Security "taking" discarded products

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do you think some of the high end toiletry products would end up on eBay?

I hope not, because selling opened bottles of cosmetics or used cosmetics is prohibited on eBay.

As for security taking the stuff from the trash, so what? Once something has been thrown away, it's fair game. At least someone can use it.

it is illegal for any goverment employee to take government property even after it has hit the dumpster or the landfill.

I think this is baloney. If someone takes a bottle of shampoo and throws it in the trash, just how does it become government property?

Beyond Reproach and Public Trust are key words for Government Employees. In our ethics training they tell us "If you wouldnt want it on the front page of the newspaper then you are most likely in violation of Government Ethics.

Hmmm, how did our current administration miss this ethics training?

 

[ducklite]

WOW!

I have my opinions of TSA's and most of them aren't too positive, but I don't think those comments were particiularly necessary

The truth hurts.

BTW--Your tax dollars at work. In philly last night I had a tube of hand cream and mascara in my carry on. They hand searched my bag looking ofr a lighter that I do'nt even own. They passed right by the right out in the open hand cream because they were too focused on finding the lighter that wasn't even there.

Glad we've got Forrest Gump watching our skies.

Anne

 

[bicker]

It's sad that passengers aren't voluntarily cooperating with the regulations. It's probably a reflection of our culture's move towards a more transgressive nature in general. This is the kind of thing that signals the decline a great civilizations. Looks like we're clearly on the way down.

 

[ducklite]

It's sad that passengers aren't voluntarily cooperating with the regulations. It's probably a reflection of our culture's move towards a more transgressive nature in general. This is the kind of thing that signals the decline a great civilizations. Looks like we're clearly on the way down.

What's sad is that the people who are supposed to be watching out for our safety are too stupid to notice something right in front of their face.

Anne

 

[bicker]

 

[goofy4tink]

I realize this is 'over the top' but I still think we should just do away with carryon luggage. I know, I know....don't start hopping up and down, screaming at me. But, with people now trying to pack for a week's vacation, for each one of the people in their 5 person family, in carryon bags, it's gotten to the point of ridiculousness. Have you ever just sat at the gate and watched what people lug onto those planes? It may be time to restrict people to one bag, large enough for a lap top or a camera bag. If it doesn't fit underneath the seat, then it doesn't go. If we aren't going to be allowed to bring water with us, then the airlines are just going to have to make it available to us on the plane. My experience has been that I can get water on the plane...eventually!
I am so tired of hearing about 'how do I entertain little Johnny on a 4 hr flight if I can't bring his entire toy room?'. My dd has traveled since she was 3...first flight was from Boston to Seattle. She had some crayons, coloring book, paper, a few books. That was it. Now, she travels with her Walkman, port DVD player and a book...all nicely packed in a small backpack.
We do not need to be putting everything we own in our carryon! We have gotten spoiled to some extent. It may be time to take some responsibility and pare down what we 'have' to travel with on our person. Sure, I like being able to check in at my resort, put on my bathing suit, swim for a bit, then freshen up before heading to my room. If I have only checked luggage that's going to be impossible if I use DME. I may be grabbing my own luggage now.....rather than putting on the yellow tags. At least I'll have what I need when I need it...rather than having to worry about what 'can or can not' go into my carryon bag!!!

 

[littleprissboutique]

Next time I fly, I'm going to put Nair in an expensive shampoo bottle. Let's see who picks that one.

Love that idea. You know who is to say one of these agents looks you over and likes your whatever you have, and says " Miss I need you to remove that, It looks like a banned item" Then the agent swipes it for themselves!!! That makes me sick....and


Love the nair idea in a shampoo bottle...... Make sure you use a Kenra or Redkin or salon quality bottle!!!! LOL......

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree that people take way too much in carry-on baggage, but if I am willing to take only enough baggage to fit in a small carry-on (19") and my purse, I should be allowed to carry on my stuff without having to check it. If you have ever had luggage lost (as we have, once for 14 days during a trip to Belgium; the luggage arrived home after we did), or waited 1+ hours for luggage to be offloaded, you'd understand why people don't want to check luggage.

If airlines actually enforced carry-on size and number limits, it would make everything a lot easier. Unfortunately, they do not.

 

[safetymom]

I don't understand the carry on entitlement. My time is just as valuable as anyone else. It makes things much easier when most of your stuff is checked.

 

[ducklite]

I don't understand the carry on entitlement. My time is just as valuable as anyone else. It makes things much easier when most of your stuff is checked.

Here's my problem with checking my makeup and toiletries. The brands I use due to my rosacea and allergies are simply not available just anywhere. If I land in Albany, NY and my toiletries don't land with me, the closest place to replace them is 90 minutes away in Bolton Landing, NY. Due to my allergies, substituting another brand is not a realistic option.

Additionally, the cost of replacing all of this is prohibitive. Just for the bare minimum of toiletries the other day, my husband spent $300 to buy things for me so I didn't need to check a bag.

Because the airlines offer so little to replace items--my suitcase would cost $400 itself--if my bag went missing the costs are far higher than they will reimburse for.

