&J or a peanut butter sandwich with bananas (if permitted).
  
• Cups of yogurt are still in their poly or metal foil wrappers or yogurts are packaged in containers that are designed to be drunk from.
  
• Such food items as cheese sticks, cheese cubes, or baby cheeses.
  
• Aim for veggies: Carrots, celery, grape tomatoes
  
• Meals and snacks that are packed in factory-sealed containers, Sandwiches, and Salad in take-away packs

Avoid the consumption of very messy and greasy foods because dropped foods make neighbors, especially those seated closely together, unhappy. And do not take spicy foods that can cause discomfort to people in particularly congested areas.

Choosing between staying hungry for hours, or consuming copious amounts of sugary or salty snacks that can make you feel rather glum' midflight is not enjoyable either. Go for protein, and good carbs, and bring some fruits or vegetables so you feel full for the day.

Stay Hydrated With Drinks

You can either carry an empty and clean water bottle or cup through the security check and then fill it with water from a water fountain available inside the secured airport premises. Some airports have merely set up water bottle-filling stations.

As it is very important to be hydrated during the flight let's bring own water to the flight instead of water that is served in small cups on the plane in large amounts.

It is also legal to carry an empty cup or thermo and then buy water or other beverages once you enter the main terminal to take on board your flight. That said, remain vigilant on drink size limitations provided by flight attendants.

Should We Carry Some Snacks on a Plane?
Some of the trends that have developed over the years include airplane food being tasteless, uninteresting, highly undesirable for health, and unpalatable. But what is more, snacks available on the plane are, as a rule, rather costly.

Taking your snacks from home, especially nonliquid ones, means that you can alter the set foods to suit your dietary requirements. It also comes with the added advantage of sparing you the expense of buying food during your flight.

In general, packing food is beneficial for gaining a much better meal experience during a flight that does not exceed several hours. However, even on the long flights where meals are served, having your snacks assists in filling the gaps that may be found in the meals that are served aboard.

The best thing to do is to ensure that you check on your specific airline's policies and do not overstep boundaries regarding outside alcohol and food restrictions. If you know the rules set by TSA for taking food on the airplane and the rules of your airline company about snacks, you can easily create a list of the tasty and healthy treats to bring on your next flight.

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