I just got back from a trip to Green Bay, WI (ironically to cover President Bush’s statement on the terror arrests.) The ban on electronic equipment is only on flights from the UK to the US.

On domestic flights there is a total ban on liquids and gels in carry-ons (except for infant foods and medicines.) This means a major change in the way most people will have to pack when flying. I was talking with Mona about how we will have to adjust our packing for MUSH. Almost all makeup and toiletries will have to be checked. This means an additional piece of checked luggage for the trip. People who already take two checked bags are going to have to figure out how to deal with this.

The security lines were longer and there is some secondary screening before you get on the plane. But as people get used to the new regulations there may be some benefits because there will be fewer carry ons and more space in the overheads.

But for someone like me who doesn’t check luggage on business trips it’s a big pain. Tom.

Thanks for the current information. With so many of us MUSHing in a few weeks and others heading in other directions, it's really nice to have LCT for information first hand.

Well, here's the real prolem. I'm all about security, but so far, any increased security measures have been put "on the backs of the traveling public" and not the NSA and not the airlines. We are thinking about canceling a cruise we have scheduled for Sept 13 for medical reasons on our travel insurance, as neither my wife nor I are physically capable of watiing in 8 hour lines to get through security. My wife must have water regularly, for medical reasons. My legs and feet are too bad for such things (old war injury).

If we need increased security measures (and I think we do), this should be accompanied with an IMMEDIATE increase in the number of NSA checkpoints so that the traveling public will not have to wait in unreasonable lines. What ever happened to the Americans With Disabilities Act? And, if we cannot be allowed to carry on bottled water on airplanes because of security problems, the airlines should be REQUIRED to provide it for free in the boarding areas (after passengers have cleared security).

Airlines are one of the types of companies I dislike the most. We may have to stop cruising because of them --- due to the fact that we live so far from any port. I am a great advocte of "airline re-regulation", if only to take some of the burden of the need for increased security off of the backs of the passengers.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard, I don't have an answer for long waits, although ours were not long yesterday (about 30 minutes). However, we boarded in Tucson which is a far cry from LAX or the other "big ones." Do you and your wife use wheelchair service provided at airports? This might be a time to consider that free service.

As far as water for your wife, you can drink it up to the minute you go through security. Then, you can buy more to drink while waiting for the plane (must dispose of before boarding). Once onboard, I'm sure the flight attendants will provide more water for your wife considering the circumstances.

I hope you will go on your cruise. My experience from yesterday was that the airport security and airline employees did everything they could to help passengers through a difficult day. When we stop traveling and make other major changes to our lives, the other side wins! I'm sure that the traveling public and travel authorities will adjust to this new way of travel, just like we did the last time.

Tom, I agree that an unforseen benefit will be less carry-ons on planes. Sure will make boarding a plane much faster! Although, I will admit, I hate waiting for baggage and always fear that mine won't show up.

We fly home on Sunday. I'll report back.

Thanks Marc, Tom and Donna for the first hand information on security and restrictions etc. As in all situations like this, there is so much miss information. Thanks for posting!

I've used International Port Services and though convenient they are quite expensive. DHL might be a less costly option. We had to ship an oxygen concentrator (NOT oxygen!) to Rome and have it shipped back from Nice as I couldn't find a service to provide it over there. Ran $800 for 45#.

Editing to add that I appreciate the first hand experiences shared on this board but would hope that we all check the TSA site and the sites for airports we are traveling through so we know we have the correct info before flying!

My husband is traveling internationally from the UK to the US on Monday. I will post his experience when I hear from him Monday night. His route takes him on three flights, 2 KLM and one Continental: Teeside airport in northeast England to Amsterdam, Newark and finally Manchester, NH. It will be interesting to see if he makes the connection in Amsterdam with only one hour.
Cheers, Pam

Doug, Kathy and I shipped several packages home from Singapore and Sydney using FedEx, mainly because the RSSC rates seemed so high. If anything, Fedex may have been more expensive. Our friends from the S. Pacific cruise used RSSC company and had an excellent experience. If I was going to ship ahead I would probably use the RSSC service and be sure that everything would arrive timely.

Using IPS (who Radisson uses) was very easy - just a bit expensive. However, there was a certain peace of mind that they were used to shipping to RSSC and getting the box to the ship on time. Sort of like using RSSC air - you know somehow they'll get you to the ship no matter what.

