A 5 year old and his family were on their way home from a magical Disney World vacation. Levi Zilka’s uncle got him the Buzz Lightyear flip grip toy (pictured above). Of course he was happy and wanted to go play with his cook new toy. However, TSA had different plans. they confiscated it claiming that it looked like a weapon.
Levi’s father, David Zilka, said his son was very upset by what happened. “Once he realized what was happening, that they weren’t giving his toy back, he immediately starts bawling, just tears streaming down his face and crying,” said Zilka.
It is said that TSA agents told the family that they could check the toy but they only brought carry on luggage. Their current policy does state that “realistic replicas of firearms” must be checked.
“TSA officers are charged with protecting passengers and making final judgments on which items are permitted on aircraft. In our review of this situation, the officer’s decision complied with approved procedures. We recently reinforced that training on the procedures with every front line TSA officer. TSA officers have the discretion to deny passage of an item if they cannot definitively rule out that the item could be used as a weapon, or perceived to be a weapon, including replica weapons.”
Chip & Company
