Maybe the airlines should simply shut down the duty free shops and
send
every passenger a discount coupon for $10 off a bottle of booze bought
in their local liquor store.
The policy is not specific to duty free. I was caught by it last month
during a domestic trip in France. I had bought Armagnac from a local
producer in the South of France, and was flying bag to Paris. Luckily,
the registration mentioned the policy, and gave me time to stuff the
bottle in my checked-in suitcase.
The rule is simple: you cannot bring a container greater than 100 cc,
about 3 oz, in an airplane through security. You can bring several
containers of lower capacity than 100 cc, but the combined capacity of
these container is limited; they have to all fit in a 1 liter plastic
bag.
The theoretical rationale for the rule imagines terrorists mixing
products in a bottle. Each of the products is supposedly harmless, or at
least not detected by airport security machines, but the combined result
is explosive. By limiting the capacity of the container, the security
folks hope to limit the potential of any device fabricated aboard the
plane.
Those of us who have toiled through chemistry labs may find the all idea
somewhat theoretical. You may remember the dire warnings of the teachers
about what happens if you fail to control a reaction, if you let it
overheat, or if you shake it a little too much. You may consider the
improbability of repeating the experience in the shaky cramped space of
an airliner's toilet. But then, you would not have the same mindset as
the airline security folks.
Given the rationale, I am still puzzled by the fact that bottles bought
after the security check are allowed on board. Probably has to be a
compromise between air traffic security and airport economics.
-- Christian Huitema
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