With the new airline restrictions taking effect last week,
flyers are required to leave behind anything liquid or gel
– including bottled water and many toiletries. While some are
irritated by the inconvenience, others are taking it in stride
n By Kelly Savio Staff Writer
Americans simultaneously heaved a sigh of frustration and did their best to squelch twinges of fear upon last week’s discovery of terrorist plans to use liquid explosives on flights between the United States and the United Kingdom. Everyone knew what the newfound plot meant: longer airport lines and irritating new restrictions, as well as a return to post-Sept. 11 alarm.
On Friday afternoon, just a day after new security measures on flights banned any form of liquid or gel, Mineta San Jose International Airport appeared relatively quiet despite the new restrictions. Security lines were virtually non-existent, and passengers who had arrived as long as four hours early muttered in aggravation.
“I came really early because I saw all these huge lines on the news, and people kept saying you had to arrive really early because of all the new restrictions,” said Del Rhodes, who was catching a flight to return to his hometown, Chicago, after visiting friends in the Bay Area. “I don’t really know what I’m going to do now. I have a long wait.”
The new restrictions banned anything liquid or gel, including deodorant, toothpaste, all beverages, hair gel, shampoo, lipstick, liquid or gel-cap medicines and lotions. Exceptions to the restrictions included insulin, baby formula and breast milk if a parent was traveling with an infant, and small amounts of prescription medication if the name on the bottle matched the passenger’s name. The Department of Homeland Security raised the nation’s threat level to orange, or high, for most of the country, but in an unprecedented move, raised the level to red, or severe, for flights coming from the United Kingdom to the United States.
Rhodes, who had brought only one carry-on bag with him on vacation, threw away most of his toiletries as he packed. He called the ban on all liquids a “knee-jerk reaction,” but said he didn’t mind the new restrictions.
“I saw that in London they weren’t letting passengers bring any electronics on the plane with them,” he added. “If I couldn’t bring my laptop on the plane, then I would be upset. But not bringing my toothpaste? No big deal.”
Business associates Tom Patterson and Kamal Patel, who had been in San Jose for a business conference, also threw away all their toiletries before packing to return to Colorado.
“It’s sad that I won’t be able to just do carry-on anymore,” Patterson said. “I didn’t mind throwing away the stuff this time – it’s just a few bucks worth of toiletries. But in the future, I’ll pack it all and check it in, which will just take more time at the airport.”
Two garbage cans and signs listing the newly prohibited items stood sentry at the entrance to security areas. Many passengers chugged as much water as they could handle from their water bottles, tossing the remainder away. Other passengers walked up to theX-ray machines only to turn around and head back to the trash cans after recalling a bottle of water tucked into a carry-on.
On the way out of security, Transportation Security Administration employees stopped high numbers of passengers to hand-check their bags. Many people in line to check bags were checking small, carry-on sized bags containing their toiletries rather than throwing them away. Most people boarded planes carrying small purses or backpacks rather than the larger, rolling bags.
“They stopped us once more right before we got in the plane and checked our pockets and our bags – everything,” said Rachel Kittinger, who had flown in to San Jose from Texas and was making a connecting flight with her family. “We dumped everything. We had chocolate milk for the kids, which we threw out. We had to wait for the drink service on the plane before we could get them some apple juice. We had to throw away Chapstick, mascara, any little thing.”
As of Monday, the threat level for flights between the United Kingdom and United States had been reduced to orange, and some security restrictions had been relaxed slightly. Lipstick and Chapstick are now allowed on flights as well as small doses of liquid medications and baby food. Prior to the liquid explosive plot, many airports asked passengers to remove their shoes during security screening, but it is now required at all airports.
Randy Changco, a San Jose Police K-9 Explosive Detection Officer, is usually assigned to the airport with Jack, his bomb-sniffing dog. The pair walked through the airport as they usually do, with Jack sniffing trash cans, luggage and under seats, but Changco said he was told to keep an eye out for things Jack isn’t trained to detect: liquids. Changco was called back to duty from vacation following the terror plot discovery last week.
“You know, a lot of people get irritated with the new rules, but if you think about it, if it wasn’t for what happened on 9/11 and all the rules that followed, these terrorist guys would have gotten away with whatever they were plotting,” said Dan Mendoza, a South Bay resident who was catching a flight to Portland. “The rules are just to keep us safe, and we have to respect that.”
Got a flight to catch?
With all the security changes in the last week, it’s hard to know what to pack and what to leave at home. The best thing to do before a flight is call your carrier and check online, but beware.
At the rate things are changing, some employees aren’t fully up to speed and may give you false information or require you to throw something away that was banned at one time and isn’t any longer.
On Monday, Dawn, a United Airlines customer service representative, told us lipstick wasn’t allowed on flights and passengers flying in from the U.K. weren’t allowed to have any carry-on bags. Five minutes later, a check of the Web site showed that not only was lipstick allowed on flights, but passengers from the U.K. were permitted to bring a small brief case-sized item on board flights.
Do expect more bags to be hand-searched and expect to have an additional security check immediately prior to boarding a flight.
As of press time, the following items were prohibited from flights under the new restrictions, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
– Aerosols
– Gel deodorant
– Toothpaste
– Hair gel and hair spray
– Lotions, cremes and moisturizers
– Mouthwash
– All beverages
– Gel-like lip gloss
– Bug spray
– Ointment
– Liquid soaps
– Sunscreen
– Gel-cap type pills
– Bubble bath and bath beads
– Mascara
– Vaseline
– Perfume and cologne
– Makeup remover
– Liquid hand sanitizers
– Facial cleansers
– Liquid foundation
– Shaving foam
– Nail polish and removers
– Jell-O and other gelatinous foods
– Yogurt
– Pudding
– Syrup
The following items are allowed, though the final decision about permitted items is left to TSA employees’ discretion:
– Baby food
– Breast milk
– Baby formula
– Solid lipstick
– Small doses (4 ounces) of liquid medications
– Insulin
– Some powdered cosmetics
Note: Parents will not be required to taste baby food, formula or breast milk at security checkpoints.
Learn more
For more information on the security restrictions, visit these Web sites:
Transportation Security Administration, www.tsa.gov
American Airlines, www.aa.com
United Airlines, www.united.com
British Airways, www.britishairways.com
Continental Airlines, www.continental.com
Flying in and out of the U.K.?
If you’re flying in and out of the U.K., rules may be stricter for you. Check with your carrier for the latest information.
Immediately following the arrest of more than 20 suspected terrorists, passengers were not allowed to bring any electronics, including laptops or MP3 players, on board planes. Passengers were also not permitted to bring any carry-on bags. These restrictions have been lifted, but security in the U.K. still prohibits most liquids, with the exception of insulin, breast milk and baby formula.
