The current rules regarding how to get your liquids and gels through security are basically this: You’re allowed 3oz or less of each item and all items must be able to fit into a single resealable clear quart-sized plastic bag. This bag must be removed from your carry-on luggage and run through the screening process separately from the rest of your bags. This makes a minimal amount of sense I guess. However, here’s what I witnessed at the Lincoln, NE airport last night:
A gentleman come through security and one of the TSA agents pulled his carry-on bag aside. I heard her mention that he had some liquids and/or gels in his bag and she had to find them. I assumed that she would find them and dispose of them as he had not followed the rules. What she actually did is pull out five items from his toiletries kit and said “let me get you a bog for those.” She then proceeded to place four of the five items into a regulation-sized clear plastic bag and set the bag aside. She next too the fifth item which, she claimed, had more than three ounces of whatever it was in the container and said “I’ll be right back.” Did she check, dispose or destroy this item? No! She went to another room, emptied the bottle of some of its content so there was 3oz (or less) remaining in the container, returned to the clear bag, placed it in the bag, and handed everything back to the passenger!
Will someone please explain to me the purpose of all the rules that a passenger is supposed to follow prior to going through screening if the TSA folks are just going to do it for passengers after going through security? And, just how is any of this supposed to make any of us even feel safer, let alone actually be safer?
Welcome to Security Theater. During tonight’s show, we’ll see the intricate details of the “consistently inconsistent” policies of the TSA. Being consistently inconsistent allows them to catch all the terrorists, don’t you know?
I went through security yesterday to escort my grandparents to the gate and I forgot that I had liquids in my purse until I got to the gate. The screener didn’t notice the liquids when the bag went through x-ray. I don’t think the policy is working very well and it doesn’t help that the TSA workers joke that they should be investing stock in Ziploc.
the rules are at http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/9-25_updated_passenger_guidance.shtm Only 1 bag per person is allowed. That TSA agent broke their own rules. Not much of a rule if it isn’t actually followed, huh?
On a recent trip to Montreal, a TSA agent at LGA came running after me as I was re-assembling myself inside the secure area, scolding me that I was supposed to have gotten a waiver from one of her colleagues outside for my (4 oz.) contact lens solution. She scribbled some codes on the back on my boarding pass and let me go. So, on the return trip, there was a bilingual agent standing behind a table where he assembled all his confiscated goods. I showed him my regulation Ziploc bag and asked, “Are you the guy who signs for my contact lens stuff?” But his response was, “Oh, no, four ounces or less for contact lens solution is fine! Go ahead.” And this reduces the chance of another terrorist attack…how???