TSA Recommends Packing Unwrapped Gifts When Flying Out of Bradley

Santa has it easy.

He gets all those toys wrapped by a few elves and they get piled into his sled.

There is no boarding pass kiosk and no security checkpoint.

He just gets the reindeer fired up, belts out a few "Ho-ho-hos" and he is cleared for takeoff.

There is a little more thinking involved for everyone else traveling with presents over the holidays.

So just what should those flying with presents do at Bradley International Airport?

The Transportation Security Administration suggests on its Web site that travelers leave holiday presents unwrapped when placed in bags that will be  checked on aircraft.

Dan Lee, a senior program analyst for TSA stationed at Bradley, reiterated that on Wednesday.

"I recommend packing the presents unwrapped," he said. "There is a long list of reasons, but the main reason is that the presents may have to be unwrapped when the bag is being inspected."

Lee said there is nothing illegal about packing wrapped gifts.

"We recommend leaving them unwrapped, but it is the choice of the traveler," he said. "But I would hate to see someone spend all that time wrapping only to have us take the paper off at the airport. I suggest bringing wrapping paper and doing it at the final destination."

He acknowledged that many travelers do not want to wrap gifts in a hotel room, but added that, although scissors are prohibited at airports, hotels will assist guests with the proper wrapping tools.

As holiday travel heats up, Lee also suggested to those flying out of Bradley arrive early and be prepared.

"It is so much easier to have the shoes and jackets off and have the laptops ready for the checkpoint," he said.

He also said that those with children can use the family line at Bradley.

"The great thing about the family travel line is that those in it can do what they need to do to go through the checkpoint without someone getting impatient behind them," Lee said. "We strongly encourage families to use that line."