“We explained the reason, that we were flying in the winter between two cities notorious for delays in bad weather, so we always pack more. She said, ‘I can’t make an exception; it’s too much food for a flight that’s 2 ½ hours,’ ” Dr. Soni said.

Image Credit... Chris Gash

“Evidently the woman had 10 bottles of premixed baby formula and 9 bottles/pouches of baby food,” a spokeswoman for the T.S.A., Ellen Howe, said, reading from a report the Chicago officers filed afterward. Dr. Soni said the officers’ report exaggerated the quantity.

The parents “mistakenly believed they were entitled to bring on unlimited quantities, which is not what we say,” Ms. Howe said. “We say you can bring a reasonable amount for your trip, and obviously the officer has some discretion on defining what that would be.”

According to Dr. Soni, the T.S.A. officers said they would need a “doctor’s note” to bring on all of the food. He said he pointed out that he and his wife were doctors, and then offered to get a pediatrician colleague on the phone.

The sensible thing to do in this kind of situation is to file your complaint and move on to make your flight, which is what Dr. Soni said he and his wife did.

The T.S.A. officers confiscated some of the food. “They divided it up. They took a jar of prunes and one of bananas, and I think a bottle of formula,” he said.

Dr. Soni said he was raising the objection publicly because “I feel the message needs to be put across. I don’t think the T.S.A. has the training to exert judgment on what the nutritional needs of a baby are” for a 2 ½ hour flight, not to mention a possible long delay.