As many of you probably know by now, on August 10, the U.S. government raised the national threat levels. All inbound flights from the U.K. to the U.S. were at Red (a.k.a. severe-they have since been lowered the level to Orange, or high) and all other inbound or domestic U.S. flights remain at Orange (or high). It is no wonder that anxiety is high about flying. Since I am about to take a flight myself, I started looking into exactly what I need to know/will encounter when I get to the airport. Here is a list of what I found, and hopefully it will make your airport, or at least your screening experience, easier.
1. No liquids or gels.
There are some exceptions to this rule, but if you want to be safe, pack anything that is liquid, gel or aerosol. They are allowing small doses of non-prescription liquid medications (up to 4 oz.), low blood sugar treatments (like glucose gel for diabetics), baby formula, solid lipstick, etc. They are not allowing beverages or other liquid/gel items that are purchased in the boarding area (yes, this means those drinks you buy beyond the checkpoint have to be finished before boarding). Just to name a few of the banned items: shampoo, suntan lotion, conditioner, spray bottles and cans, gel deodorant, hair spray, hair gel, bath gel, mouthwash, toothpaste, saline solution, make-up remover, some cosmetics (mainly liquids - such as liquid foundations and mascara), and nail polish and remover. If you are bringing prescription medication, make sure the name matches the name on your ticket. The good news is, if you are staying at a hotel, a lot of them are trying to offer many of these items for their guests.
2. ALL passengers are required to remove their shoes and have them x-rayed.
3. Apparently, airports will use canine detection teams more prominently and there will be more random bag searches, so the suggestion is to get to the airport even earlier than before. At one point, and I'm not sure this is still accurate, Delta was asking passengers to arrive 3 hours ahead of time.
4. If you are flying overseas, especially to the U.K., you may want to check out their requirements. Just because you flew over there with certain things on your carry on does not mean that those same rules apply when flying back to the U.S. Check with your airline to see if there are any differences.
5. Electronic devices (laptop, cell phone, ipod) are still allowed.
So, has anyone flown with these new restrictions in place? I'd love to hear about your experience. How early did you get to the airport? Were some airports harder to deal with than others?
Heidi
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Comments: 16
As far as cosmetics, keep in mind that lipstick is now okay, but lip gloss or lip gel is not. If you do use the liquid kind with the brush, it's best to leave that at home. I've forgotten about things myself, and have had them taken because employees also have to go through security checks. We can't even bring water any longer, we have to either buy it on the other side of security, or what some colleagues do, is to bring an empty bottle and fill it with water from the fountain when they pass security.
We do try and make announcements about this every 15 to 20 minutes, but inevitably people are pre-occupied and don't pay attention, or most don't realize that we DO mean ANY liquids even those purchased right there in the sterile area in front of their gate.
Also, ice cream and frozen yogurt are also not allowed because they melt into a liquid. Although, I have seen the TSA allow salad dressing to go on at the gate, as long as it was pre-packaged with the salad itself, but that seems to be inconsistent. To be safe, I would suggest mixing in the salad right before boarding.
Also, baby formula is permitted only when there is an actual baby with it. And we have asked mothers with bottles of plain milk or juice to empty them.
Although as gate agents, we don't look into carry-on bags, the TSA often does random screening at the gate area, so if you think you got through the first security checkpoint free and clear, watch out - they could tag you and make you toss it out.
Also, anyone who hides a drink or liquid product and brings it out in front of a flight attendant while on board the aircraft, will be asked to toss it and potentially could cause a flight delay.
I don't handle many international flights, but I believe international passengers are now required to check their laptops and cell phones. Don't quote me on that, but if you are traveling international you should check into the most recent TSA security mandates.
He does have a lot of liquid lotions for his face and nutrition supplements. I hope he keeps those in his luggage.
I am even thinking of just taking the loss on my return ticket on BA and purchasing a different ticket to route through Paris or Germany instead...
Patriot Act: Pre-emptive strike by the US to divest citizens of their basic rights before the (alleged) terrorists can...
If I have to let the overpaid slackers that love to TOSS bags around toand fro toss my freaking LAPTOP around across a flight from here to Europe.. I'm not so sure I'm keen on leaving the country. I've SEEN the condition my suitcases are usually in when I get them back.. usually it's only clothes in there, so nothing breaks.. but my COMPUTER?! never. nevernevernevernever. I'll turn it on as many times as they want me to, go through whatever stupid tests they might want to run, but i'm NOT checking it.. i'm either bringing it onboard with me, or I'm not getting on the plane.
I'm with you all about checking laptops; I would not want to check mine either. Most of the time my luggage comes back to me beat up and wet (even when it hasn't been raining anywhere that I can see). Now I'm curious...if I find anything on foreign regulations, I'll let you know.
When I arrived, I had to run out to buy all the items that they confiscated from me, spend more money than I had budgeted for, and try to figure out how I was going to get more migraine medication when the doctor's office was closed over the weekend.
The worst part was that the US Airways employees at the counter when I checked in told me that most of these items were OK, so by the time I found out at the security checkpoint that they were not, it was too late to check them.
On top of all that, my checked luggage had been searched, and several items were not repacked properly and leaked all over...another reason I wanted them in my carry-on instead.
I received no compensation from US Airways for the ruined items because they're supposedly not liable for this kind of issue.
I'm done with my venting right now. Talk about a great way to start a trip...