So there I was catching another plane, and as usual, I had my travel studio gear with me. However this time, something curious happened as I was going through airport security. The security personnel that looks at the scans of the luggage couldn't make out a strange looking metallic object in my carry-on luggage. He moved the conveyor belt back and forth in an attempt to get a better sense of the mysterious and perhaps suspicious object.
I guess I may have made it even more suspicious by putting the object in a used padded envelope.
So the officer told his colleague to take my bag and bring it to me to find out what it was. She didn't let me touch it when I offered to take it out for her, and she asked me what it was. I guess my answer of "audio interface" didn't really help to illuminate her, so she passed it on to another officer who brought a "swab" and wiped it on the interface. A swab test is a standard airport security procedure they randomly perform where they wipe a swab on your hands or on any object and put it in an ion machine that helps to detect whether there is any residue related to explosives or drugs. I guess even if they didn't know what my audio interface really was, this test would at least conclusively show what it wasn't. Phew, I'm glad the interface tested negative.
After that they let me go about my business of being an international travelling composer extraordinaire (yea right).
I'm not sure if any of my travelling-composer-brethren have experienced anything like this before, but I guess from my experience, I guess an audio interface can look a little suspicious to airport security, so don't be spooked if you get stopped for additional questioning the next time you travel with your gear.