Hell-no Kitty.
Transportation Security Administration officials in Albany are warning travelers a couple of concerning uptick in innocuous-looking concealed weapons called “cat eyes.”
“The frequency during which we’re seeing this stuff amongst carry-on items is disappointing,” Bart R. Johnson, the TSA Federal Security Director for 13 airports in Upstate Latest York, lamented in a statement.
These popular self-defense accessories, that are generally product of metal or hard plastic, are much like brass knuckles but they’re in the form of a kitty face — hence the name.
The wielder simply slips their fingers through the attention holes, after which uses the sharp ears to slash and gouge attackers, evoking a knuckleduster Catwoman might use against her foes.
Like with brass knuckles, the TSA classifies the feline-themed accessory as a club and prohibits travelers from transporting them of their luggage.
If cat eyes are detected during security screening, the TSA will take the passengers aside and search their bags for the items, per the discharge.
“At that time, the TSA officers give the traveler their selections to either return the item to their vehicle; hand them off to a non-traveling companion; return to the airline counter to put them in a checked bag; or voluntarily give up them to TSA for disposal,” the TSA writes.
Nonetheless, flyers’ often forget they’ve this stuff on them attributable to their cutesy countenance — some are even modeled after dogs — and the undeniable fact that they’re generally attached to keychains for easy accessibility, USA Today reported.
“We come across this stuff day by day and it slows down passengers who must stop and wait for our officers to remove the offending item and it backs up the road for the opposite travelers,” said Johnson.
Cat eyes aren’t the one weapons that airport security staffers are confiscating at ridiculous rates.
Last yr, TSA agents stopped a record 6,737 firearms at airport checkpoints — 93% of which were loaded.
The attention-popping haul was a staggering 3 times larger than the quantity of guns seized by authorities ten years ago.
