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Packing for Air Travel Under Increased Security
With new, tighter security measures in place, packing for air travel means using caution and good judgement.
What's the best way to do this? For starters, complete a personal luggage inventory. Examine everything that you normally pack in your suitcase. Evaluate whether an object could be scrutinized by airport security, based on the expectation that your bag will be opened for an inspection. Pack efficiently, placing smaller items together in a pouch or bag. Avoid over-packing so that carry-on baggage and checked suitcases can be opened and closed with ease. Make sure that each suitcase has a nametag securely affixed to it. Keep in mind that until further notice, passengers are restricted to one carry-on bag and one "personal bag" that could be a purse, laptop, or briefcase.
Consider removing anything that could be perceived as threatening, or may raise suspicion at a security
screening checkpoint, including any sharp objects. Everyday items you probably won't be allowed to carry in your hand luggage include scissors of any size, nail files, and pocket knives.
Remember, no knives of any kind are allowed in carry-on baggage. Previously, blades less than four inches long were legal. However, this rule has been suspended, and you probably won't be allowed to take even the smallest Swiss Army knife into the cabin of a plane. Most small knives and cutting tools can be legally packed in checked baggage, but we still recommend you leave them at home unless absolutely necessary. If you have a medical condition that requires you to carry on syringes, be sure to keep your medicine with you as well (a good idea in any case). The medicine must be in its original container with a professionally printed pharmacy label. You should think about what you wear to the airport, as well. You might be asked to remove your shoes, so try to wear a pair that slip on without laces or straps. It's also common to have to remove hats and belts--consider going without if you'd like to avoid the embarrassment of being asked to unbuckle in public.
In addition to these new rules, the old regulations about restricted items still apply. The following is a list of things you should never attempt to take with you when you travel, even in your checked baggage:
- Aerosols and other compressed gases, including polishes, cleaners, tear gas, oxygen cylinders, full scuba tanks, self-inflating rafts.
- Corrosives, including acids, lye, mercury, wet-cell batteries (electric wheelchair batteries may need to be dismounted).
- Flammables, including paints, thinners, lighter fluid, liquid-reservoir lighters, adhesives, cleaning solvents.
- Poisons, including weed killers, pesticides, insecticides, rodent poisons, arsenic, cyanides.
- Infectious Materials, including medical laboratory specimens, viral organisms, bacterial cultures.
- Explosives, including fireworks, sparklers, flares, signal devices, loaded firearms, gunpowder, ammunition, blasting caps, dynamite.
- Weapons--No knives or blades of any size, no matter what the material, may be packed in carry-on luggage. Small blades may be legally packed in checked luggage, but we recommend you leave them at home anyway. Unloaded firearms may be transported in checked luggage if declared to the airline agent at check-in and packed in a suitable container. Handguns must be carried in locked containers. Weapons such as throwing stars, swords, or other items commonly used in martial-arts competitions are also prohibited. Rules in other countries will vary.
- Miscellaneous items, including large amounts of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide), gasoline-powered tools, camping equipment with fuel, chemical oxygen generators (either used or unused).
In certain instances, there are exceptions to the hazardous-materials rules (oxygen tanks, for example) only when personal care and medical needs are at issue. In these cases, check with the airline's freight department to see if transportation arrangements can be made. Otherwise, carrying hazardous items carries serious civil and criminal penalties.
In any case, contact your airline representative if you are unsure whether the item you wish to pack in your luggage or ship by air is hazardous.
Related Links
See some of our other tips for more information about packing, including:
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