I am truly thankful that the powers-at-be stopped this act of terror before its completion. Last night they showed a small baby with all his drinks, packaged up in a clear plastic bag taped to him. That just struck me as so sad, that we have to get to this stage, and I was more depressed to think that someone would blow up this poor baby in mid air!!!
To the issue of carrying on the plane. I don’t fly that often, and I feel the pain for the business traveler, but, it seems like every flight I am on, I wind up getting my head smashed by the 3’ person with the 4’ bag trying to get it into the overhead!!! I just don’t know what is the best way to handle this, guess there are many opinions.
Bob

My question which I could not find on The TSA website is, or maybe it will be on a airline to airline basis, is the consumer going to get Zapped with overage charges because now we are packing liquid items in our checked luggage, instead of our carry on's and since they have put this 50lb limit, which you can easily go over with a standard size suitcase packed full, will people start having to pack several more smaller suitcases to avoid overages...

FV

I read in our local paper that at least for the time being, American Airlines, who is based here, is waiving the 50lb limit and also allowing up to four checked bags per person. We'll see how long that lasts. Since those rules (weight limits, etc.) are airline rules, and not TSA rules, you'd need to check with your individual airline.

Y'know, I was planning on bringing a couple of bottles of really good wine on our cruise in two weeks. Now I have to re-think that. I've always carried my wine on the plane, as I'm not comfortable putting it in the checked luggage. And I hadn't even considered the additional weight issue! Oh well, we might have to skip the fine wine on this cruise.

When we flew to Costa Rica in March, we ended up having to pull a bunch of stuff out of our checked luggage and carrying it on because it was too heavy and we would have had to pay extra. (We were also weighted down with a bunch of stuff from the US that we were bringing to our friends who live in Costa Rica, like their favorite brands of sunscreen, ketchup, and jarred products that they can't get there.) But with the current regulations, we wouldn't have been able to carry any of that stuff on. We're going there again in December, and will want to bring stuff to our friends...hopefully these regulations will be over by then.

Oh, and thanks for mentioning the lipstick -- I hadn't even thought of that!

The TSA has just updated it's list of prohibited carry-on items. One item I found interesting is that they have banned gel inserts in shoes. Tom.

Make Up and Personal Items
Body creams and lotions
Bubble baths
Bubble bath balls (gels)
Eye drops / gels
Gel caps
Gel deodorants
Hair detangler
Hair sprays / aerosol bottles
Hair styling gels
Hand sanitizers
Lip gels (Carmex in tubes, etc)
Lip glosses/liquids (solid lip glosses and blushes are allowed)
Liquid foundations
Liquid medications (non-essential)
Liquid Soaps
Make up removers / facial cleansers
Mascaras
Mosquito sprays
Mouthwashes
Nail polish and removers
Neosporin like cremes
Ointments
Perfumes / colognes
Saline Solutions
Shampoos and conditioners
Shaving creams and gels
Toothpastes
Topical creams

Foods and Drinks
All beverages (excluding formula/breast milk)
Camelbaks and similar backpacks must be empty
Gel based sports supplements
Jellos
Puddings
Yogurts (or gel like substances)

Other Items
Baby teethers (with gel or liquid inside)
Children’s toys with gel inside
Gel candles
Gel shoe inserts

This sure is a L O N G list.

Thanks so much Tom for such a detailed list. I printed it out and will sure need to refer to it!

Tom,

I am certain those will change again. Some Bras come with gel inserts or gel comfort straps bet those get banned. Some Mousepads have gel wrist rests.

In reading Delta's website, they specifically tell you that they do not take responsibility for laptops or cameras placed in checked luggage and you cannont pack those items in your checked luggage.

I think that the day of no carry on luggage will be here sooner than we think.

Eye drops! Makes sense but I hadn't thought of that. I have dry eyes anyway and I'm always using eye drops on the plane, trying to keep them a little moistened.

We'll be giving this a good test when we travel for MUSH. We have an overnight flight returning from Anchorage and it will be different without toothpaste, mouthwash, lotion, etc. At least all passengers will be in the same boat (so to speak) so we will all have bad breath together! I'd better pick up lots of Altoids before we go...

Dena

Dena, if you really need eye drops you probably can get a doctor to write you a prescription.

Kathy, I hope they don't check that closely looking for gel inserts in bras. That would certainly cause quite a moment in the security line. Tom.

After my flight home Thursday night, too bad they don't ban the babys, too. :D

I hope this is all ancient history by MUSH. These rules are just a knee jerk response to a threat that everyone always knew existed.

Tom - Great list of verbotten items. One which particularly caught my attention was "Jello", the absolute No. 1 on my very short list of foods I cannot abide. (Way too many Nebraska potlucks as a child, trying to find something to eat that did not have jello as a component.) Finally, we have something positive to come from international terrorism - a ban on Jello!!! Who would have ever thunk that Al Quaida would do a favor for the American palate??!!

Please, no flaming (oh, that's a cc thing, isn't it??).

Cheers, Fred

I think the rules are unfortunately here to stay until they come up with better liquid explosive detection technology. Frankly, I'm not holding my breath on that.

