Bottle, Baggie Etiquette
Washington Post, 10/15/2006
How many ways can you confuse the new rules about bringing liquids and gels through airport security? Lots, apparently. Security lines in many airports have been jammed as a result, said Darrin Kayser, spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.
The rules state that you may bring through security as many three-ounce (or smaller) containers that will fit into a one-quart zip-top plastic bag. Here are common mistakes:
· Emptying liquids and gels into the bag . "It happens," Kayser says. Reader Butch Titcomb of Chester, Va., reports that he witnessed one case in Charlotte in which a woman had poured her toiletries into separate baggies and carefully labeled each "shampoo," "hand lotion," etc. She told security she had weighed each bag to make sure it wasn't more than three ounces. Officials let her through, but don't count on that.
· Putting large bottles into the bag, then claiming that all but three ounces has been used . "Security officials don't have scales and can't be expected to weigh each container," Kayser says. "That would create very long lines."
· Bringing more than one quart-sized bag per traveler.
· Bringing huge plastic bags . Quart-sized baggies are 7.5 by 8 inches, and the box is labeled "quart-sized."
· Bringing bags that fold at the top . Zip-top bags have a little piece of plastic that fits into a track, like a zipper.
· Bringing mesh bags . Yes, you can see through a mesh bag, but that's beside the point. You must use a zip-top bag.
Questions? Check the TSA Web site: http://www.tsa.gov/ .