Empty water bottle
 

I had saved a small (250-ml) bottle from an Olympic Airlines flight from Toronto to Athens in order to fill it from a drinking fountain in Athens airport while waiting for a flight to Corfu. As there was a long delay it came in very handy in the overheated boarding lounge. But before we got on the flight to Corfu, security confiscated the empty bottle because it COULD, POTENTIALLY contain more than 100 ml. I asked if they would at least recycle it, but the security guard--tossing it gleefully into the trash--said, we never do that, we just throw them out. We were so teed off by their rudeness, we now travel to Corfu via Germany in order to avoid Athens airport.

The next time they ask to do this, just open the bottle and dump the water over the floor to spite them. That's what I would have considered doing.

Flying out of PHX this week, my other half's empty reusable metal water bottle was confiscated because "it could be used as a weapon" :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

That was theft, absolutely. I've traveled through PHX numerous times with empty Lexan or stainless steel water bottles, only once being asked(!) if the stainless 14oz bottle was empty.

Too late for your partner unfortunately, but you could have escalated to a supervisor, claimed availability of water to be a medical necessity for the bottle owner (as it is for all humans, broadly), or asked to "take it back to the car" and tried another checkpoint, if you had time.

PHX has always had its share of bad screeners, but the occasional decent supervisors I've dealt with in the past all seem to be gone. If they try to confiscate my unique, name-engraved "volunteer recognition" stainless bottle I might consider escalating the matter to the PPD, but given the subornation of perjury a PPD officer apparently committed to get PC for Yukari Mitamae's arrest, that might do more harm than good. :(

Very sorry to hear about your other half's experience. The item may be of low monetary value, but the implications are serious and horrifying.

Sounds like another one of our fine, upstanding TSOs was hiking up Camelback that weekend and forgot to buy a water bottle. ;)

Here's a fun situation I've only seen happen once: TSOs doing a gate check confiscating water bottles. The guy sitting next to me on the flight had been stopped for a search before boarding, and when he got on the plane, he was fuming about his water bottle, that he had just filled up at the fountain after going through security with it empty, being confiscated. Apparently, it contained enough liquid to be a threat to the aircraft (what?!). Anyone else ever seen that happen?

You can still carry as much of a 79% nitrogen/21% oxygen mixture as you want through any checkpoint and onto any flight.

I agree, that was outright theft.

Ridiculous. Would they have also confiscated a bottle of water bought at a store? They're not supposed to be confiscating liquids at the gate.

What scares me most is that this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

Mike

I did exactly that, at SYD, after the screener refused to allow me to drink the water, or to empty the bottle into the confiscation bin. I had only about 2 ounces of water in the bottle. FWIW, this was a flight AKL>SYD>DXB, and I had already been screened at AKL and would be getting back on the same plane in less than an hour. We had to get off the plane and go directly through re-screening, without passing any bathrooms on the way, where I could have emptied the bottle.

ME: I'll drink the water.
SCREENER; Oh no, Madam, you can't do that.
ME: I want to keep the bottle. Can I empty it into the bin?
SCREENER: Oh no, Madam, you can't do that.
ME: Do you have any plants I can empty it into? (Yes, they did, very close to the screening point.)
SCREENER: Oh no, Madam, you can't do that.

So, I emptied the water onto the floor. Much shouting and confusion, calling for a supervisor etc. I thought I wasn't going to fly any further that day but, eventually, they let me through, after giving me a long lecture about the danger of someone possibly slipping on the water.

Memo to self: Next time, drink the d*** water on the plane, or drink it at the check point, even if told I am not allowed to do so.

Too late now, but I would have taken the cap (I always do). There's no way a bottle cap is a prohibited item and I don't have to justify why I want the cap, even if I have to surrender the bottle.

If the TSO is truly discarding the bottle (and not retrieving it later), he/she won't care if it has a cap or not.

If the TSO is planning on appropriating the bottle for personal use, it will be worthless without the cap.

Certainly not. Excessive amounts of it are prohibited. You're not allowed pressure vessels beyond limited personal care products and there's no other way to carry large quantities of it.

Carry on size limits.

No matter how you do it you'll quickly bump into limits on what you can carry on an airplane.

I did that myself the last time I flew. I had a 750ml Brita bottle that was about 3/4 full and I had forgotten to make a side trip to the bathroom to empty it out before getting into the line. Naturally, I didn't realize there was still water in it till I got 20 minutes into the line, and I didn't want to have to stand in another 20 minute line to get through security, so I chugged it all right there.