I wonder if I can still bring aboard those Listerine breath strips? They're not really gel - but kind of are. If I can't bring toothpaste to brush my teeth with, at least I can use something else to make my breath smell better!

Masaki

Tom, your list was incomplete. Here is a report from flyertalk .

This is pure idocy.

edited to add a little humour .

Marc...before I clicked your link somehow I knew what I was in for!! :app:

Masaki, I bet you can get an Rx for some kind of oral gel to bring with your toothbrush!

actually they do have some detection machines to detect liquids being tested, (and they have for several years now) but the govt doesn't consider it cost effective.

Here are some articles about it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060811/ap_on_hi_te/explosives_technology

http://www.crisscross.com/us/news/33214

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/08/10/1786061.htm

Doesn't Arm & Hammer sell toothpaste in powder form?

I don't know about Arm&Hammer but there are lots of tooth powders out there. Here's one example:

[img]http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/ihealthtree_1907_55546084[/img]

I am going to miss my lip balm in that dry airplane air.

Does anyone know if we can bring individually packaged hand wipes? I hate to think of trying to manage without my little bottle of Purell.

Thanks Marsha - I am going to order some eco-dent right now - I think I use lip balm every 30 minutes on a flight - well I did -

The TSA just announced a modification to the new prohibitions. Solid lipstick is allowed. You can bring on a small amount of non-prescription medicine. So eye drops should be OK. And you must once again remove all shoes for screening. Tom.

SECURITY LEVEL REMIANS THE SAME, TSA REFINES AND CLARIFIES BAN
* Small Doses of non-prescription liquid medications permitted
* Shoes removal required
* Low blood sugar treatments including glucose gel for diabetics
* Clarifications include: aerosols prohibited, solid lipstick and baby food permitted. Visit www.tsa.gov <http://www.tsa.gov/> for more information


WASHINGTON, D.C. - Effective noon EST today, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it will permit small doses of liquid medications through the security checkpoint and onboard airplanes, a refinement from the original ban, which was implemented on August 10. TSA will also now require all passengers to remove their shoes so they may be x-rayed with their carry-on bags to enhance efficiency in the screening process and eliminate confusion for travelers.

Thanks Tom - no arriving in Vancouver with chapped lips -

Read on flyertalk that gel insoles are also prohibited. Can anyone confirm this? No mention of it on the TSA site as far as I could tell.

Here's an item that might work for travellers concerned about oral hygiene.

http://www.magellans.com/store/Toiletries___Kits___ToiletriesKR519N?Args=

Actually, Oral B makes something called Brush ups - "textured teeth wipes" - they work in a pinch. I carry them in my purse.

I will miss my Lancome Juicy tubes on board.

Eileen, yes that's correct. Scroll up and look at Tom G's very comprehensive TSA list he posted yesterday and you'll see them at the bottom.

My husband and I will enjoy traveling out of the UK tomorrow (him) and Tuesday (me). I am going to our medical clinic tomorrow as I wear a "Relief Band" for motion sickness and it needs conductivity gel. So....I will hopefully get a dr's note showing it is a necessity. Otherwise, poor passenger sitting next to me.
Cheers, Pam

My husband just boarded a flight from Austin to DC. He said the security line was shorter than usual, and no one even looked at his carry-on bag.

Also, check this out for brushing mid-flight:
http://www.dentakit.com/redeprto.html

Well, don't they have the Entrepreneurial spirit!

Tom, eye drops and saline solutions are still explictly prohibited. The terrorists are winning without doing anything.

We flew UAL from O'Hare to Hartford on Friday, the second day of the restrictions. Everything worked remarkedly smooth. It only took 15 minutes from the time we walked up to the self-service screens to check in our two bags until we were clear of security. Of course we dreaded the worst after seeing the long lines on Thursday when the restrictions we intially implmented...so we then had two hours to kill waiting for the flight!

Today (Sunday) on returning from Hartford we actually pushed back from gate 14 minutes EARLY since the plane was full and everyone was ready to go.

In both instances the loading and unloading was quicker and actually quite nice -- didn't miss all those folks struggling to cram so much into the overhead bins. And surprisingly, UAL might have even expanded its ground crews because, even with all the extra checked bags, the delivery was timely on both ends of the trip.

Hopefully everything will as smooth for those travelling this week.

Marcie - oh yeah, somehow I missed that item on my first pass of Tom's list. These old eyes ain't what they used to be ....

Kathy - thanks for identifying the Oral B brush-up thingies. Couldn't remember what brand or name, so was planning to look for them at the drug store first before mentioning them. You saved me time - thanks again!

I heard on the news tonight that they're now allowing eye drops and other non prescription items if they're under 4 oz.