Friday Rant

[VectraMan]

The 100ml seems to be scientifically determined to be less than the small bottles of things you buy cheaply from the supermarket. I drove to France and flew back recently; travelling light with just a backpack and change of underwear, and still had to leave behind the small can of deodorant and bottle of shampoo I'd taken as they were both 125ml.

[MyUserName]

Unusual to find a customs guy who is polite with common sense in the UK. Most of them are abroad.

I had one. When Mrs MUN, both kids and I were going to across the channel on the ferry I got spot checked.

They asked me some questions and looked under the car etc. They decided that they wanted to search the boot but when they there they found that it was jam packed full of family holiday stuff, she looked at it for a few seconds and then just asked me if I had packed it myself, I told her I had. She asked if there was anything in there I should tell her about, I said 'no' and they let me go without opening it. I was happy with that, packing it again would have been a nightmare.

[d000hg]

No. The rules, https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/overview

wtf does this mean? 'Airport security staff won’t let anything through if they consider dangerous - even if it’s normally allowed in hand luggage.'

It means they have total freedom to reject something they think dangerous for whatever reason. e.g. you're allowed to take a pen, but if you have a pen with a serrated sharp edge they will take it off you.

I think...

[BigTime]

It means they have total freedom to reject something they think dangerous for whatever reason. e.g. you're allowed to take a pen, but if you have a pen with a serrated sharp edge they will take it off you.

I think...

..another thing I had taken off me that fits this bizarre rule, small allen keys. A friend who I was staying with asked me to bring them out to fix something. No issue taking them from UK but stopped by French on the way back. When I queried why I wasn't allowed them, was told that I could use them to take the plane apart.

[vetran]

..another thing I had taken off me that fits this bizarre rule, small allen keys. A friend who I was staying with asked me to bring them out to fix something. No issue taking them from UK but stopped by French on the way back. When I queried why I wasn't allowed them, was told that I could use them to take the plane apart.

that's Airbus for you, a proper Boeing has flat blade screws.

[mudskipper]

They allowed me to take an empty water bottle.

So you could take 3x100ml bottles and an empty 300ml bottle and decant the contents just to make a point.

[d000hg]

They allowed me to take an empty water bottle.

So you could take 3x100ml bottles and an empty 300ml bottle and decant the contents just to make a point.

I really don't think customs people are the type you want to make a point to, when they can detain and probe you "because you seem suspicious".

[scooterscot]

Another reason why I like using the train.

[Contractoid]

The 100ml seems to be scientifically determined to be less than the small bottles of things you buy cheaply from the supermarket. I drove to France and flew back recently; travelling light with just a backpack and change of underwear, and still had to leave behind the small can of deodorant and bottle of shampoo I'd taken as they were both 125ml.

Yes its funny that isn't it. I too have searched in vain before flying to acquire “airline compliant” personal hygiene products and curiously they always seem to be 120ml or larger. A cynic (not me of course) might suggest that rather than any strenuous scientific study to determine this threshold of safety was influenced more by the above supply conditions, but I’m sure that’s not the case. Its all about safety of course, and security, more importantly OUR safety and security. Silly old me!

And to add to that point, the fact that its all about security and nothing to do with airport and airline profit margins did you hear about the new technology that HAS to be adopted to screen these pesky liquids for tampering / illicit substances. At one stage there were headlines predicting that this would have the side benefit of ending all these restrictions. But curiously, weeks before the various detection technology was officially launched an EU directive was issued allowing the industry to extend indefinitely the restrictions. A cynic (really, really not me of course) might suggest that airports and airlines may have (just may – I wouldn’t possibly know of course) carried out financial analysis of potential lost profits from being able to scam millions of passengers on the back of said restrictions and this may have been influential in the strictly impartial, absolutely not corrupt, absolutely not influenced by controlled by or “incentivised” by corporate industry players in any way whatsoever EU politicians.

Like I said, its all about OUR Safety and Security and nothing else.

Does this qualify as a better Rant now?

[Ticktock]

Yes its funny that isn't it. I too have searched in vain before flying to acquire “airline compliant” personal hygiene products and curiously they always seem to be 120ml or larger.

Did your search extend to Boots, where they sell travel size bottles of most stuff?