Ban on Whisky in Air Plane Cabin Luggage; A Response!

[Lawrence]

Ban on Whisky in Air Plane Cabin Luggage; A Response!

I found the case in a chairty shop, bought a new foam set of inards and made some modifications so I can check my bottles into the hold in a secure manner.

[Mr Fjeld]

Ooooh, that's a nifty looking whisky case! Makes the rest of us with ordinary pieces of luggage look like amateurs
Very good idea Lawrence, it looks very secure - no broken bottles with that one - just don't pull out a tommy gun from the case - or a rabbit for that matter!

[les taylor]

Do you think security has gone to mad. They encourage us to buy duty free then you can't take it on the plane or has that changed? I have heard of some passengers not being allowed their contact lens solution into the cabin.

We talk about a carbon footprint. Surely the 99.9% of the travelling public that wish no harm to anyone also have a footpint or profile that says they are not dangerous to anyone. There fore should be allowed some hand luggage.

Lawrence nice case. Is it going out empty? or are you taking emergency rations. You can buy the water of life this side of the pond. Although I think you do know that.

[vitara7]

very nice lawrance. what if you buy a litre bottle though

[martin grant]

Things have changed a little now Les.
Any liquids you buy after security can now be taken on board as hand luggage. This means duty free gets the thumbs up, as will a vastly overpriced bottle of water picked up at the incredibly busy and ludicrously expensive newsagent.

Just don't try and take anything else. I've lost count of the number of tubes of toothpaste I've had to throw away at security. You'd think, I'd learn, but no

[bamber]

Lawrence you are the James Bond of whisky.

[les taylor]

Things have changed a little now Les.
Any liquids you buy after security can now be taken on board as hand luggage. This means duty free gets the thumbs up, as will a vastly overpriced bottle of water picked up at the incredibly busy and ludicrously expensive newsagent.

Just don't try and take anything else. I've lost count of the number of tubes of toothpaste I've had to throw away at security. You'd think, I'd learn, but no

Thats good news martin we are flying in october and I would hate to miss out on some airport goodies.

[Deactivated Member]

Hi Lawrence,
I have exactly the same case as that, but never used it for whisky.

It is an old camera case and extremely sturdy - I remember the adverts for it showing that it could withstand the weight of a small car!

All I need now is to find the right size inserts and I have a perfect whisky case too.
MT

[irishwhiskeychaser]

Things have changed a little now Les.
Any liquids you buy after security can now be taken on board as hand luggage. This means duty free gets the thumbs up, as will a vastly overpriced bottle of water picked up at the incredibly busy and ludicrously expensive newsagent.

Just don't try and take anything else. I've lost count of the number of tubes of toothpaste I've had to throw away at security. You'd think, I'd learn, but no

Thats good news martin we are flying in october and I would hate to miss out on some airport goodies.

Just remember guys ... Okay to take Duty free on board but make sure you are not making a connecting flight as it will be confiscated boarding the second flight unless you have the opertunity to pack it in you luggage before the second flight.

Really annoying so it is ...... and a load of rubbish too .... it has been cited now that these security measures actually have now provided another target ....... all the ques that are created due to the security

[hpulley]

As said above they do let you carry duty free onboard now which is fine as long as you don't need to connect (unless you are going through customs they'll likely just move your luggage to the next plane and you won't be able to pack the duty free items).

I just came back from a trip with a very heavy checked bag. I had declared everything luckily but having that heavy a bag does look a bit suspicious and will get attention. I just packed my bottles in my clothes, only two were without a box/tin and those I put in socks. They all made it back safe and sound.

Note also that ABV above 70% is considered flammable in the USA, and is banned. No Testarig for Americans unless the angles hit it really hard!

Harry

[Mr Fjeld]

I just came back from a trip with a very heavy checked bag. I had declared everything luckily but having that heavy a bag does look a bit suspicious and will get attention. I just packed my bottles in my clothes, only two were without a box/tin and those I put in socks. They all made it back safe and sound.
Harry

So did I when I came from Prague this summer. I also packed clothes around the bottles and declared it when we landed in Bergen. The really big scare nowadays is the sheer numbers of luggage getting lost before loading on the airplanes. It's unbelievable! I was really anxious about it because I used over £ 300,- on whisky and airline companies refuse to cover the costs for spirits if lost........

[LeoDLion]

What you all say about duty free alcohol is true. I bought a bottle of Ardbeg at Heathrow and got it in the plane as a carryon without any trouble. Upon arriving in the US, we got our luggage thru custom and before checking in the luggage again, we stashed the bottle into the luggage. All went well.

