to think that jam is less dangerous than a corkscrew....

[JoanOfNark]

and is not a fecking liquid?

Bloody airport security confiscated my fancy French jams (as well as a few other things, but those were my fault), but let me take on a sharp metal corkscrew. Where is the logic in that? What harm was I going to do anyone with violette figues conserve as opposed to a metal weapon that could have taken out someones jugular?

I argued that if jam is a liquid then you've got bad jam, but neither my french nor my outrage was enough to convince them of my position.

DH says its my own fault, I say IANBU.

that they let through a corkscrew but not at the jam, I'm afraid.

I'm surprised they let a corkscrew through when DH had a small metal PENCIL SHARPENER confiscated at an airport one time - "because it contained a blade"

Was this in France? Surprised - I know they take it to the letter at UK airports but I fly in and out of Italian airports a bit and they couldn't give a shiny shite!

Jam is the most dangerous thing in the world! Do you know how many people die every year from jam? It's for your own safety and the safety of all the other passenger's that they don't allow it aboard!

You should send that security guard a thank you card and a box of truffles. He may have saved your life!

My dad accidentally took a penknife to Germany in his hand luggage a few years back.

UK security missed it on the way out.

German security spotted it on the way back. They flicked the blade out, measured it against a ruler, and handed it back to him. My dad was a bit but happy not to lose his penknife!

DH had the same problem coming back from Germany via Swizerland with some yummy plum jam for me: the Swiss border control staff had a philosophical discussion about whether jam has liquid properties; at Heathrow the guy said "You can't take that on the plane (to Glasgow)," and confiscated it.

Security already got my half can of right guard, the childrens nutella and my antibac hand gel, SirSilly, I'm not sending them truffles too!
And the man at check in got a bottle of normandy cider and some vin mousseux due to my over-enthusiastic packing. I wanted to leave DH's half read book and both his pairs of shoes behind instead, but he wouldn't let me.

Wasn't even just a little corkscrew, but a big heavy duty one that was mistakenly in my handbag. I almost got a small bottle of raspberry beer through by telling her it was a juice drink, but she called a supervisor over who could read the german bottle and that earned me a full body pat down.

Jam is potentially far more dangerous than a corkscrew. Nearly all airlines lock the cockpit door, which is also usually armoured, so sharp instruments aren't as big of an issue as they once were. A few 100ml of an explosive can bring down an airliner very easily.

I have witnessed French security staff take a load of expensive makeup, toiletries and perfume off people who had just bought it at the airport shop. I suspect they (staff) have a divvy up at the end of the week.

as if I'd pollute my lovely jam with explosives!

It's all a bit arbitrary though. I can't have 250gr of potentially explosive jam, but I can have 10 100ml bottles that say things like mosquito repellent. If I'm wily enough to hide my explosives in fig conserve, I'm sure I can work out how to put it in several bottles to get it through security.
It doesn't prevent anything, it just pisses people off and makes airports even more hideous than they already are.

YANBU to say that Jam is Not A Liquid. Because it's clearly not a liquid. Perhaps they could have asked you to taste it, like they do with baby milk and you could have had an impromptu picnic?!

However, YABU to think the threat to airlines is blades - as Captain Kirk implies, with your corkscrew you'd only be able to wound a few passengers these days, not take over the aircraft.

The liquids thing is actually pretty scientifically worked out, with some government scientists figuring out exactly how much you would need to smuggle on board an aircraft to create a viable bomb, how many potential terrorists there might be in a future plot, how much liquid they might each feasibly smuggle etc. And then the limits are worked out accordingly. So it's not arbitrary, but it is damn annoying.

Am volunteering at the Olympics this summer, in the security team, and have just found that there's going to be a "no liquids" airline style policy to get into the Olympic Park ! People are going to be mighty pissed off but maybe I can confiscate some lovely jam...

No I do understand that, but the bit I don't get is the amounts in total. So I'm not allowed to take 250gr of jam because if it was a disguised explosive then someone clever has worked out that 250gr would be A Bad Thing. Thats fine, makes sense. But I could have had taken 5 jars of 100gr each, had I had them. So I could have taken twice the dangerous amount, as long as they are in separate jars, and what I don;t understand is how they imagine I couldn't open all 5 of my small jars to blow the plane up.

Thats whats arbitrary and makes no sense. Plus I really really want my jam

Shush Joan before they read to and change teh rules again and take my foundation off me when I fly next!

CoronationWigeon - my sister will be taking her son to one of the Olympic events. He's just over a year and still drinking formula milk in bottles. What's their policy on baby milk?

Was the jam in glass jars?

yes but so was face cream and that was allowed as it was 100gr. It wasn't the glass that was the problem, it was the actual jam!

Liquids and pastes.

I know because I lost pesto and margarine at East Midlands airport.

I have just sent a question to the Olympic organisers asking whether I have to divide my expressed breast milk into 100ml portions to meet their similar rules. Don't suppose they're going to want to check that by tasting!

Joan - just thought that maybe it's a "liquids and gels" policy and jam is a gel?!

I'm sure there's a rationale as to being able to take lots of small bottles but not one big bottle. The people working this out do actually sit and think about the obvious, and less obvious ways round any policy (because clearly that's what you'd do if you were a terrorist). Maybe it's to do with needing to mix liquids all together in a big bottle or something? (I used to work in this area, although not as a scientist, and not on liquids policy, and the government is less stupid than you might think).

But I agree it's still very annoying, and you might also think that it's a disproportionate response to the relatively small risk. I am also very partial to nice jam (the new naice ham?!)!

misslinnet - don't worry, your sister will be able to take in milk for a baby. The exact policy is here. Full information on all the restrictions (eg size of bags you can take in) is here. HTH.

lottiegb - no, you won't, see my two links in my previous post to the Olympics policy on baby milk. They might make you taste your breast milk though!!

You lot take some odd things on planes! Pesto, jam and margarine? WTF?

Why didn't you put them in your hold luggage?

@onehand

I've heard some airlines charge for hold luggage :)

I had some cherries taken away at Zurich. I was most pissed off. It was my fault for not reading the rules properly.
DD accused the officer of cherryconfiscation of wanting them for his lunch.
That went down like a shit sandwich.

Wow - I've just got an idea for Michael O'Leary.

Ryanair can offer to take your liquids, jams, etc off you and store them in the hold or in a safe place. For a small fee of course.

They should not pose a security risk, I guess, as you have to mix them and then they become explosive.

Probably some flaw in there somewhere but it could be nice little earner.

Coronation thank you and that wouldn't bother me. This didn't come up on their FAQs or when I searched with my question and I'm awaiting their reply.

onehand yes, we do. Thinking of things at last minute, that minute being at four a.m. so not thinking about the bag mattering, while being a vegan on her way to a self-catering apartment, with meals planned and ingredients like these not readily available locally. Yes, people are different, you might say strange.

CoronationWigeon, thanks for that.