The TSA, the agency responsible for airport security screenings in the U.S., has gone on record to allow travelers with Apple’s smaller 11.6-inch MacBook Air to leave the laptop inside their carry-on bags while passing through X-ray screening. According to TSA official Nicholas Kimball, “If someone has a lot of stuff in their bag, it’s sometimes difficult to get a clear view of it; tt might need some additional screening.”
TSA guidelines require laptops to be removed and placed in its individual tray for separate screening from carry-on bag contents so that agents can have a closer, better look at the internals of the laptop, but since the 11.6-inch model is small enough and lacks both a hard disc and optical drives, officials are easing their screening restrictions for this model. The larger 13.3-inch MacBook Air has not been given the same exemption yet and travelers may still need to remove the larger model from their bag at screening checkpoints.