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Original poster

Most ridiculous thing to be confiscated at an airport...

92 replies

twentypence · 26/11/2007 00:32

A rubber kids snake from Australia zoo - some old lady might get scared apparently.

Cue one devastated kid the whole way home. But you can't complain to customs officials anymore because you get arrested.

And the gift shop in the airport sells guess what?

OP posts:

EricL · 30/11/2007 10:08

I think they just make things up as they go along.

They must be so bored doing that mindless job all day.

suwoo · 30/11/2007 10:09

Oh Aimsmum, I think I would have been incandescent with rage had that happened to my DD. I would have driven DH mad on the flight going on and on about the injustice of it- I can just tell!

claricebeansmum · 30/11/2007 10:17

It's odd because at October half term we went to Rome and went through all the security rigmarol...but DS managed to fly there...and back...with his sharp scissors in his pencil case.

Aimsmum · 30/11/2007 11:23

Message withdrawn

PaleoDad · 01/12/2007 07:23

we had a 125g tub of Sudocrem confiscated at Luton Airport, for being 25g over the limit, even though the tub was less than half full....

AttilaTheMeerkat · 01/12/2007 08:13

Have also seen that scenario with the sudocream before, have also seen half used tubes of toothpaste being confiscated/binned. Its not just this type of item that gets pulled; its sauces as well (that rule banning such an item on an aircraft is in Singapore) What a waste and all shows a complete lack of common sense.

All this does not make me feel any safer at all, quite the opposite infact. I think that the vast majority of security personnel at airports are both overtly officious and good at shouting. There are security staff who do not act like the above but these people are outnumbered by the numpties.

The inept rules re liquids needs to be lifted. How is it that you can take alcohol onto a plane (that's flammable) but cannot take more than 100ml of toothpaste in your hand luggage?.

Original poster

twentypence · 01/12/2007 08:50

But sudocream is a OTC drug and should be exempt.

OP posts:

BrummieOnTheRun · 01/12/2007 08:56

an eyelash curler.

not sure how I could attack the pilot and bring the plane down with an eyelash curler, so suggestions welcome.

brimfull · 01/12/2007 09:00

my canadian friend travels with hand luggage only.
She had a jar of horseradish confiscated.

daizydoo · 01/12/2007 09:02

DH had his laptop lead conviscated in Paris incase he tried to garote anyone and also his deodrant spray in Brisbane airport - cos it didnt have a lid!?!?!

We also had biltong conviscated coming back in to the UK, which was gutting for my South African DH!!!

mummydoit · 01/12/2007 09:50

On an internal flight in South Korea, I had to hand over the batteries from my Walkman (which shows you this was quite a few years ago!!!). They didn't take the battery from my camera, though.

WriggleJiggle · 01/12/2007 09:59

Have never had anything confiscated, although have been twice shocked to discover having been through security and arrived at my destination, I had travelled with a penknife in my hand luggage (forgot it was in my first aid kit). Surely they should have noticed .

BTW did you know it is perfectly legal to buy penknives in the duty free at Geneva and take them on the plane with you?

bran · 01/12/2007 10:02

I once had the metal file thing on a pair of nail clippers confiscated at Derry airport. I'd forgotten I had it in my handbag or I would have put it into my checked in luggage. The security lady was very nice about it, I thought she would take the whole nail clippers, but she just snapped off the file and give the clippers back to me.

wilbur · 01/12/2007 10:24

Dh has had his teeny bike repair tool confiscated - as he said, he was only really able to remove a link in the Captain's chain with it.

fortyplus · 01/12/2007 10:40

Guess what we didn't have confiscated?

A load of spent bullets ds2 found on the beach in Cyprus! We told him that there was no way they'd be allowed on the plane, so we put them in our hand baggage and showed them to the security man before boarding our flight at Larnaca... no problem!

MerryKerryXmas · 01/12/2007 10:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fortyplus · 01/12/2007 10:57

It's because the easiest explosive to take on board a plane comes in liquid form - the would-be bomber just has to mix together small quantities once he/she is on board, then the small explosion inside a pressurised aircraft would be enough to blow a hole large enough that the pilot couldn't control it.

MerryKerryXmas · 01/12/2007 11:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Coolmama · 01/12/2007 11:27

chewing gum in Singapore - but no one batted an eyelid at a metal nail file which is permanently in my bag ....

fortyplus · 01/12/2007 11:28

If you'd already chewed the gum it might look like plastic explosive

Coolmama · 01/12/2007 11:40

nope -was all sealed up tight, but I since discovered that chewing gum is illegal in Singapore!

ThePrisoner · 01/12/2007 13:30

Way back in the 70s, my mum, me (a teenager) and 2 younger brothers, were searched when returning from West Africa - to my mum's complete embarrassment, the custom official emptied out her handbag and, in full view of the entire world, proceeded to pull apart her tampons. He demanded, very loudly, to know what they were as he destroyed them piece by piece.

On our way into the country, we'd had immeasurable problems trying to tell officials what my log tables and maths text books were.

mumofhelen · 01/12/2007 16:01

Milton Antibacterial Hand Gel - 100ml. Happily, common sense prevailed and it was returned to me.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 01/12/2007 17:42

"It's because the easiest explosive to take on board a plane comes in liquid form - the would-be bomber just has to mix together small quantities once he/she is on board"

Actually this is extremely hard to achieve; you need a lot of knowledge to be able to produce such a chemical reaction. Infact the FBI tried it in their experiments into such things and they could not do it.

callmeovercautious · 01/12/2007 20:01

My Sister had a metal nail file confiscated on our way to Isreal years ago, she moaned the whole of the Holiday!

There are some nice security people though; recently we were flying back from Ireland with DD 14m, she had just developed an eye infection and looked as if she had been crying. The female security guard let us leave her in the pushchair and they just searched it like they would a wheelchair. I was so grateful as once she is out she won't get back in! The guy at Standsted also took pity on me and did not make me taste the calpol, although DP drank some of DDs water.

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