Originally Posted by
wookv
Thanks for the info, dsg. Unfortunately, my parents live in Singapore currently, so they are not flying in. They were intending to purchase the Scotch at the dfs before they fly and were hoping that the airline can take care of it while on board the plane. Is that feasible?
At the outset: I wouldn't count on the airline (any airline) helping out on this issue.
Hmm, this is a little tricky. Are your folks Singaporeans? If so, they may have heard that SIN DFS will heat seal all duty free purchases in a clear bag with the receipt in plain sight. This gets them through Changi Airport. However the other Asia aiports AFAIK aren't trusting this arrangement and so are confiscating when transiting passengers go through their airports. So I thought about this overnight and your folks have only two options. But this is dependent on your parent's ability to repack their suitcases after clearing US Customs at DTW (more below):
1) purchase the liquor at NRT. The security checkpoint for passengers transiting at NRT is after disembarking the SIN/NRT flight but before coming into the general gate areas; there's no shortage of shops between gates. However as a result of the December 25 incident there may be a secondary screening at the gate/jetway right before NRT/DTW passengers are boarded; not sure if security might confiscate at that point although I imagine there would be an arrangement for anything purchased from Japan Duty Free.
2) puchase the liquor on board the NRT/DTW flight. No issues with confiscation at that stage until after arrival in the US, however choices may be limited compared to purchasing at an airport duty free.
Both approaches assume that after your folks clear US Customs, they will have some space and some time to open their suitcases and put things inside before returning the suitcase to the airline (so no more liquids when going through TSA inspection). My experience is with United and know that it is possible to repack things (I've done this lots of times) but I don't know if other carriers have a similar arrangement (I have no experience with NW). If the ability to repack is not possible with other carriers then your folks can't do what they wish to do.
This is what you need to find out:
1) I assume your folks are flying Northwest (now Delta). If this is so then you need to post a query on the NW/DL forum asking the folks there if after clearing US Customs at DTW there is time and space to repack their bags.
2) It would be good to get confirmation from other NW flyers what happens when they transit NRT, that is, are they going through security screening at a mass screening point after disembarking their flights, then after clearance allowed to go into the general gate area? Also, it would also be good to know if there is a secondary screening at the jetway for US bound flights and if so, if liquids are being confiscated there.