I’ve never had a problem on domestic (USA) flights. I’ve only flown internationally twice in the past few years, and chose not to bring knitting along for either trip. We’re going to Italy later this year, though. I might bring some wooden dpns with me, and some yarn, and if I get past security, I’ll cast something on. 
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My advice is to always have a cable, cord, or cotton yarn with a tapestry needle to hold your stitches if your needles are seized.
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I just got back from a wonderful trip to Nice, France and had no problems with security. We flew Delta and KLM, direct from JFK to Nice, connecting through Amsterdam on the way home. I brought socks on a bamboo circular, and I used fingernail clippers for scissors.
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From the US you should not have issues. The return may be different.
Same with the federal courts in San Diego, no knitting needles, however no issue with a single crochet hook.
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I had an interesting interaction with TSA at LaGuardia airport on my way to Nashville last week. When I was putting all my stuff into the bins, I remembered that I had tucked my lighter into my bra so I pulled it out and tossed it into a bin. The guy working there asked me where it came from (I was done and barefoot) and I told him it was in my bra. He said, “that’s not what bras are for.” To which I responded, “once we get to equal pay, maybe we can have that conversation.”
So I got searched.
They hand patted me down and went through my hair like I was Joe Pesci’s wife in Goodfellas. They also took my purse off the line and went through it. The woman who was going through my purse asked if there was anything sharp. I told her there was knitting. She asked what I was making. I told her it was a skirt. She asked how long, looked at my legs and suggested I go up an inch or two because it is a summer skirt.
And then she found the scissors. They were all the way at the bottom of my bag, left over from an event. They were my desk scissors from work so totally full sized. I started apologizing PROFUSELY and she just held the blade across the palm of her hand, told me they were fine, put them back and sent me on my way.
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Oh no! So glad though that you got through with all your knitting ! I haven’t flown in over 30 years and would hate it if I couldn’t knit! I have a t shirt my daughter made me that says “if I’m sitting I’m knitting! “Lol! So true . I hope you had fun In Tennessee. I live about 4 hrs from Nashville and have wanted to get up there for the retreat in Sewanee , maybe when I retire in a few years !
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I suggest not trying to transport needles in your carry on in foreign countries. Put them in your checked baggage. When we were leaving Istanbul in June, I forgot and packed my metal ChiaoGoo interchangeable set in my carry on. They don’t approve of pointy metal things so of course, TSA seized them. If you want to travel with a knitting project, use wooden interchangeable needles and unscrew them in your carry on. The wooden needles won’t create a problem because they look like pencils—probably don’t even get noticed on the X-ray. You can reattach them and knit on the plane.
They let me keep the case, stitch markers and the ribbon for my scissors but they dumped all of the needles out as you see in the picture. Heartbreaking!
Outbound from the US there’s usually no problem. It’s coming back that’s the problem. Put it in checked luggage to be on the safe side.
Oh no. So sorry.
Hi, I just got back from a trip to Portugal and Croatia. I had no problem carrying on circular needles going to the EU,probably because the flight originated in the US and TSA lets you carry on knitting needles. Flying back was different. There were actually signs in the Dobrovnik airport saying knitting needles could not be carried on. I had to recheck my bags in Dublin and I specifically asked the ticket agent about knitting needles and she said they had to checked and not carried on. So no knitting going back. It appears flights originated in and from the EU consider knitting needles potential weapons. Personally, I wasn’t interested in trying to sneak them through security and I have seen comments in the past that knitters disconnected interchangeable tips and got them through. You can find this info online as well to check.
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So far my experience has been that in twice/year flights to/from Amsterdam over the last 5 years I’ve never had a problem with circular needles in my carry on bag, thank goodness.
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