In my experience, it completely depends on the airport and the instrument in question.Nanohedron wrote:I imagine that at this point, TSA folks are a lot more aware of musical instruments than they had been in the past.
On my last trip to Ireland and back, carrying on a flat set of pipes and an Eamonn Cotter flute (for a friend), I got reactions from TSA agents varying from bored indifference (Shannon Airport) to polite interest and conversation about pipes (Boston) to "stop the conveyor, lock everything down, step out of the line over to the Group W Bench, and open the pipe case for a visual inspection and a wipe with the explosive-sniffing wipes" with ill humor at DFW airport.