Viral ‘airport tray aesthetic’ trend is hitting security lines. Here’s what TSA thinks of it

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The “airport tray aesthetic” trend is going viral on social media, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has responded.

On TikTok, the trend showcases passengers laying out their airport essentials in an aesthetically pleasing manner. For example, one video shared on TikTok last month featured a group of women at the security line in an airport.

The clip started with a few travelers taking their items out of their bags, including sneakers, sunglasses, lip glosses, keys, sunglasses, iPhones, sweaters, and purses. They then laid every item out very nicely in the plastic tray – which usually holds bags that go through the airport security scanning equipment – and took a picture of it.

The text over the footage reads: “POV: you’re determined to get the girls trip aesthetic airport tray photos.”

The video, which has amassed more than 1m views, was also set to a remix of the viral “very demure, very mindful” TikTok sound. That sound was first created in August by Jools Lebron, who made sarcastic comments about why women should present themselves conservatively in the workplace.

TSA has now released a statement about the trend, noting they don’t have an issue with it as long as it’s not affecting other travelers.

“As long as staged glamor photos are not causing delays or issues with other passengers in the checkpoint, there are no issues,” a TSA spokesperson told Nexstar. “Travelers should take care to secure their IDs, passports, and any light items on top that could be swept out of the bins when they go into the machines.”

In an additional statement to The Independent, a TSA spokesperson urged travelers to avoid participating in this trend before they go through security.

“It’s important to keep in mind that individuals who want to take snapshots of their checkpoint bins should take the photo of their items after they go through the security checkpoint. Why? So that they are not delaying other travelers,” the statement reads. “Setting up a bin ‘just so’ for that ideal social media photo might take a minute or two, so best to go through the security checkpoint and take the photo afterward. At that point, take all of the time you want to set up the bin.”

However, multiple people on TikTok have criticized the trend. Another recent video showed a Louis Vitton purse, Vogue magazine, and five Rhode Beauty lip products laid out on the plastic tray of a security line. The video – posted by a TikTok user named Millie – ended with one woman taking a picture of her box, as she called the “airport tray aesthetic” trend a “standard practice” in the caption.

In the comments of the clip, multiple people questioned if travelers could ultimately slow down the security line by stopping to take these pictures.

“How do y’all have the time ?! My airport yells at me the whole time,” one wrote, while another responded, “It’s too chaotic at TSA for this.”

“Respectfully ima need you to hurry up but this is cute,” a third quipped.

A fourth person wrote: “The way I want to buy my own home tray so I can get these. I’m just too scared to get on the way or hold up the line at all.”

However, Millie clarified in the comments of her video that she actually took the aesthetically pleasing picture of the plastic tray after she went through the security line, so she wasn’t “holding anyone up.”