Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I must be tired; it’s the only reason I’m so incredibly angry over what happened at the security checkpoint yesterday as I went to board my flight from Calgary to San Francisco.

A little background. I have bad teeth. (Hang in there with me; this is relevant.) I brush and floss like a madman to avoid another root canal, and have four cleanings per year instead of the usual two. I also rinse with a pre-brushing dental rinse (Plax, usually), all of which is designed to keep my teeth reasonably healthy. Now, Plax does not make a bottle that is 3 ounces or under; at least, I haven’t been able to find one. So, in order to be able to rinse before brushing when I travel, I bought a 3-ounce container from The Container Store and pour some Plax into that. That little plastic bottle goes into my Ziploc baggie. I have shown it at least 100 times, including my entries into and out of Canada. This includes my entry into Canada through SFO on Monday, my transfer from Calgary to Regina, and my trip back to Calgary from Regina.

Yet in Calgary, the Canada Air Transport Security Authority officer tossed my bottle of Plax. Why? It was not labeled by the manufacturer. Thumbs down, in this case, to CATSA.

Excuse me? Here is the exact language from the CATSA website:

Passengers will be permitted to bring liquids, gels and aerosols through security screening at Canadian airports provided that the items are packaged in containers with a capacity of 100 ml / 100 grams (3.4 oz) or less, and that the containers fit comfortably in one clear, closed and resealable plastic bag with a capacity of no more than 1 litre (1 quart). The approximate dimensions of a one litre/quart bag are 15.24 cm by 22.86 cm (6 in. by 9 in.) or 20 cm by 17.5 cm (8 in. by 7 in.). One bag per passenger will be permitted.

See anything there about the product needing to be in original manufacturer packaging? No, I didn’t either.

But, hey, I was entering the U.S., so I figured it may be a new regulation from the TSA. But no, here’s the language from the TSA website:

With certain exceptions for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, baby formula and breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels, and aerosols, the following rules apply to all liquids, gels, and aerosols you want to carry through a security checkpoint.

All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.
All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.
Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items.

Again, not a word about original packaging or labeling being required.

When I tried to ask about this, the CATSA officer dismissed me, just tossed my bottle in the trash, turned around, and walked away. And no, they weren’t busy at security.

I have no objection to security requirements. I have expressed sympathy to TSA officers after hearing them take verbal abuse from passengers for doing their job. Any search of my luggage any security officer wants to conduct is aces with me—after all, if they’re checking me, they’ll check the bad guys, too.

But between the exercise of an arbitrary rule that does not exist (at least, is not communicated) and the rudeness displayed by the CATSA officer, I am still exercised about this a full day later. Protecting my safety is great. Making up rules and behaving like a martinet is not.

Of course, I’ll retract every word if someone can show me a rule or regulation that I missed.

Posted by Shel in • Airports
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