Originally Posted by
FriendlySkies
I still find this to be a stupid policy-- I had a tiny bit of water left in my Nalgene several years ago at MCI and they made me exit the sterile area (I didn't get the bottle back until I was outside the sterile area), drink the tiny bit of water and re-enter. This still makes no sense because they seize liquids all the time and just throw them into bins in the checkpoint as well as let folks ditch liquids in big bins right before the WTMD and "scanners". TSA security theatre at its finest.
Just another example of inconsistency due to inconsistent training and standards, I guess.
A few years ago at MCO, I was in the queue approaching the c/p and noticed that I had forgotten to dump my water bottle (it's a Brita, and it's opaque, so I didn't notice until I had to pick it up). I'd already been in the queue for over twenty minutes and passed the TDC, and there were no trash cans or even potted plants between me and the belt, so I just drank it. And it wasn't easy, because it was a 24oz bottle about 3/4 full, and I had about three minutes to chug it before I reached the belt.
A TSO noticed me drinking from it, and just before I got to the belt, she asked "Is that bottle empty?" I replied in the affirmative, and nothing else happened - no checking to see if I was lying, no pulling me out for additional screening, no hand search of my carryons, nothing. I just finished up, put myself back together, and ran for the bathroom.