Passenger flagged by TSA after ‘swamp crotch' sets off alarm — and it's happening to others, too

Yahoo

11 hours ago

It's the ire of flyers who profusely perspire.
Nearly no one enjoys getting stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorities at the airport.
But when checkpoint alarm bells begin blaring around a traveler's groin, as happened to one befuddled passenger not long ago, there is a chance it's due to extreme wetness in their pants, insiders say.
'I flew for the first time in 15 years this week, and both airports flagged my crotch at the arms up scanner,' a confused tripper confessed on Reddit recently.
The wet wanderluster described herself as a 'midsized adult woman (169 lbs, 5-foot-8),' wearing bike shorts and normal underwear. The skyway siren assured social media readers that her private parts are neither pierced nor outfitted with medical devices. She claimed her pockets were totally empty.
'I don't care about the pat down, they were polite and professional and it doesn't bother me,' said the baffled belle, 'but I'm wondering what did it.'
Internet know-it-alls say it's crotch sweat — and they're likely right.
'Sweat, feminine products (liners, pads, depends) could be anything but those seem to be culprits,' a Reddit commenter wrote.
'Last time I flew out of my home airport of Tampa, I got searched too,' admitted an equally clammy jet-setter. 'The [security] guard said something unnerving like 'swamp rot' or 'swamp crotch' or something similarly embarrassing.'
It's a bodily function that can wrongfully trigger red flags, per TSA expert Shawna Malvini Redden.
'Perspiration is probably the weirdest thing that can set off the scanners,' Malvini Redden recently explained to Reader's Digest. 'It has to do with millimeter wave technology and how the waves bounce off water.'
The insider added that because the machines often generate false alarms set off due to sweat, some countries, including France and Germany, have banned the scanners all together.
But massive moisture isn't the only reason the TSA technology might mistake one's undercarriage for a dangerous weapon.
It's been alleged that frequent flyers boasting larger features, such as a bootylicious behind, can expect to be stopped and searched before getting the green light to board a plane.
'On-person screening technology effectively screens diverse populations of travelers every day,' Representatives for TSA previously told The Post, adding that their devices and screening algorithms are trained to recognize body composition.
Any unexpected abnormalities, including excess sweat, could potentially prompt an alert, they said.