BA_Jfan

I just arrived at LHR about 2 hours ago from JFK in transit to TLV. I have a cornea disease that requires special contact lenses and special solutions for those lenses that need to be special ordered and are not available in store. Transit security told me that because they are more than 100 ml they can't come thru. I patiently and calmly examined that they are medically necessary and cannot otherwise be obtained. I showed them a PDF letter from my cornea specialist confirming my cornea disease. Still they refused to allow me to carry them thru. I was forced to check my carry on to keep the solutions.
Is this normal procedure at LHR? In the US, when TSA staff even ask about my contact lens solutions, all I need to do is say they are medically necessary and I am waved they immediately. Even internationally. I find the UK policy beyond ridiculous. Again, this isn't about saving $2 on a coke. This is about a cornea disease. What do you guys think?

Any advice on how to file an official complaint that will get a response beyond a form letter?

UKtravelbear

It seems that is what the LHR rules are

Makes no difference what the TSA does in the US. Many of us think the TSA rules are beyond ridiculous but we have to put up with them.

Contact details for LHR are on the website but you could contact the Civil Aviation Authority or the Department of Transport. But in all likelyhood you'll get a form reply from them too.

ft101

Security were corrrect - your excess liquids should have been in your checked bag in the first place.

BA_Jfan

They weren't excess. The excess was checked. It was only what I needed with me immediately but they were all about 4 ounces.

ft101

When I read your first post I imagined larger containers. If they were 4 ozs (just over 100ml) it does seem you've come across a jobsworth who has decided to go strictly by the book.

To stray off the point slightly, a letter from your specialist could easily be mocked up and security can't really put any faith in it.

I discovered this a few years ago when I had a lot of metalwork put in my leg which my consultant reckoned would set off every airport scanner. When I mentioned him supplying a letter of explanation, he said the medical profession had discussed such a scenario with the security authorities. The outcome was that no letter would be worth the paper it was printed on, and that security would have to satisfy themselves that I posed no threat.

stifle

The rules were correctly enforced. The limit of 100ml applies unless the liquids are medically necessary during your flight or a reasonable amount of delays. What the TSA may or may not allow is irrelevant to the UK and it is incumbent on travellers to establish the requirements in each country they fly to or through rather than assuming their own country's rules apply. Nobody you complain to will care more than to send a form letter reply.

That said, the rules are stupid.

SkiAdcock

I agree that what TSA does is irrelevant to the UK or other countries, but if we're only talking 4oz vs 3oz for a cornea disease situation it does seem like there should have been a bit of consideration/common sense involved.

Cheers.

David-A

Pedant mode: The limit is 100ml.
4oz is over 113ml.

Having just checked, I've noticed that even the TSA in metric hating USA give their limits at "3.4oz (100ml)" - so clearly 100ml is the limit, and 4oz is over the limit.

Accordingly, I would not have attempted 4oz, unless 4oz (rather than 100ml - 3.4oz) was a vital quantity to have with you.

BA_Jfan

For 2 of the 3 solutions I require, 4 ounces is the smallest size made. I actually had no choice.

David-A

Can they be dispensed/transferred into smaller containers? Or is that not viable for a reason? (e.g. practical quantity required is full 4oz, or it is not practical to change container to another?)

(one of the hoots is that security screeners just go by what is printed on a label, so if something is labelled 100ml that is fine! Even if it is a jumbo deodorant container, etc. Nobody is saying security rules are sensible - especially as you could have 5(Etc) x 100ml bottles, but not a 500ml bottle)

Anyway, if it can't be transferred to a smaller container, I would:

(1) Carry a medical note to that effect (Stating hat this is the smallest size available for the medicine, and that it is required to carry it on the person, not just that you need the product, but this is the size you must carry - as nothing smaller exists). But I would check all airport and country requirments in advance of travel - and what their policies and requirments are for required medicines above 100ml and supporting documents.

(2) Be urgently contacting the manufacturer, and asking them to make 100ml sizes for travellers.

Do they already make 100ml sizes for metric markets? Or does someone need about 4oz exactly?

stifle

Boots, and no doubt other vendors, sell empty bottles of varying <100ml sizes to facilitate decanting.

Giggleswick

Aren't contact lens solutions (and eydrops) supposed to be kept in their original containers, not decanted, to keep them sterile?

stifle

I'm no doctor, but if the sterility were lost on contact with air then surely you'd need to chuck away the rest of the bottle after opening and using it once.

ninjatim

Most eye drops have some sort of preservative and when opened for the first time, they last 28 days before they expire.

You're just asking for nasty stuff to get into your eye if you're going use an non-original container.

Also from the LHR website:
"Liquid, aerosol or gel medicines in containers over 100ml must be carried separately, together with supporting documentary proof of authenticity, such as a prescription or letter from your doctor."
Basically, the OP was well within their right to carry it on board. Seems like the security guy/girl was just a plain jerk.

I've seen contact soloution in 500ml bottles (about 2-3) go through TSA domestic. All they wanted was for my friend to open one bottle to test the liquid and they allowed it all through.

Efrem

In the U.S., at least, they have some leeway on this. I've gone through many times with 8 oz. tubes of toothpaste, nearly empty, rolled over and stapled down so they could not possibly hold anywhere near 3 oz. of the stuff. (I save nearly-empty tubes for this purpose instead of buying travel sizes.) I have never been stopped, or even questioned, about my toothpaste - let alone asked to get rid of it.

I understand that this is not practical with most containers for "real liquids," of course.