On another note, British Airways is still serving single malt (Glenffidich) for free in international flights. From what I was told, Continental and Northwest are charging for drinks even for international flights. Grrr..

[SoMK]

Air Canada still has J&B but that's not really my thing.. alas.
Very neat looking case indeed ! When transfering, we should always carry an empty one like yours, to put the dutyfree loots inside before hoping on the next plane... Heck, they should sell them in duty free shops !

[hpulley]

Flyglobespan was great. At one point I wanted a coke but was told all I could get from the cart was alcohol or water! The carts just kept coming by. If not for wanting to be sharp at customs at my destination I could have been right sloshed on landing.

And regarding lost baggage as I said in another thread, my bag was not there when the carousel stopped! I feared the worst and the airline rep was already getting forms for me to fill out when customs brought my bag out for me. It appears it was heavy enough to warrant special attention.

Harry

[mithril]

As said above they do let you carry duty free onboard now which is fine as long as you don't need to connect (unless you are going through customs they'll likely just move your luggage to the next plane and you won't be able to pack the duty free items).

You do have the opportunity to repack though because the TSA now requires all travellers arriving the US to deplane, pickup their baggage, go through customs, proceed to the check counters, be re-issued their tickets and go through security again just to get to the transit lounge that they probably walked past as they got off the plane. This is even the case with people continuing on the next leg of the flight they came in on. It took 3 HOURS for us to get through this process last time we went through LAX. What a great place this brave new world of terrorism paranoia has become Thankfully AirZealand now has Vancouver-to-Auckland direct flights so there's little need to route through the US for any travel we're likely to undertake.

[Ganga]

Yep, that's my LAX. You should have been there they day that some guy shot someone at the Bradley Terminal (July 4, 2002). That'll mess up your security. Actually, I take that back. I got there before the shooting but they blocked access off so there was very few people in the terminals.

[Reggaeblues]

Two points.

One. If you are travelling from England and purchase something special from duty free/"world of whiskies" aand are not in a hurry to drink it, they will keep it for you for collection on return. I recently did this with an HP18 purchased for the measly sum of £39 before leaving for a w/e in Barcelona...

Two. If you take it, but are unlikely to finish it, think about how you will safely pack the remnants on the return journey...

[jcasazza]

As said above they do let you carry duty free onboard now which is fine as long as you don't need to connect (unless you are going through customs they'll likely just move your luggage to the next plane and you won't be able to pack the duty free items).

You do have the opportunity to repack though because the TSA now requires all travellers arriving the US to deplane, pickup their baggage, go through customs, proceed to the check counters, be re-issued their tickets and go through security again just to get to the transit lounge that they probably walked past as they got off the plane. This is even the case with people continuing on the next leg of the flight they came in on. It took 3 HOURS for us to get through this process last time we went through LAX. What a great place this brave new world of terrorism paranoia has become Thankfully AirZealand now has Vancouver-to-Auckland direct flights so there's little need to route through the US for any travel we're likely to undertake.

One a trip to the Uk a couple summers ago, i had to transfer from Leeds at Heathrow for my return flight to the US. We took a bus from one terminal to another and got slightly lost following the signs to check in. well we wound up at a door, with a woman who wanted to see our passes, which i did not have. So she walked us over to the counter to get them. as I looked to my right, i saw all the wonderful metal detector/xray machines and security personnel checking baggage and mused to myself, oh, we didnt do that, they are going to make us go back out and check our bags thru the detectors.


They didnt. We got on the international flight with carryons which were never inspected or checked or xrayed or anything else.

This is why they make you do that

[Lawrence]

Thanks for your comments, I actually have an even bigger Pelican case that holds 14 bottles but it's mammoth. When it's full it is very heavy. The little one is ideal for this trip.

Lawrence you are the James Bond of whisky.

Ha ha! Very good Bamber!

Hi Lawrence,I have exactly the same case as that, but never used it for whisky.It is an old camera case and extremely sturdy - I remember the adverts for it showing that it could withstand the weight of a small car!All I need now is to find the right size inserts and I have a perfect whisky case too.MT

I purchased a Pelican replacemnet foam kit, it fit almost perfectly.

very nice lawrance. what if you buy a litre bottle though

Quite, but that was risk I had to take!

[mithril]

One a trip to the Uk a couple summers ago, i had to transfer from Leeds at Heathrow for my return flight to the US. We took a bus from one terminal to another and got slightly lost following the signs to check in. well we wound up at a door, with a woman who wanted to see our passes, which i did not have. So she walked us over to the counter to get them. as I looked to my right, i saw all the wonderful metal detector/xray machines and security personnel checking baggage and mused to myself, oh, we didnt do that, they are going to make us go back out and check our bags thru the detectors.


