Zip Lock Bag Size Question
 

We are heading to Aruba this week and are taking only carry on bags. We are packing our liquids (3oz.) and found that they will not fit in two quart size bags. My questions is, has anyone used a gallon sized bag before and if so have you ever had a problem getting through security?

Welcome to Flyertalk. Unfortunately, you're asking questions where the answers probably will be of little use to you.

Yes, there are certainly people who have used gallon bags in the past.
Yes, there are certainly people who have had problems getting it through security. (And, yes, there are probably people who have gotten away with it.)

If you absolutely refuse to put your toiletries in a checked bag and you absolutely refuse to reduce the number of toiletries so they fit in one quart sized bag per person, I'd suggest that you put some of the items in an additional quart-sized bag, discreetly put it in a separate tub to go through the x-ray machine and collect it again on the other side. Some airports have staff that carefully watch who is putting what in the tubs, but most don't. Chances are they won't match up the fact that you have more bags of toiletries than you have people in your traveling party. DO NOT put multiple bags of toiletries in the same tub, and do be prepared for the fact that you may be forced to throw away/check some toiletries if you are caught.

I use a 1 qt but I have not taken it out of my carry on in many months.

I was recently waiting to put my stuff through the xray and one of the TSO's picked up the kippie bag out of the bin going into the xray that belonged to the passenger in front of me that was already walking through the WTMD. It was at least a gallon and full of little bottles.

I said, "It's a large quart."

He chuckled and put it back in the bin.

Beyond the problem of the TSO handling your stuff out of your line of sight (not good), it was clearly not a problem. There was no secondary screening that I saw of the bag, but I may have missed it.

YMMV! This is likely the exception and not the rule.

They are quite specific, it has to be in a quart sized bag.

Could you use a larger bag? It may get through, but they don't have to allow it.

From their website

3-1-1 for carry-ons = 3.4 ounce (100ml) bottle or less (by volume) ; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin. One-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can bring. 3.4 ounce (100ml) container size is a security measure.

We have all seen people with several bags going through, so it does happen, just depends if they notice it or not.

Oops, double post

In the past four years (since the liquid lunacy began), I've placed as many as four one-quart bags in a single bin when traveling with the whole family (I'm in charge of the kids' liquids). Not once have any screeners given me any lip about the four bags. My advice to the OP: Remove any liquids that may be medical in nature (they're exempt anyway) and use two one-quart bags each. Likely won't have any problems.

Yes and No - it just depends on your screener.

I use a gallon size bag for all my toiletries, but keep some small quart size ones in my bag too. I usually put the liquids, (shaving cream, hair gel and toothpaste) inside the quart size on and inside the big bag.

I've forgotten to bundle them up a few times - on the rare occasions they've asked just tell them they all fit, but forget to put them in.

But you could wind up with a strict screener and be forced to pick and choose.

Well, I am not advocating what that particular TSO did. Said passenger shouldn't have left his/her items unattended on the divesting table/x-ray rollers and walked away. How many times have we seen on here the "I wait for all my items to disappear into the x-ray before I go to the metal detector." Which you should! People are so worried about us touching their things but they don't ensure that their items are properly through the machine.

The other day, a horrid horrid day, (weather at ORD=mass flight delays/cancellations) I was running the x-ray and someone left their items just sitting on the table like they were going to sprout legs and walk themselves right in the machine. I looked at the bags, and looked at the x-ray, then back at the bags, and asked the woman if she could push them on. She said "they aren't mine." So I said "OK." and we waited until the owner was saying "where's my stuff?" The woman I asked to push the items in yelled loudly, "right here were you left it!!" I could only laugh to myself because I rarely see passengers "schooling" other passengers.

I do not remember the airport as they all begin to run together after awhile, but it absolutely was not nor could have been ORD. I am also certain it was not BNA. I know this because it was one of those rare airports where one of the excess TSO's with nothing else important to do was stationed at the entry to the xray tunnel and making sure that no one had done the atrocious act of placing something on their shoes or computer while in the bin. This one was also "helping" to feed the bins by taking perfectly okay where they were shoes out of the bin and putting them on the belts where the strings could get wrapped up in the machine. It was in this rearranging mode that the offending kippie bag was discovered and held up for inspection.

The bin was nearly in the tunnel. The TSO was giving the impression of assistance and I would be certain that the Pax felt the TSO had taken control of her belongings for the screening process. She was completely trusting in this, as most people would be. We do not, and should not have to, worry about leaving our possessions in the care of a uniformed government employee.

Little did she know.

I've seen repeated comments about not leaving bins to be pushed through by the bags behind yours on the belt.

To me, it makes sense why people do that. It's unlikely that someone will take your items, especially luggage, off of the inbound x-ray belt and walk against the flow of people in the queue. It's much more likely that someone will take your laptop or wallet coming out of the x-ray, claiming it was a simple mistake if they are caught. I've seen this happen: it did appear to be a mistake, but an experienced thief would make it look that way.

Is there any way to guard against this? Especially if the person in front of you alarms, it's not always possible to watch your bags while waiting in the queue. The only way to minimize the risk is to expect that the person behind you will push your bags or bins onto the moving belt. This is especially true when the operator backs the belt up to re-scan a bag.

They're not allowed to tell you this, but the quart size bags can contain a small nuclear explosion (which is why you have to put your dangerous shampoo and sunscreen in it) but the gallon bags are just regular plastic and not safe. ;) ;) ;)

This should work. If the line is not too long you can just exit security and enter again as many times as necessary to bring as many liquids as you want.

Once again, the War on Liquids has been rendered useless. Even if the liquid explosive plot was remotely feasible, there is no way to prevent pax from re-entering the sterile area repeatedly with all of the deadly material packaged safely in as many 3.4-1-1 freedom baggies as needed.

If a new layer of security was implemented, say, having the TDC scribble on the boarding pass, the country's aircraft could again be safe.

What if I print out multiple boarding passes?

then commercial aviation will come to an end as aircraft fall from the sky like rain.