Heading through airport security can be a weirdly nerve-wracking process. Even with all the innocence in the world, there’s often the nagging doubt that you might be inadvertently breaking one of the endless rules listed everywhere near the security gates.
Have I got a 101ml liquid? Has someone planted some drugs on me? Could my nail clippers be considered a lethal weapon?
For Ellen Pompeo, star of Grey’s Anatomy, those nagging doubts came true as she was detained by the TSA over some food she was carrying.
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The misunderstanding came up in her recent interview with Travel + Leisure where she explained how her airport visit in March saw her held for an hour while security investigated her belongings.
She wasn’t accidentally carrying an aerosol, there weren’t any illicit substances in her pocket or on the sole of her shoe, and she hadn’t infringed upon any liquid limits.
So what could have seen her pulled aside before the bomb squad was called?
“I had a bag of sunflower seeds, like organic sunflower seeds from Erewhon, so they were probably the most expensive sunflower seeds money can buy,” explained Pompeo.
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Can a girl not bring a healthy source of protein and fibre on a plane any more?
“They literally held me for an hour, and they brought the bomb squad in”, she continued. “And I was like, what is happening? Is this a joke?'”
She was told that she was ‘likely’ held because of 'a chemical on the packaging of these super expensive, fancy, organic, clean sunflower seeds. My protein on the plane!'
Weird flex, but okay.
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The delay meant she almost missed her flight, but it seems that she took the ordeal in good humour.
“It was really like no one would ever believe this! I was texting my publicist saying, ‘I might not get on this plane, and you're never gonna guess why’.”
At least her sense of humour held out, especially considering Pompeo suffers from flight anxiety.
“I like to hold my kids' hands when I take off, which is probably a little selfish, and they're probably feeling my anxiety, which probably isn't the best thing to do,” she said.
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The mum-of-three continued:
“I get a little bit anxious when I travel for work without my kids, but when we're all together, we try to do it all and give them a good mix [of types of trips].”
It all sounds about as innocent as an airport security detention could be, and it certainly won’t help assuage my own anxieties next time I go through those barriers.
Rachael Davis