As already communicated, travelers face
tighter security restrictions and longer lines because of rules imposed by
U.S. and British officials after authorities uncovered a plot to blow up
airliners bound for the USA. The following information comes from
each country's domestic security and aviation agencies. For up-to-date travel
advice, please visit each country's official website regularly. In general,
travelers are urged to:
Ø Pack lightly,
without clutter to facilitate easier screening
Ø Arrive earlier
than usual at the airport
Ø Cooperate with
TSA personnel at checkpoints and with airline personnel at all gates
Ø Be attentive
and vigilant to any suspicious activity and report it to authorities
United States
Travelers boarding commercial flights at
a U.S.
airport will not be allowed to carry "any liquids, including beverages,
hair gels, and lotions" onto airliners. The following items are
permitted to be carried aboard the aircraft:
- Passengers traveling with
infants may bring baby formula.
- Prescription medicine that
matches the passenger's name.
- Essential non-prescription
medicines such as insulin.
· Passengers on
flights from Great Britain
are prohibited from carrying electronics on board. There are no such
restrictions on people traveling on domestic flights or from the U.S. to Great Britain.
·
Beverages purchased beyond security checkpoints must be consumed
before boarding -- they will not be permitted aboard the aircraft.
·
TSA screeners will recheck every bag at boarding gates for
banned items, preventing passengers from carrying items purchased in boarding
areas.
·
Gate-side inspections are taking place for all passengers on
flights to Great Britain.
On other flights, the TSA is conducting random gate-side inspections.
·
Federal security directors -- the top TSA officials at airports
-- have discretion on how to implement the new policy. They can also use any
resource available to conduct the inspections, meaning they can use their own
screeners, state and local law enforcement personnel or airline personnel.
All cabin
baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of
passenger aircraft departing British airports.
The only items that may be taken through airport security search
points and into the cabin, in a single -- ideally transparent -- plastic bag
are:
· Pocket-size
wallets and pocket-size purses plus contents -- for example money, credit
cards, identity cards, etc. Handbags are
not allowed.
· Travel documents
essential for the journey (passports and travel tickets).
· Prescription
medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight, like
diabetic kits, except in liquid form unless verified as authentic.
· Spectacles and
sunglasses, without cases
· Contact lens
holders, without bottles of solution
· For those
traveling with an infant: baby food; milk (the contents of each bottle must
be tasted by the accompanying passenger); and sanitary items sufficient and
essential for the flight (napkins, wipes, creams and disposal bags).
· Female sanitary
items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (tampons, pads, towels
and wipes).
· Tissues
(unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs.
· Keys (but not
electronic key fobs).
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