Airplane

If you're heading out on a jetplane for a long weekend, you've probably already given airport security some thought. I'll leave the body scanner debate for another day, but did you know your carry-on luggage could slow you down at the checkpoint, too? Properly packing your gadgets, accessories, and chargers will speed you through the X-ray line. Here, a few tips from the TSA on how to pack your bags and move right on through security.

• Pack in layers. Layer clothes, electronics, then clothes again inside a carry-on so the TSA agent can quickly see what's in there. This strategy also works better than the cram-everything-in-your-bag strategy once your unpack at your destination.

Get the rest of the tips after the jump.

When you are purchasing a flight, do you have a favorite airline that you always book with? Or do you just go for the best deal? And what makes you have an airline preference — the service, the extra leg room, or maybe it's the amazing snacks and meals? For me, if the airline has awesome service, great in-flight entertainment, and other perks, it tends to have delicious food as well.

Last year, the Diet Detective conducted an Airline Food Survey, which rated how healthy the food is aboard the top US airlines. After examining the economy class menus of several airlines' domestic flights and taking into consideration the Diet Detective's results — not to mention some of my own personal biases — here are the top five airlines that I think are serving up the healthiest snacks and meals.

Of all the causes I've been championing of late, this one is near and dear to my heart. Despite being a rather frequent airplane passenger, I am terrified of flying. Throw physics and other safety facts in my face, and I am still terrified of flying. So when I hear stories of celebs (and others) getting tossed from planes for refusing to turn off cell phones and other devices, I can't understand why people don't just turn off their electronics when they're asked to do so.

In a story that many of us have heard before, engineering and aviation experts are saying that electronic devices can interfere with an airplane's navigational controls and may have even been a factor in one recent charter plane crash. Scared yet? Learn more after the break.

Among the joys/mysteries of flying in this modern age, we still have to turn off all electronic devices during takeoff and landing. While the reason for this rule seems a little unclear (I've heard everything from safety reasons to reasons of possible interference with pilot communication), listening to flight crews and rules is not a suggestion, it's required by law. So, last week when a US Airways flight attendant asked Josh Duhamel several times to stop texting and turn off his BlackBerry and he refused to comply, he was reportedly escorted off of the already-delayed flight.

With so many domestic flights offering in-flight WiFi (even free in-flight WiFi!), waiting until 30,000 feet to send an email hardly seems like a travesty, especially given that until about two years ago, being 100 percent unreachable during a flight was the norm. And while I have no firsthand experience, it seems to take a little more than one refusal to anger flight crews to the point of having to be removed from the plane. Celebrity or not, do your fellow harried travelers a solid this holiday season and just turn the gadgets off.

Just when we're getting pumped for more airlines offering in-flight WiFi, at least one security expert predicts security concerns could force the cancellation of the service. His reasoning: during last week's security scare in which explosives were found aboard planes, one of the main components of the devices were cell phone parts. As such, cell phones using WiFi connections could be used to detonate such explosives.

Realistically, while the prospect of wirelessly-detonated bombs on airplanes is scary to say the least, others say that the chance of it happening are low. They cite in-flight firewalls and the fact that a credit card is required to pay for WiFi as barriers to potentially dangerous behavior. Not to mention the technological barriers already put in place but not shared with the general public. And, additional airport security measures should prevent dangerous materials from making it onto planes in the first place.

While in-flight WiFi seems an easy target for trouble, the reality is that enough security measures seem to exist, preventing any serious risk to its future.

Just announced by the TSA: your 11-inch MacBook Air can stay in its bag when going through airport security. The 13-inch model, however, can not; you must take it out as you would a regular laptop. The 11-inch Air gained special airport clearance because it's smaller than the average laptop.

For more on the new rule, keep reading.