If You Wear These 10 Items to the Airport, You Could Irritate Fellow Travelers

There is a silent contract every traveler enters the moment they set foot in an airport. Nobody says it out loud, but everyone feels it: move efficiently, be considerate, and please, for the love of all things holy, do not hold up the security line. Most people do their best. Yet every single day, certain clothing choices manage to throw a wrench into an otherwise manageable process, frustrating dozens of strangers who were perfectly on schedule before you arrived.

Honestly, the culprits are almost never malicious. People just don’t think about how their outfit functions in a shared, tightly packed, time-sensitive environment. So whether you’re a seasoned flyer or someone stepping onto a plane for the first time in years, this list is worth a read. Some of these items are obvious. Others might genuinely surprise you. Let’s dive in.

1. Heavily Bedazzled or Sequined Tops

Sparkle is fantastic at a dinner party. At airport security, it’s essentially a flashing alarm. At an airport security checkpoint, bedazzled clothing is basically a flashing siren, and former TSA agents have noted that the intricate embellishments and sequins can actually set off sensitive security scanners, leading to additional screenings including wanding and pat-downs that slow down the entire process. The TSA itself even issued a direct public warning about this.

The TSA stated plainly that “the body scanners don’t love sparkles,” advising travelers not to wear sparkly holiday sweaters to the airport. That advice extends well beyond holiday season. If your top looks like it was hand-stitched by a disco ball, save it for your destination and pack something simpler for travel day.

2. Lace-Up Boots or Complex Buckle Shoes

One of the most consistently annoying things about airport security in the U.S. is the requirement that all travelers remove their shoes, a practice that began after a foiled shoe bomb attempt in 2001 and officially became protocol for all passengers five years later. Given that shoes must come off, wearing footwear that takes two full minutes to unlace is a gift to nobody behind you in line.

The TSA specifically recommends that travelers avoid shoes that lace up excessively or have complex buckles or zippers that make taking them off and putting them back on a pain for all involved, and wearing knee-high lace-up shoes will hold up and likely annoy fellow travelers. Think slip-ons, loafers, or simple sneakers. Your fellow passengers will silently thank you.

3. Big Metal Belts and Chunky Belt Buckles

Big buckles, chain belts, and metal-loaded waistbands create more trouble than style payoff once security enters the picture, because TSA says travelers in standard screening generally still need to remove belts and light jackets, meaning elaborate belts don’t just affect the wearer but slow the tray shuffle, create fidgeting at the scanner, and turn a basic checkpoint into a tiny traffic jam for everyone waiting behind.

While belts are allowed through security, most flyers must remove them before walking through metal detectors since the vast majority of belts have metal clasps, so it’s best to choose a belt-free outfit or be prepared to remove your belt. An elastic waistband is not glamorous. Neither is holding up an entire line of exhausted strangers at 6 a.m.

4. Oversized or Extremely Baggy Clothing

Here’s the thing about oversized clothing at airports: it is not just a style concern. It is a procedural one. Former TSA agent Kimberly Pruitt explained that TSA agents are required to inspect travelers wearing baggy clothing to make sure they aren’t smuggling dangerous or banned objects, and it’s not just baggy sweaters and oversized pants that are red flags – maxi skirts and large dresses might lead to extra inspections and a pat-down, too.

Loose clothes aren’t prohibited, but travelers sporting baggy apparel such as droopy pants, flowy skirts, or bulky sweatshirts may be subject to a pat-down inspection if the agent thinks the clothing might be concealing prohibited items. The result is a longer delay, a mildly uncomfortable interaction, and a long queue of people craning their necks to see what’s holding things up.

5. Cargo Pants Loaded with Stuff in Every Pocket

Cargo pants have made a genuine fashion comeback in recent years, and I get it. Pockets are useful. The problem is that useful pockets filled with coins, keys, lip balm, snacks, and who-knows-what are basically a TSA obstacle course. According to former TSA agent Kimberly Pruitt, cargo pants and shorts are one of the most difficult items of clothing at the airport, as all the different pockets become a major hassle because they almost always set off the alarm.

The most common mistake at security is procedural: travelers reach the bins with pockets full of coins, keys, and bulky items, then try to empty everything while standing in the only spot that cannot handle pauses, creating a traffic jam at the belt and increasing the odds of setting off alarms because items get missed in the rush, and the people behind them feel every extra second of that delay. Empty those pockets before you even leave the house.

