Can’t be too careful I guess. Last week hundreds of travelers were evacuated from the Indianapolis International Airport and had to go through security a second time Friday after an urn with cremated remains was improperly screened, authorities said.
Transportation Security Administration said officials could not locate the passenger to rescreen the urn, so the concourses were evacuated around 6:20 a.m. as a precaution.
The evacuated passengers then went through security screening again and the concourses reopened around 7:35, airport spokeswoman Susan Sullivan said. The incident caused eight flights to be delayed, affecting nearly 700 passengers, but no flights were canceled, she said.
A TSA statement said that passengers may include a crematory container in their carry-on luggage, unless it generates an opaque image during the X-ray that prevents the screener from seeing what is inside. Those urns are not allowed through the checkpoint, the statement said.
Metal urns will generate an opaque image. Materials that can be successfully x-rayed: wood urns, plastic urns, or non-lead lined ceramic cremation urns.
TSA officials are restricted from opening an urn, even at the passenger’s request.