Airline rules, carry on limitations and other issues of too much security.

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What can you take on a plane?

What is this about liquids in a baggie?

What about food?

Will I be searched from the neck down?

Should I expect to have to completely unpack everything, empty pockets, take off shoes... etc.. just to get on the plane?

Does your bag automatically have to go into luggage storage? What if it is no bigger then a common large purse? Can I carry it on?

Can I bring stuff back? Like food? plants? or what ever i want? Besides black tar heroin of course..

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@shewolfnm,

shewolfie, what airline are you flying? There may be slightly different rules for different airlines. There will be specifics on your airline's website and on TSA's website.

What can you take on a plane? Usually one carry-on (size limits vary by airline) and one "personal item" like a purse or briefcase or camera bag. If the plane is on the small side, they'll gate-check your larger bag/bags.

What is this about liquids in a baggie? One quart-size bag with all your liquids, including lotion, lip gloss, etc. Each container can be no more than 3 oz. You can't bring a half empty 6 oz tube of toothpaste either. Has to be a 3 oz container.

What about food? I've never been stopped for food in my carry-on.

Will I be searched from the neck down? You'll walk thru a scanner. If you set off the alarm, they'll "wand" you all over. I guess a more thorough search is possible too.

Should I expect to have to completely unpack everything, empty pockets, take off shoes... etc.. just to get on the plane? Everyone has to take off their shoes at security. They'll go thru your bags if they see something on the x-ray they want to see up close.

Does your bag automatically have to go into luggage storage? What if it is no bigger then a common large purse? Can I carry it on? See above.

Can I bring stuff back? Like food? plants? or what ever i want? Besides black tar heroin of course.. Food & plants are only a problem coming from other countries, I think.

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Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov

Prohibited Items according to the TSA

More about the 3-1-1 rule

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oh...and get ready to take your shoes off...or do only men have to do that?

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three ounce?
what?

Oh man
Maybe I should have begun to read about this sooner.
This means I can not bring my shampoo, my soap, my lotion... nothing..

GAH!

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@shewolfnm,

Someone else will show up with the general rules.
They may have relaxed stuff or toughened rules since I flew, but I'd wear slip on shoes like your crocs. I used to wear my danskos, which have steel bars in them, ha, but still are slip ons.
Expect to empty pockets, take off watch if you're wearing one. (I lost a watch at Phoenix airport in this process, grrr, so place stuff carefully in the basket they provide. I put mine in my purse and it apparently fell out. I was watching, no one just snagged it.)
Your checked bag will be checked by them, if you did check it in. Your non-checked bag will go through the xray machine.
I don't know about food and liquids, wait for next poster. Last I boarded a plane, I had a latte purchased after passing security in my hand and probably a sandwich in my purse.

This is moderately exciting the first time. Less amusing if you change planes several times.

Ah, they showed up while I was typing, cool!

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Oh, and you can bring an empty water bottle thru security and fill it up at the water fountain in the terminal.

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@mac11,

tsa address not found, but google helped.
Thanks for that link.

I see now I am going to have to go by small clear bottles for my liquids.
Gads man. Its just shampoo.. what am I gonna do with it? Hit someone?
Ha.

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@ossobuco,

what you describe is what I would expect.

What I hear others tell me is odd.. to say the least.

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@shewolfnm,

shewolfnm wrote:

three ounce?
what?

Oh man
Maybe I should have begun to read about this sooner.
This means I can not bring my shampoo, my soap, my lotion... nothing..

GAH!

Sure you can. Just bring travel sizes...they're usually 3 oz. or less. And don't forget makeup. If any of it is liquid, it also goes in the ziplock baggie.

If you want to bring more than the ziplock baggie will hold, put it in your checked luggage.

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You have time to go to the drug store and buy those dumb small empty plastic bottles for shampoo, et al.

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@shewolfnm,

You can take those things in a bag you're going to check. Most of the time, I find that checking luggage and picking it up on arrival just makes my overall trip easier.

Some airlines can be a bit stinky poopy about re-packaged lotions etc - they want things to be in their original tiny packaging. Others are more relaxed about it.

I ran into an issue once with a hair clip I'd bought to give little k as a gift. They thought it had potential as a weapon. Man, it was a freakin' barrette. They threatened to confiscate it. It ended up being transferred to my checked bag.

Food is generally ok - but you need to check the specific airline's rules. No bevvies though - unless you've bought them after you've gone through security - you don't want to pay airport prices for water.

Pack stuff in baggies, and put a few empty baggies in your luggage as well, for transporting stuff back - and carrying little snacks around town on arrival.

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@shewolfnm,

shewolfnm wrote:

I see now I am going to have to go by small clear bottles for my liquids.

If you're going to buy something, buy travel sizes of the products you want to bring - not every airline is friendly about small unlabelled bottles in hand luggage.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

You can take those things in a bag you're going to check. Most of the time, I find that checking luggage and picking it up on arrival just makes my overall trip easier.

I agree on that most of the time - depends on if you hold other people up with your retrieving baggage.

Some airlines can be a bit stinky poopy about re-packaged lotions etc - they want things to be in their original tiny packaging. Others are more relaxed about it.
Oops then on my little empty bottle recommendation.

I ran into an issue once with a hair clip I'd bought to give little k as a gift. They thought it had potential as a weapon. Man, it was a freakin' barrette. They threatened to confiscate it. It ended up being transferred to my checked bag.

Food is generally ok - but you need to check the specific airline's rules. No bevvies though - unless you've bought them after you've gone through security - you don't want to pay airport prices for water.

Pack stuff in baggies, and put a few empty baggies in your luggage as well, for transporting stuff back - and carrying little snacks around town on arrival.
Sounds good.

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@shewolfnm,

shewolfnm wrote:

Its just shampoo.. what am I gonna do with it? Hit someone?

They are worried about binary bombs that can be made from common household liquids.

And as I've explained before, it seems to be of dubious legitimacy to me.

At least flights outside the US often don't share these restrictions, so I just have to remember this kind of thing when I'm flying to/in the States.

1 Reply

@shewolfnm,

There's really only one way we can have real security on airplanes. In the near future everybody's gonna have to fly naked, and clothing and any other baggage will be sent ahead on UPS planes. That way if the dickheads manage to blow up an airplane it's just the pilot and he'll b e able to eject and parachute down.

The idea is, get in shape, or be prepared to get laughed at.....

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@mac11,

mac11 wrote:

Will I be searched from the neck down? You'll walk thru a scanner. If you set off the alarm, they'll "wand" you all over. I guess a more thorough search is possible too.

The scanner is a metal detector. You won't set it off unless you have metal on your person when you walk through. So: no jewelry, no watch, no belt buckle, no glasses with metal frame, no wallet -- and you should be fine. Wear a jacket, put these things into its pockets, put the jacket on the belt that goes through the x-ray machine, and walk through the metal scanner. And you should be fine.

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Jacket?

Its freaking 107 degrees here.

Jacket. Laughing

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@Robert Gentel,

Wow.

I had NO idea

I still feel a little odd being restricted so much when i am just going on vacation.
its just me.
No terrorist up my sleeve.. none hiding under my dress..

Damn. A bomb from shampoo..
That sounds so.. jailhouse..

1 Reply

@shewolfnm,

And, as Eva said, most drug stores sell travel-sized sets of shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and so forth. It's less than $10 dollars for the whole set, so you you should be fine.

1 Reply

Airline rules, carry on limitations and other issues of too much security.

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