Originally Posted by
Scots_Al
I've never understood why the US has this completely bizarre system of having to collect your purchases at the gate, and why they can't operate like most other places - i.e. you buy at the shop, you take your goods there and then... it's not like (most!) people are going to crack open their cheap bottle in the airport whilst waiting for boarding!
It seems like incidents such as the OPs are bound to happen on a regular basis.
Because that would let you buy it and then leave it in the US. Remember we have no outgoing passport control, the only restriction on access to the duty free stores is the need for a boarding pass to get past the TSA.