Can You Bring Pens And Pencils On A Plane 2024?

So can you bring a pencil on a plane? and can i take pens and pencils on the plane?

If you admire journaling, sketching, brainstorming, or just want to bring a box of pencils home, you may want to know if pencils are allowed on flights.

Pens and pencils are good to bring through the security checkpoint, in carry-on and checked baggage without any restrictions or quantity limits; although pencils have sharp points but the TSA and most airlines do not consider them as sharp or dangerous objects.

You may be surprised how many passengers take pencils on planes, especially students or parents with kids who want to make them busy by drawing and killing time especially on long haul flights.

Please note that some types of pens may have different restrictions, such as tactical pens or any pen that has a weapon shape.

Take Pencils And Pens Through The Security Checkpoint

The TSA ( Transportation Security Administration ) regulates what passers take within a from the US airports.

The TSA does not mention pencils or pens in its official website, however they only mention pencil sharpeners, but they have responded on twitter that there is nothing wrong with traveling with a pencil in either carry-on and checked baggage.

Here is a screenshot from The TSA website:

TSA also mentioned pens on its website, and they are permitted in both carry on and checked baggage without any issue.

I checked the TSA social media and mainly Twitter to see if they have any other info about pencils and pens and found this post, here is what the TSA thinks about traveling with such items.

Even markers are allowed through the security checkpoint.

Can I Take Pencils In Hand Luggage?

You can take your pencil in carry-on baggage on most airlines without any problem, you can either take your pencils inside your personal item or in a carry-on bag.

I checked Twitter to see what are some of the responses from the TSA customer service.

This passenger asked the TSA if he can bring his mechanical pencil, and the TSA confirmed that these types of pencils are allowed in carry-on baggage without a problem.

Take Pencils In Checked Baggage

Pencils are allowed in checked baggage without limits or any restrictions, however if you are traveling internationally, it is better to bring reasonable quantities for personal use only, if you are planning to bring a large quantity for commerce or selling purposes there is more chance that they will be confiscated by the customs or you will need to pay some taxes.

Overall a reasonable quantity of pens and pencils for personal use is allowed in checked luggage.

As you know we always recommend to place only inexpensive or bulk items in checked baggage, because most airlines will not take custody of any expensive item, as they are prone to be broken or even to be stollen.

Stolen and lost items are rare on most flights but it is preferable to not send any valuable pencil or pen inside your checked bag.

Read also : How Often Are Items Stolen From Checked Bags?

Can you bring colored pencils on a plane?

You can take colored pencils on planes, just like other normal pencils, even if they are sharpened you can take them inside your hand luggage, and it will not be seized by the airport security.

This passenger asked the TSA if colored pencils are allowed on his flight ,and as you can see the TSA answered that there are no restrictions on traveling with colored p pencils in carry-on baggage.

Can you take mechanical pencils on a plane?

Mechanical pencil are allowed in both carry-on and checked baggage without restrictions.

This passenger asked the TSA if he can bring his mechanical pencil in cabin baggage, and the TSA gave him the green light and these types of pencils are permitted without any problem.

How Many Pens And Pencils Can You Take On A Plane?

As stated above there are no limits in the number of pencils and pens you can bring on your flight especially in domestic flights ; you can take as many as you can but just for your personal use.

For international flights, taking a large amount of items generally will trigger the customs and the airport security to ask you the reason for transporting all this amount of items, and usually if you bring them for selling purpose they will get confiscated.

Can You Bring Gel Pens On A Plane?

Yes gel pens are allowed in both carry-on and checked baggage, as long as your pen does not have a weapon shape you shouldn’t have any issues with the airport security.

@Malandra wondered if she can bring her highlighter pens and other gel pens in carry-on baggage, and the TSA confirmed that gel pens are allowed in cabin baggage.

Can You Take An Apple Pencil On A Plane?

Apple pencils are allowed on planes, however Apples pencils are different because they have batteries, but you can take them onboard the airplane.

The rules for batteries is if the battery is 100 watt hours or less with its devices they are allowed in both carry-on and checked baggage.

Conclusion: Can You Bring A Pencil On A Plane?

You can bring your pencils and pens through the security checkpoint and in both carry-on and checked baggage without any restrictions, the only type of pencils that are not permitted in carry-on baggage is the tactical pencils or pens, because they can be used as a weapon.

Happy travels.

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