A TSO must have seen me do it, because when I got to the split point where I was directed to a specific station, the TSO directing traffic asked me, "Is that bottle empty?" I said yes, and that was the end of it. How nice that she took me at my word...

At some airports it is not easy to find a water fountain. Looks like they've been deliberately removed or made not so visible in order to make people buy something which should be free.

Those stores selling water must be loving the liquids ban. They make huge money from passengers needing drinking water. Not everyone can go a few hours without water.

No issues taking empty water bottle through LIS, YYZ, BRU so far.

Just a reminder -
 

this is the practical issues forum, so please keep posts to practical advice, real life experiences etc without the sarcasm. Thanks

squeakr

co Mod TS/S

Saw a cool thing at ORD last week. They have a sink/disposal unit sitting next to the trash can at the checkpoints. They have signs advising you to empty your water bottles before the checkpoint, save them, and refill them later. Several of the water fountains at ORD are also designated "bottle fill stations" and have faucets that are specifically designed to make it easy to refill a bottle with water.

It's stupid they had to do that, but it is an incredible convenience, assuming the liquids policy is here to stay.

Buy this http://www.waterbottle.bz/

That IS pretty cool.

Leaving aside the 3-1-1 rule, lots of people today carry water bottles with them everywhere and fill them from drinking fountains, but typical drinking fountains simply weren't designed to fill tall sports bottles. Heck, even the water cooler I have in my office is designed with mug-size vessels in mind, and we have to angle our sports bottles when filling them. Adding a bottle-friendly drinking fountain or spigot of some kind to a public space is a great innovation that I'd love to see in all sorts of public buildings, not just airports.

ORD seems to have gone the extra mile by placing sinks near the c/p to empty bottles.

I've always wondered which of these is greater:

1- The increase in sales of bottled water, Coke, and other drinks that passengers are no longer allowed to bring from home.

2- The decrease in overall sales of airside vendors now that airside is only for ticketed passengers--and even ticketed passengers, upon arrival, are likely to make a beeline for the airside exit to meet their family, skipping any vendors.

(Question: Are there any airports in the world today where you can still go airside with no boarding pass and meet people at the gate? Better yet...are there any airports with zero security theater?)

Whenever I fly, I bring an empty plastic bicycle-cage-mount water bottle with me; it holds something like 24 oz. It's been on its fair share of trail bike rides, so it's pretty ratty and scratched up, but it works. Translation: no TS"O" will ever want to appropriate it for personal use. And yeah...if a TS"O" ever wanted by reusable water bottle, I'd insist on keeping the lid.

Yes, there are many airports around the world where you can go airside with no boarding pass. A lot of the world (well except for the UK who are insane) don't have the security theatre that the US has. Walk through the WTMD with your shoes on, bags through the X-Ray. That's pretty much standard.

Can you list some of them? Because I've been to 60+ countries and not met an airport like that for at least 10 years.

Melbourne, Australia, in 2009.

I was surprised when my client met me right at the gate as I was deplaning.

Adelaide in 2011. It was a blast from the past to see a mother and three kids waiting to greet Dad when he emerges from the jetway.

Any examples outside of Australia?

Wait...I'm confused. :confused: :confused:

Wouldn't all those bomb-making, plane-crashing, terrorist-lubing liquids cause an issue in the drain, all mixed up like that? Or does pouring them down a drain make them inert?

Yeah, we've addressed that one before. My best guess is that the TSA has a magic substance that automatically renders the explosive liquids inert when you pour them in the garbage can or sink. It's the opposite of the magic liquids that, when mixed together, cause a massive explosion.

Kinda like red kryptonite versus green kryptonite.

Mike

Melbourne, Adelaide - were these the Domestic terminals or the International?

I note that both posters have cited examples of seeing passengers arriving. How was the setup for departures?

Most Domestic terminal in NZ allow non-passengers to approach as far as the boarding gate, but departures on International flights are treated differently.

Australian domestic airports/terminals allow people without boarding passes airside (they still pass through security, of course). You do not need to show ID at security. Arriving and departing passengers are not separated from each other in domestic terminals. Also, the liquids carry on restrictions do not apply on Australian domestic flights (they apply for international flights, of course).

International is a different matter. Domestic and international gates are never in the same terminal. International arrivals are completely separated from international departures (except for international transit passengers, who pass from one area to the other, with further security checks) and only departing international passengers are allowed to pass from landslide through security and Immigration to international airside.