I just went through my first "no liquids" trip...here's a report:
1). SFO on Saturday night was not overcrowded and the lines were
actually lighter than normal.
2). The cosmetic and alcoholic beverage duty-free stores were visibly
suffering (staff taken down to one employee in each store to tell
folks that they couldn't take anything but cigarettes and solid
chocolates on the planes). This was even more pronounced in Changi
(Singapore) Airport...where "Retail Therapy" is so much a part of how
folks spend their time.
3). I brought one of those teeny water bottles of spring water out of
the SIA Business lounge (which would have fit in the cargo pocket of
my pants) and probably no body would have noticed, but as they were
lightly frisking my carry-on luggage for liquids, I brought it out of
my pocket and was immediately told to drink it or toss it. Lesson
learned? Hide the water you're trying to sneak on the plane
somewhere on your body.
4). SIA at least was *very* aware that people prefer to bring their
own water. They had brought several cases of 1/2 litre bottles of
spring water on the plane and were handing them out pretty liberally
(I was given four of them in the course of the flight). This was my
number one worry, as I usually drink a lot of water on flights and I
really hate tap water (even San Francisco tap water).
5). My number two worry was whether or not they would take away my
lip balm (Hey, its not easy being a girl). TSA has just announced
that lipstick and lip balm are okey dokey now, 24 hours ago I wasn't
sure (so I put them in my pocket...and they were not detected).
Danese
On Aug 10, 2006, at 6:59 PM, Sujai wrote:
Scary as the scope of this plot was, did anyone else read articles
like this - (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2006/08/10/AR2006081001173_2.html)
"Across the Atlantic, U.S. airline officials were notified of the
emergency late Wednesday, and at 4 a.m. Thursday, time zone by time
zone as most of America slept, the federal Transportation Security
Administration began imposing strict new controls on air passengers:
Americans could carry bags onto aircraft, but no liquids or gels, not
even toothpaste. Baby formula and medicines were exempted."
and think:
Great, I hope they don't find a green explosive next, because then
they're going to ban all objects that are green.
'Kip Hawley, the Transportation Security Administration chief,
appealed to travelers to make things easier at the security checks.
"De-clutter your bag," he said.'
New Yorkers have already gotten used to avoiding carrying backpacks
onto the MTA, or packing them neatly so that they can be searched
quickly. Are we entering a new era of self-screening?
--
Sujai Kumar . www.ylog.org/sujai . +91 9312065118
