San Diego Comic-Con wrapped up over the weekend, which meant plenty of folks with bags full of comics (I think? do people bring comics to Comic-Con?) headed to the airport in San Diego to travel back to their hometowns. On Sunday, Twitter user @adichappo tweeted a photo of a United Airlines warning at the airport — Select All has reached out to @adichappo to confirm whether or not they took the original photo — telling fliers they’d need to remove all comic books from their checked bags.
A weird request, considering comic books are just … books. And books usually don’t require special security procedures. United responded to the tweet saying the comic-book rule would apply to “all airlines operating out of San Diego” and pinned blame on the TSA. United also said people who wanted more information should reach out to the TSA directly.
A day later, the TSA weighed in on Twitter. While United claimed it was simply enforcing a TSA rule, the TSA said otherwise, noting on Twitter that it does not currently restrict any books — including comics.
So what’s the deal? Why is United saying one thing while the TSA is saying another, completely different thing? What does United have against comic books in bags? Select All has reached out to United to get some answers and will update this post if we hear back. Until then, just know that if somebody hassles you for trying to check a bag with a few issues of Wonder Woman in it, they’re probably in the wrong. Though if it’s a United flight, tread lightly. The airline doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to passengers attempting to stand their ground.