They didnt. We got on the international flight with carryons which were never inspected or checked or xrayed or anything else.

This is why they make you do that

My point is really that the level of governmental paranoia typified by the experience I described is exactly why terrorism works in the first place. There are reasonable security measures, extraordinary security measures, and frankly ridiculous measures. What we're talking about falls under the later. The truly sad thing is that they are purely reactionary measures that do very little to improve actual security but look good from an optics perspective.

[bond]

Lawrence you are the James Bond of whisky.

Hey, why steal my moniker!

But this whole deal about not being able to carry alcohol as cabin baggage ensures one always has a stressful flight. And even more stressful times on the baggage conveyor watching one's luggage get dunked.

On my last trip, the folks smashed a bottle of Laphroaig. Ended up with smelly clothes.

[Deactivated Member]

My point is really that the level of governmental paranoia typified by the experience I described is exactly why terrorism works in the first place. There are reasonable security measures, extraordinary security measures, and frankly ridiculous measures. What we're talking about falls under the later. The truly sad thing is that they are purely reactionary measures that do very little to improve actual security but look good from an optics perspective.

I had three empty 20cl bottles confiscated in Amsterdam by NW (I was connecting--KLM hadn't bothered with them in Scotland).

I don't think it's government paranoia. I think it's government agencies and airlines feeling that they need to be seen to be doing something, even if it makes no sense.

[Aidan]

My point is really that the level of governmental paranoia typified by the experience I described is exactly why terrorism works in the first place. There are reasonable security measures, extraordinary security measures, and frankly ridiculous measures. What we're talking about falls under the later. The truly sad thing is that they are purely reactionary measures that do very little to improve actual security but look good from an optics perspective.

I had three empty 20cl bottles confiscated in Amsterdam by NW (I was connecting--KLM hadn't bothered with them in Scotland).

I don't think it's government paranoia. I think it's government agencies and airlines feeling that they need to be seen to be doing something, even if it makes no sense.

Yeah, that's probably it.

[vitara7]

i was goign through cardiff airport last month and in my carry on luggage, i had a small tin of saving foam that they took of me, the reason was the size of the bottle, not the contents, had it been a smaller tin of shaving foam it would have bene allowed.

but heres the annoying part, went into get a sandwich and water from the newsagent thing, and there selling shaving foam in tins bigger than what i was carrying on!!!

surley whats heppening here is its creating a monopoly for them, i though such monopolys were against rules and regulations set out by law? in the end, we end up getting fleeced beacuse of some nut jobs trying to blow themselfs up....

[hpulley]

Yet another reason to have a beard

For a while you couldn't carry it on at all but now they've decided that the special secure shave foam at the newstand is safer than your potentially explosive shave foam. At the same time, however, they are swabbing bags for traces of explosives which just doesn't make any sense -- if they could detect explosives why couldn't they just test the shave foam and let you keep it if it passes?

Now the tobacco lobby has made them change it such that you can carry many lighters on board with you which DO contain flammable liquids and a striker but a container of butane would be confiscated; simply crazy.

I agree that it smacks of, "quick, make it look like we're doing something!"

Harry

[Mr Fjeld]

Yet another reason to have a beard

Not if you're Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam and crossing the pond.

[Deactivated Member]

In all fairness, the government's need to be seen to be doing something is fueled by the public's paranoia and demands that something be done. Which fuels what? It's a chicken-and-egg thing, I guess, but we the public ought to take responsibility for our own attitudes, and call out our governments (and our fellow citizens) for their part in the cycle of hysteria.

[irishwhiskeychaser]

In all fairness, the government's need to be seen to be doing something is fueled by the public's paranoia and demands that something be done. Which fuels what? It's a chicken-and-egg thing, I guess, but we the public ought to take responsibility for our own attitudes, and call out our governments (and our fellow citizens) for their part in the cycle of hysteria.

No offence but we here in Europe don't tend to get paranoid about the latest scare and we just get on with it ... it is the bloody govenments and media that make a whole song and dance about every thing and then say it's all for our own good. And once something is brought in it is very hard to get it undone as these so called political geniuses hate to do climb downs

In all fairness, the government's need to be seen to be doing something.

I agree with that part though

[IainB]

I know I'm slightly off point on this but I'm on a tour of 10 or 11 distilleries in October (I'm not the only one on this forum) and I suppose will want to bring back something from each one. That's 11 bottles, or maybe even 22!!

