Highs and lows of handluggage checking
Sep 6, 2006 | 6:21 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bavaria, Germany
Programs: LH FTL, FB IVORY
Posts: 22
Highs and lows of handluggage checking
Last week, it was my first trip since 8/10. As my name might already has disclosed, I travelling with precious blood products (peripheral blood stem cells -they have nothing to do with the embryonic ones so don`t bother 
- and bone marrow).
My route was DRS-FRA-ORD-IAH-IAD-MUC.
As to be expectet, no special treatment in DRS since its a domestic leg.
Then in Frankfurt thorough inspection of my toiletry bag, the female inspector was quite amazed about my preparation: solid shampoo bar, deodorant crystal, toothbrushing salt. The she discovered my contact lens solution and poured something on her finger (without asking to do so
) to double a sniffing dog 
. I told her that the TSA is perfectly fine with up to 4 fl. oz. of it, a colleague of hers came by and also stated it was ok. When she was done, the told me I was lucky because of her colleague, she would have taken in away from me. I responded it wasnt luck and I`d have made her look up the regulations if she insisted.
I guess you can only tell German security what you think, Id fear being arrested doing so in the U.S.
The insulation bag was inspected as usual: I open it for a few second, the swab the inner surface and the throw it into the explosives detection machine.
Again in Chicago detailed inspection of my toiletry bag, those guys were fine with my CL solution ^ but of course, they didnt know how much 60 ml are, so I gave them friendly lesson in conversion of internationally common SI-Units into US houswives measures
But the best came when I was leaving for D.C. from Houston: I wanted to check in my trolley with the cooler packs to avoid discussions. But cause an Airport shuttle had dropped me, I arrived way to late for checking any luggage (just 35 min. prior to departure), so after convincing the agent to let my go with 2 pieces of cabin luggage, I threw everything into the x-ray machine, and - big surprise - not the least comment about those "suspicious" cooler packs in my trolley.... Strange world
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"I used to be the next president of the United States" Al Gore in An inconvenient truth
- and bone marrow).My route was DRS-FRA-ORD-IAH-IAD-MUC.
As to be expectet, no special treatment in DRS since its a domestic leg.
Then in Frankfurt thorough inspection of my toiletry bag, the female inspector was quite amazed about my preparation: solid shampoo bar, deodorant crystal, toothbrushing salt. The she discovered my contact lens solution and poured something on her finger (without asking to do so
) to double a sniffing dog . I told her that the TSA is perfectly fine with up to 4 fl. oz. of it, a colleague of hers came by and also stated it was ok. When she was done, the told me I was lucky because of her colleague, she would have taken in away from me. I responded it wasnt luck and I`d have made her look up the regulations if she insisted.I guess you can only tell German security what you think, Id fear being arrested doing so in the U.S.
The insulation bag was inspected as usual: I open it for a few second, the swab the inner surface and the throw it into the explosives detection machine.
Again in Chicago detailed inspection of my toiletry bag, those guys were fine with my CL solution ^ but of course, they didnt know how much 60 ml are, so I gave them friendly lesson in conversion of internationally common SI-Units into US houswives measures
But the best came when I was leaving for D.C. from Houston: I wanted to check in my trolley with the cooler packs to avoid discussions. But cause an Airport shuttle had dropped me, I arrived way to late for checking any luggage (just 35 min. prior to departure), so after convincing the agent to let my go with 2 pieces of cabin luggage, I threw everything into the x-ray machine, and - big surprise - not the least comment about those "suspicious" cooler packs in my trolley.... Strange world
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I used to be the next president of the United States" Al Gore in An inconvenient truth
Sep 6, 2006 | 6:59 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: An NPR mind living in a Fox News world
Posts: 14,343
Again in Chicago detailed inspection of my toiletry bag, those guys were fine with my CL solution but of course, they didnt know how much 60 ml are, so I gave them friendly lesson in conversion of internationally common SI-Units into US houswives measures
Sep 7, 2006 | 5:51 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bavaria, Germany
Programs: LH FTL, FB IVORY
Posts: 22
Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
Wait 'till the TSA finds out that they use the metric system in the Middle East!
first it would conveniently pre-tag all others for arresting and questioning
second it might keep one or another Space Shuttle from blowing up because fuel tank washers will be precisely fitting when engineers cannot mix-up the housewive stuff with the then evil world units.
What about replacing the 4 f. oz. rule by 8 tbsp., probably those TSA guys can figure that out better?
Beware, US tbsp are different from metric tbsp!!
see: http://www.convertworld.com