TSA: “Don’t Lose Your Booze,” Know Where Your Prohibited Items Are

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reminds passengers to pay attention….. so that you don’t lose your booze!

Thousands of passengers every year forget to heed the liquids rules and then head to the TSA checkpoints with oversized liquids. The end result is they often choose to lose their booze.

Anyone coming to the checkpoint with oversized liquids, including duty free liquor and perfume, will be given a chance to exit the checkpoint, go back to the airline counter and check their suitcase with the item. But many travelers decide not to go out and check their bag and choose to leave the items behind for the TSA to dispose of.   But we don’t want you to choose to lose your booze.

When traveling from an international location and transferring to a domestic flight, any duty free liquid, gel or aerosol item from the origination country must be in a tamper evident bag with a receipt dated in the last 24 hours. But the duty free shops in some countries do not have those regulation bags and some cruise operators will only place the items in the tamper evident bags if you ask for them.   So remember to pay attention!  After going through Customs, if the item is not in a tamper evident bag, place it into your suitcase and check the bag in with the airline before heading to the checkpoint for your connecting flight.

We also remind you to know what else cannot go through the checkpoint with you whether your travel originates in this country or elsewhere.  Your guns and other prohibited items like your pocket knives must be placed in your checked bags, not brought to the checkpoint.

TSA officers at airports across the state, including at all three local airports, have stopped a record number of passengers who brought guns to the checkpoints. “Travelers are reminded that they will be facing a hefty fine and possible arrest rather than heading home or to their desired destination if they don’t focus on what is inside their carry-on bags,” said TSA spokesperson Sari Koshetz. “So far this year we have stopped 28 guns at MIA, 75 at FLL and 23 at PBI. The escalation locally and across the country is not only troubling but dangerous as most of the guns have been loaded.”

In addition to firearms, TSA officers stop 10,000 pounds of VAP (Voluntarily abandoned property consisting of prohibited items such as knives and brass knuckles) and they intercept as much as 75,000 pounds of HazMat (hazardous materials such as flammable and corrosive household chemicals) at MIA every year.  At FLL TSA officers stop more than 5,700 pounds of VAP and 25,000 pounds of HazMat. TSA officers at PBI stop 1,200 pounds of VAP and as much as 10,000 pounds of HazMat every year. The Hazmat cannot travel in your carry-on or your checked bag.

Be prepared. Each time a TSA officer has to open a carry-on bag due to prohibited items, it slows down the line for you and everyone behind you. Practicing the 3-1-1 rule and leaving home without your prohibited items will facilitate the checkpoint experience and reduce your travel stress.

Another stress reliever is to place everything that is in your pockets or clipped to your waistband into your own carry-on before you even get to the checkpoint.  Forgetting to remove items might result in a patdown when you alarm the screening equipment.  And having to gather your “stuff” from the bins is tiresome. Just put everything into your own bag.  That includes your belt, wallet and change. But electronics larger than a cell phone do need to be removed from your bag and placed in a bin at the checkpoint, unless you are in the TSA Precheck program. But remember that even TSA Precheck passengers may be subject to additional screening.