If I can't bring them on the cabin, and don't really want to fill my suitcase up with bottles, do I have an alternative. Does anyone know if the visitor centres / distillery shops will ship them for you - in this case from Scotland to Ireland?

[Cam]

That question also interests me as we'll be in Edinburgh next Spring and I'm looking into how much and what I can return with. My limited experience with returning into the country has been with two bottles. If I return with six bottles do I pay duty on what is over the limit or is the excess confiscated? I've heard it both ways. Have also been told that I cannot post bottles from different distilleries back home to Canada. Everything must go through the Liquor Control Board. What are the experiences of other Cannuks? Lawrence?

Cam

[IainB]

Duty! I hadn't thought of that. Though I think within the EU you can bring back as much as you want provided duty was paid in the place you made the purchase. Can anyone confirm this??

[hpulley]

For Canada, the limit without duty is one(1) 1.14L bottle, hence the 1L bottles in duty free. Above that, if you declare it then you will be charged duty and taxes but you'll be able to keep it (usually they'll give you a break for being honest and sometimes if they don't feel like filling out paperwork they'll let you go for no extra charge). If you don't declare it and are caught it will be confiscated and you may be charged and fined. Having a heavy suitcase will often make them suspect you are carrying something so declaration is always best IMO.

Shipping alcohol to Canada is illegal unless you are shipping to a liquor board's warehouse though they don't catch it all. If they find it it can be shipped back to source or destroyed, your choice. Some shippers will let you keep trying again and again (paying extra shipping charges each time) until it goes through though doing this may also get you in trouble.

You can carry up to 45L back with you if you find an airline willing to give you that much baggage weight. 40kg in 1st class is about the most you can count on for sure; you can usually buy extra baggage allowance unless the plane is full in which case you may not be allowed to carry more. You'd think it would be less than 1kg/L of alcohol but with the bottle and packaging it is actually much higher, can be up to 2-3kg/L.

Harry

[martin grant]

i was goign through cardiff airport last month and in my carry on luggage, i had a small tin of saving foam that they took of me, the reason was the size of the bottle, not the contents, had it been a smaller tin of shaving foam it would have bene allowed.

but heres the annoying part, went into get a sandwich and water from the newsagent thing, and there selling shaving foam in tins bigger than what i was carrying on!!!

surley whats heppening here is its creating a monopoly for them, i though such monopolys were against rules and regulations set out by law? in the end, we end up getting fleeced beacuse of some nut jobs trying to blow themselfs up....

I'm with you on that one v7, it's really frustrating to see in the shops what you have just had confiscated. I'm the muppet who always holds up the queue at security as his toothpaste is confiscated. It's always explained to me that yup, it looks like a tube a toothpaste / shaving foam / sun cream or aftershave, but it's open so it could be anything (and yes, I've had them all confiscated at some time). The products on sale after security have all come from a known source, are all intact and are sold by reputable (and expensive) outlets

[WestVanDave]

i was goign through cardiff airport last month and in my carry on luggage, i had a small tin of saving foam that they took of me, the reason was the size of the bottle, not the contents, had it been a smaller tin of shaving foam it would have bene allowed.

but heres the annoying part, went into get a sandwich and water from the newsagent thing, and there selling shaving foam in tins bigger than what i was carrying on!!!

surley whats heppening here is its creating a monopoly for them, i though such monopolys were against rules and regulations set out by law? in the end, we end up getting fleeced beacuse of some nut jobs trying to blow themselfs up....

I'm with you on that one v7, it's really frustrating to see in the shops what you have just had confiscated. I'm the muppet who always holds up the queue at security as his toothpaste is confiscated. It's always explained to me that yup, it looks like a tube a toothpaste / shaving foam / sun cream or aftershave, but it's open so it could be anything (and yes, I've had them all confiscated at some time). The products on sale after security have all come from a known source, are all intact and are sold by reputable (and expensive) outlets

Following on this theme... I have seen many nail clippers and manicure scissors confiscated in my travels...and could only chuckle when transferring through the Frankfurt airport and seeing the display of hunting knives on sale after the security gates!!! Deadly foot-long daggers by the dozen... I sure felt safe on that flight!!!!!

At least I could distract myself worrying about whether my whisky would survive in the hold...while I was drawn & quartered - in first class comfort.

[Deactivated Member]

They actually sell those, Dave? Surely you can't carry them onboard with you--they must have to check such items.

IainB, if you make Inveraray and Loch Fyne Whiskies your last stop before Glasgow, they'll ship any bottles you have for you, whether you bought them there or not. You can check their website for charges.