The 3 ounce rule will change

Nick

Well-Known Member
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-10-27-tsa-liquids_N.htm



TSA likely to ease restrictions on liquids in 2009

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Airline passengers will likely be able to carry large bottles of liquids on airplanes some time next year, the Transportation Security Administration says.
The TSA expects by next fall to lift restrictions that limit passengers to carrying 3-ounce bottles of liquids, gels and aerosols in airplane cabins, agency chief Kip Hawley said on the agency's website. Passengers would still have to remove liquids from carry-on bags at airport checkpoints and put them through X-ray machines separately.

"That's a major milestone for security," TSA spokesman Christopher White said Monday. "We're confident it's going to happen in 2009."

By the end of 2010, passengers should be able to keep liquids as they go through checkpoints, Hawley wrote in his blog, posted on Friday.

The restrictions are also likely to be eased in airports of other countries that adopted similar liquid restrictions two years ago after authorities disrupted an alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic flights with liquid-based explosives, Hawley wrote.


The changes are expected because better technology will enable checkpoint X-ray machines to spot dangerous liquids. X-ray machines currently can't tell the difference between harmless fluids and explosives. That forces the TSA to limit passengers to 3 ounces of liquid or less — an amount that, even if explosive, would not be enough to bring down an airplane.

Business fliers will be relieved to carry toothpaste tubes larger than 3 ounces, said Bill Connors, executive director of the National Business Travel Association. "It's just a little baby step toward slightly more convenience," he said.

Easing the restrictions could also speed up security lines, said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition.
 
It's about time, although I think it needs to happen before the Fall of '09.. the 3 ounce rule is one of the most ridiculous rules out there...
 
This reminds me: does anybody know what TSA's official stand is on frozen liquids? The other day I passed through security in street clothes with some frozen soup in my cooler. The TSA guys "went in for a closer look," but ultimately let me through without much trouble.
 
Givin' them too much credit, Matt

This reminds me: does anybody know what TSA's official stand is on frozen liquids? The other day I passed through security in street clothes with some frozen soup in my cooler. The TSA guys "went in for a closer look," but ultimately let me through without much trouble.

If they actually have a rule for frozen liquids I will be very surprised.
 
When this rule went into affect I was currently on a trans-pacific flight from Fiji to LAX with 40 fellow students enroute to Las Vegas. We were studying abroad for the summer in Australia and Fiji. After we bought all of our duty free liquor and some expensive wines we purchased from Australian vineyards we hopped on the plane to LAX. I am very lucky I put my liqour in my checked baggage rather than my carry on because my fellow students lost thousands of dollars of liquor to the TSA. It was an absolute mess.
 
This reminds me: does anybody know what TSA's official stand is on frozen liquids? The other day I passed through security in street clothes with some frozen soup in my cooler. The TSA guys "went in for a closer look," but ultimately let me through without much trouble.

What about a turkey sandwich? Is that a liquid or gel?

Or, how about frozen pasta sauce?

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/smith/2006/11/22/askthepilot210/index.html

You think this is silly, and it is, but a week ago my mother caused a small commotion at a checkpoint at Boston-Logan after screeners discovered a large container of homemade tomato sauce in her bag. What with the preponderance of spaghetti grenades and lasagna bombs, we can all be proud of their vigilance. And, as a liquid, tomato sauce is in clear violation of the Transportation Security Administration's carry-on statutes. But this time, there was a wrinkle: The sauce was frozen.


No longer in its liquid state, the sauce had the guards in a scramble. According to my mother's account, a supervisor was called over to help assess the situation. He spent several moments stroking his chin. "He struck me as the type of person who spent most of his life traveling with the circus," says Mom, who never pulls a punch, "and was only vaguely familiar with the concept of refrigeration." Nonetheless, drawing from his experiences in grade-school chemistry and at the TSA academy, he sized things up. "It's not a liquid right now," he observantly noted. "But it will be soon."


"I wonder if this isn't a test," murmured another guard. The dreaded, mind-bending, what-if-it's-frozen test.


"Please," urged my mother. "Please don't take away my dinner."


Lo and behold, they did not. Whether out of confusion, sympathy or embarrassment, she was allowed to pass with her murderous marinara.
 
ahhh... You beat me to the SNL reference. The whole time reading these post I was thinking of the skit.
 
When this rule went into affect I was currently on a trans-pacific flight from Fiji to LAX with 40 fellow students enroute to Las Vegas. We were studying abroad for the summer in Australia and Fiji. After we bought all of our duty free liquor and some expensive wines we purchased from Australian vineyards we hopped on the plane to LAX. I am very lucky I put my liqour in my checked baggage rather than my carry on because my fellow students lost thousands of dollars of liquor to the TSA. It was an absolute mess.

Why werent they given the option to check it?
 
Thats a good question, Im not sure. The agents probably weren't clear on the rule yet seeing as it was only hours old. That and I don't think anybody had anymore room in their suitcases anyway. Everybody had multiple bags packed full of souvenirs and all kinds of junk.
 
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