We will be flying cross-country next month for a work conference. My parents will be staying with our LO through the day while my husband and I are gone. We EBF so I will have to pump for them to be able to give him bottles so in order for him to have milk for that first day, I would need to take milk with us on the plane. Does anyone have any experience with this? How do they "test" the milk? Did security give you a hard time about it? Did you use ice packs in a cooler to keep it cold? TIA for answers/advice
I flew last weekend and took pumped milk with me both ways. I packed it in a Medela bottle cooler with ice pack. I let them know I had it with me. At one airport they opened the bottle and put a little strip over the top, never touching the milk and then tested the strip in a machine. On my return flight they opened the cooler and swabbed the bag and tested that swab. Both experiences were easy and only took a few extra minutes.
I just flew from Philadelphia to Atlanta. In Philly they just tested the bottles unopened in a machine and in Atlanta they didn't even make me take it out of the bag so I guess it depends on the airport. Also, yes I used two ice packs for four 5 oz bottles.
When I flew 2 years ago from Denver to DC , they took the bottles out of the cooler bag and placed them in a little machine. They never opened the bottles or asked any additional questions.
According to the TSA website you can carry on formula or breast milk along with ice packs to help store it. You just have to let them know up front you have it. Some airports just run it through the x-Ray machine, but some open it to test. There is no limit to how much you can carry on.
Re: Breast milk - airport security
Good luck and safe travels!