In the ever-evolving world of travel trends, it’s time to say goodbye to raw-dogging — flying without devices or any other distractions — and hello to the “TSA tray aesthetic.”
Gen Z’s fall travel trend requires participants to conceptualize, style, and photograph their personal belongings at the TSA’s airport security checkpoint before hopping on their flight.
The “TSA tray aesthetic” has been all over TikTok for the past few weeks, with over 16 million related posts drawing thousands of views.
Before her trip to Mexico, 24-year-old creator Ckalysta Hutchings made one such video, in which she artfully arranged her personal belongings in a gray bin.
In her video, she shows an iPad in a black textured case, matching headphones, a pair of sunglasses, a Rhode Beauty lip gloss on a gray iPhone cover, and a blush, which are methodically positioned.
“We just got a bin and snapped a few photos in under 10 minutes,” Hutchings told Business Insider, emphasizing that she and her sister had only done so “after we had gone through security.”
Like many other people her age, Hutchings uses Pinterest to plan her trips. From outfits and accessories to aesthetically arranging her airport security bins, everything is conceptualized in advance. She thinks of it as a way of organizing her life and planning for what’s next.
Not everyone can creatively thrive under airport security pressure, though. Some, like Vicki Rutwind, a former lawyer turned travel content creator, prefer photographing in the comfort of their home. That meant purchasing a plastic security bin before travel to keep up with the trend.
“I created my video all in one afternoon in my kitchen. I am not a put-together person at the airport, and I fly a lot,” Rutwind told BI.
A travel ritual before it turned into a viral trend
The practice isn’t totally new, though. When Emily Abbate, a former magazine editor and current podcast host of Hurdle, began traveling a lot for work in 2015, she wanted a unique and quick way to capture her adventures.
That’s when she turned to airport bins and began putting together flat lays.
“I started throwing a few things into my bag before I would travel that would be indicative of where I was heading,” she told BI, adding that she only took photos after going through security and taking her tray off to the side.
Her items included a mix of practical products, such as a Lonely Planet book on Paris when she attended the Olympics earlier this year, or a pair of sneakers if she collaborated with a particular brand.
Abbate saw this as a fun way to commemorate her travels. While she has not participated in the recent viral trend, she understands its value.
“I found it really fun to look back at [them] end of the year and have a personal scrapbook of all the cool places that I had been to,” she said.
Rutwind also considers it a unique way to relive her travels. Upon seeing the trend, she ordered a $17 bin on Amazon — which doubles as a storage bin — and then styled it using different colorways representing destinations and products, such as a pair of red sneakers and matching NARS lipstick for Paris or a pair of blue Adidas and matching knitwear for Santorini.
Some lifestyle brands and creators are monetizing this trend
From fashion label Reiss to publishing house Faber, brands have participated in the trend by showcasing a collection of products — books, mules, designer knitwear, or claw clips — that would be part of their “airport aesthetic.”
“This trend specifically aligned perfectly for us, curating an aesthetic selection whilst focusing on our travel-friendly products,” storage solutions brand Stackers told CNN.
@mystackers What the Stackers marketing team’s airport security trays look like this Summer… whos tray is your vibe? 👀 airporttray whatsinmybag packing summerpacking summeraesthetic
Lifestyle content creators, like Symphani Soto, have also used the microtrend to boost their personal brands, arranging everyday essentials she uses and linking them to their LikeToKnow.It or LTK, an e-commerce platform that allows creators to share and sell products from partner brands.
“It’s just a fun way to curate what I actually use every day and share with people; if they want to purchase something like a lipstick or a bag, for instance, they can automatically go over there and purchase it,” Soto told BI.
Not everyone is on board with the trend
When Caleb Harmon-Marshall, a former TSA agent, started receiving calls from his old co-workers stating that several people at the airport were holding up the lines to take photos of their bins, he knew he had to say something.
Since leaving his job, Harmon-Marshall has run a travel newsletter, Gate Access, which focuses on passengers’ flight and security rights. So he decided to make a video and “not tell people not to do it, but just be mindful of the people behind you,” he told BI.
Harmon-Marshall isn’t the only one to flag this. Several news outlets have reported that some influencers have made what’s already an annoying part of traveling even worse by holding up the lines.
Creators who spoke to Business Insider emphasized they would never hold up the security line or encourage their followers to do so.
A TSA representative told BI they’re aware of the trend and that “as long as the staged glamor photos are not causing delays or issues with other passengers in the checkpoint, there are no issues.”
The spokesperson added that people who wish to snap their bins should do so after they’ve crossed security and that “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.”
As with most online fads, this one has received strong and mixed reactions from people online.
Hutchings said she had a series of hate comments on her video, but what really matters is “how you, as an individual, feel about your feed.”
The cute photos she uploads make her happy and hopefully inspire others, so, she said, “at the end of the day, if it’s not for you, keep scrolling.”
