"Inbound international changes

Beginning January 31, 2014, passengers traveling internationally into the United States with a connecting flight will be permitted to carry liquids in excess of 100 mL in their carry-on baggage, provided they were purchased in duty-free shops and placed in secure, tamper-evident bags (STEBs).

Technological advances may allow passengers to keep these liquids in their carry-on baggage, provided they are presented in a STEB and are able to be screened and cleared by Transportation Security Officers at the checkpoint.

Liquids that cannot be screened and cleared will not be allowed to remain in a passenger’s carry-on baggage. Passengers may elect to place these items into checked baggage, if available, or forfeit them prior to entering the secure area of the airport. This may include liquids in opaque, ceramic, or metallic bottles, or other containers that cannot be effectively scanned.

Latest revision: 27 January 2014"

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-...g/liquids-rule
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EDITED TO ADD:

More info on STEB and it is not TSA promoting this but ICAO.

http://www.icao.int/Security/SFP/LAG...s/default.aspx

So, does this rule change mean that if one is flying, for example, NRT-SFO-ORD, that duty free purchased in NRT can be carried on all the way to ORD?

Provided the duty free store at NRT sealed it in a Tampa evident bag.

No, it is a bag that will be given at duty free stores that are sealed shut. If you try to remove the seal, the seal its self separates and can't be easily put back together so it is evident that the bag has been opened.

Looks like Canada is giving this a shot as well. But here, they clearly say they may open the bag. Then you are pretty much screwed if you have a connecting flight in the US as the bag will have been 'tampered with'.

From the CATSA wbaite:
As of January 31, 2014, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority will accept, subject to screening, duty-free liquids, aerosols and gels purchased from any airline or airport retailer that are properly sealed in official security bags and accompanied by a receipt.

These do not count as part of your carry-on allowance.

Screening officers may open your security bag to screen its contents, then re-seal it after inspection.

You may be asked to surrender your duty-free purchases if:

either the bag or the product within does not pass required security screening;
the retailer did not use an official security bag;
the clerk improperly packaged your purchases at the point of sale or did not include the receipt;
you opened the bag yourself after making the purchase and before screening; or
more than 48 hours have passed since you made the purchase (official security bags are only valid for two calendar days).
Please note that duty-free liquids, aerosols and gels may be intercepted if you pass through pre-board screening at a connecting airport in another country.

- See more at: http://www.catsa.gc.ca/duty-free-pur....FhbBoASs.dpuf

I will be flying into the US later this week. I may try to see what happens with something cheap like a bottle of Coke in a STEB (the drink, not the other stuff).

I don't understand. I thought these duty free shops are already inside the gates areas so why TSA check is necessary?

If you purchase duty free abroad and then fly to the USA, but you're connecting to another flight, you'll need to re-clear security

ah, it's been a long time since i traveled abroad w/connecting flights.

i planned on flying to LIS in june where my connections both ways will be thru either philadelphia or charlotte so it's nice to know.

Does this help passengers who have to change airports to make their connecting flight?

In May, I'll be flying ZRH-JFK, but have to change to LGA to get to my domestic connection back to STL.

Am I hosed because I need to change airports?

You must reclear security at LGA.

Trip report time!

I was traveling JNB-LHR-DFW-LAX, and purchased three bottles at the JNB duty free shop. As a nice touch there, they give you the bags right away, you do not have to pick them up at the gate.

They were packed in two different bags. The first contained one bottle, with some foam wrapped around it to protect it. The second contained two bottles, in a cardboard 'buy two and save' box.

At LHR, where this is also brand new, the first bag was placed unopened in a standard tray with a foam insert through the X-ray. The second bag had to be opened by the screeners to remove the individual bottles, which were then sent through the X-ray just like the first. They then had me take the bottles over to the security desk, where they took a new STEB out of a safe and resealed the two bottles in their cardboard carrier. There were a few hiccups, but it was a pretty quick process.

At DFW it was a bit different situation. I removed the two bags from my luggage and placed them through the X-ray in a bin, after which a TSO took the bin to the extra-screening area to check them out. He was not fully sure in the process, and soon three or four more TSOs came over to assist. The rules were clear, the receipt had to be dated within the past 48 hours, and the bottles had to be transparent.

The TSO opened both of the bags, checked the receipts, and then placed each bottle into a CEIA EMA scanner, which was pretty quick to scan. Once all of the bottles passed, they were placed back in the same bags and resealed with "Inspected by TSA" tape. I was then sent on my way.

Overall, the process wasn't too bad, but it definitely added about ten minutes in both LHR and DFW. I would imagine that the process will be faster in the future, as more screeners learn the process. If transiting LHR, I would advise to get one STEB per bottle so they do not need to be bagged again, but through DFW they will all be opened so this does not matter.

I suspect that this may be expanded to more than duty free liquids in the future, as it truly seems like a training exercise for the screeners, and a test to see how much time it adds to each passenger's screening. Duty free liquids are not particularly high volume, so a few minutes once in a while isn't so bad. If everybody brought a bottle of Coke through security and this whole process had to be done for every passenger, it would be a nightmare.

Excellent trip report. I was wondering how this would be handled on a connection. My heart sank when you wrote they opened the bags, but lifted when you mentioned the reseal. This means that if one has a second connection, one should be good to go.

I have the same question. I'm flying GIG-JFK (then drive to PHL) PHL-PHX. The flight into JFK and out of PHL will be in the same day. Has anyone had a similar experience yet?