6. Strong Perfume or Heavily Scented Clothing

This one doesn’t slow down the security line. It does something potentially worse: it makes the entire boarding experience genuinely unpleasant for the people sitting within ten feet of you. Strong fragrance is one of the fastest ways to make a terminal feel smaller than it already is, and airports are full of close lines and sealed waiting areas where a scent that felt subtle at home can land as sharp, stale, or headache-inducing in public.

Odors are intensified on a plane, where passengers are cramped in close quarters and stale air is recycled throughout the cabin. Some travelers have genuine fragrance sensitivities or allergies, and in a sealed tube flying at 35,000 feet, they have exactly zero options. Less is genuinely more here.

7. Elaborate Metal Jewelry Stacks

Layered necklaces, stacked bangles, chunky cuffs, statement earrings: they look wonderful and photograph beautifully. At a security checkpoint, though, they are slow-motion chaos. The trouble starts when an outfit arrives at the checkpoint sounding like a drawer being opened, as layered necklaces, chunky cuffs, jangling bracelets, and extra metal details can make the line feel louder and slower, especially when they need to be adjusted or dropped into bins at the last second, and the TSA also notes that certain metal body piercings can cause the machines to alarm and may require additional screening.

According to travel style experts, big statement necklaces, belt buckles, and other costume jewelry are going to be asked to be taken off and placed in one of those small circular bins. The bin situation then becomes a circus of tiny rolling items, nervous scrambling, and a queue that was moving just fine before you arrived. Put the jewelry on when you land.

8. Flip-Flops

It is tempting, especially on a trip to somewhere warm. Flip-flops feel effortless and casual until you’re shuffling barefoot across an airport security floor that has seen thousands of feet that same day. Flip-flops force you to go sockless through security, exposing feet to floors teeming with contaminants, and passengers around you shudder knowing those feet might end up near their seats later.

Travel experts also suggest steering clear of flip-flops because podiatrists warn they are terrible for your feet, and there is a higher likelihood of tripping in line, or a cheap pair may simply break. Several major airlines back this up: American Airlines says bare feet are not allowed, and Southwest’s contract of carriage also bars barefoot passengers older than five. So those open-toed slides might land you in more trouble than expected.

9. Complicated Layered Outerwear Without a Plan

Wearing layers to the airport is smart in theory, since planes can be unpredictably cold or hot. The trouble arrives when someone shows up in four removable layers and has clearly not thought about what happens when all of them need to come off at the scanner simultaneously. Airport screening requires travelers to remove coats and jackets, including outerwear like hoodies, sweatshirts, and vests, before going through the metal detector at TSA security.

According to results from a USA Today Blueprint survey, roughly six in ten travelers have made a mistake at a TSA checkpoint in the last five years, and unprepared outerwear is a major contributor to that statistic. The TSA defines bulky clothing as a garment that is very loose or doesn’t conform to the contour of the person, with examples including oversize pullover hoodies, large sweaters, cardigans, and ponchos. Have a plan before you reach the belt, not while standing on it.

10. Offensive or Intentionally Provocative T-Shirts

Freedom of expression is real and important. It does not, however, guarantee you a smooth boarding experience. Spirit Airlines formally revised its contract of carriage in January 2024, specifying that passengers may be denied boarding for being barefoot or inadequately clothed, wearing see-through clothing exposing private areas, or displaying lewd, obscene, or offensive tattoos or clothing, though where the exact line is remains somewhat subjective since airlines leave it open to interpretation.

Offensive clothing may get you kicked off a plane, but it could also draw extra attention from TSA agents, and stories of flyers being prohibited from planes due to poor wardrobe choices abound, with most trouble occurring after they had already made it through the screening process, as agents may still pull someone aside for additional screening if they perceive a threatening or questionable message on a shirt. Think of it this way: an airport is a shared space full of families, children, and people of every background imaginable. Your outfit becomes part of everyone else’s experience whether you intend it to or not.

None of this requires dressing for a gala. Experts consistently note that what you wear can directly impact how long security lines become, and by extension, how stressful the experience is for every single person sharing that space with you. The best airport outfit isn’t the most stylish one. It’s the one that gets you and everyone around you through the door as smoothly as possible. What would you have guessed was the biggest offender on this list?