And when it comes down to it, bottom line these latest restrictions are just not keeping anyone safe. They are still selling perfumes and such on the sterile concourse, yet they are "supposed" to be taken onboard, yet there are no searches that I saw preventing this. The screeners missed several items in my carry-on (one that I forgot about and another that I didn't realize wasn't allowed--mascara) but instead searched my bag for a lighter they saw on the x-ray--that simply didn't exist. A third item I had in my bag and they looked right at it and didn't care.

Bottom line, until we ge screeners who want to be there and want to keep the public safe, and until we get airport employees who aren't working in collusion with terrorists, all that the TSA is doing is annoying people who will just eventually stop flying--which will cause the loss of thousands of jobs, both with carriers and the TSA.

Bottom line, I do'nt know how it's easier when things are checked. If anything it's more work for them, because they have to handle a bag I normally handle myself.

Anne

 

[nuke]

Bottom line, until we ge screeners who want to be there and want to keep the public safe, and until we get airport employees who aren't working in collusion with terrorists, all that the TSA is doing is annoying people who will just eventually stop flying--which will cause the loss of thousands of jobs, both with carriers and the TSA.

Anne

I heard almost the exact same thing on the morning news. That's why some restrictions have already been lifted. In general the flying public just will not tolerate the inconvenience.

 

[Pinnie]

I can tell you that when I flew yesterday, there were far fewer carryons than I have ever seen. Rollerbags were far and few between. Most people just had purses or small backpacks. I can tell you that it sure speeded up boarding!

I totally agree that people were taking WAY too much on board a plane. However, the downside is now waiting at baggage claim is longer!

pinnie

 

[Deb T.]

Well, I'm one of those frequent travelers who always carries on all my luggage. I've been doing that for the last three years. I take about a dozen short trips a year - 1-3 nights long - and don't take enough to justify checking the bag. Plus, I was often the one who's luggage was lost en-route, even though I always marked my bags inside and out, with name, address, phone number, and itinerary. (Here is a USA Today article about how 10,000 pieces of luggage were lost EACH DAY in 2005: http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2006-02-16-lost-bags-usat_x.htm ) I can tell you first hand that it's very frustrating to arrive for a 3-night stay out-of-state and not receive your luggage until the day you leave, if at all. So, I always take a roll-aboard that fits, wheels first, into the overhead bin and a "personal" bag that fits under the seat in front of me, even though it's what most people would consider on the large size. Being a frequent traveler, I tend to take a lot of comfort items with me for the two 3+ hour flights each way, including fruit and my favorite sandwich that I always keep chilled in a soft-sided lunch bag with a gel-filled ice pack. I will be taking another trip soon and will probably purchase all my "gels and liquids" at my destination rather than check my luggage.

As for people taking the items that were discarded at the airport, I'm totally against it for many reasons. First of all, none of those items were discarded willingly - people were FORCED to throw those things away for aircraft safety. That's completely different than when someone voluntarily leaves unopened soda or bottles of water behind in a hotel and hopes housekeeping will take it. Everyone has noted that the banned list is somewhat murky in definition, so who's to say that you aren't being forced to give up an item because someone wants to fish it out of the bin later? Then there's the potential danger issue - sealed or not, it would take an expert to determine whether it contained hazardous material. And, finally, there is the potential of cross contamination by using someone else's items. I'm all for saving the landfills, recycling, and using every last drop, however these discarded items were thrown out because they were potentially dangerous, so should be disposed of as hazardous material.

Please don't flame me, I'm just trying to give you the perspective of a frequent traveler.

 

[ducklite]

I can tell you that when I flew yesterday, there were far fewer carryons than I have ever seen. Rollerbags were far and few between. Most people just had purses or small backpacks. I can tell you that it sure speeded up boarding!

I totally agree that people were taking WAY too much on board a plane. However, the downside is now waiting at baggage claim is longer!

pinnie

It definitely didn't do anything to speed up boarding on my flight yesterday. The flight was oversold, people sitting in aisle seats and refusing to move to their assigned middle, a family of six that were split up all over the plane because they had missed their original flight and were reticketd on that one, then trying to move around so they all were together, a mom and dad with a kid in a car seat in the middle seat who argued with the FA because they needed to put it against the window and then held up boarding to rearrange, and on and on. No, it didn't speed things up at all. Carry-on's do'nt make planes late, people make planes late.

Anne

 

[MrsToad]

Deb T., I was thinking along the same lines...if the items had to be discarded because there was the potential for danger, how can those items be considered safe for anyone else, even if we believe the risk to be extremely small?

Going forward, there shouldn't be such an accumulation of these items as most people have had time to learn that the items have to be in checked luggage, but for that first batch of confiscated items, while certainly a waste, I think they should have been disposed of and not "redistributed" in any way.

 

[safetymom]

Anne, I guess we can agree to disagree on this. I do think that most frequent flyers are ok with their carry ons. But I have been stuck behind too many people in the security line that are taking carry ons. By the time they get it all loaded on the belt, the TSA takes a look at it, then takes them off to be screened further, then it takes them forever to find a spot on the plane I think most carry ons should have been checked.

Those people wasted my time to save themselves some time. Frequent travelers know what will stop them at the security checkpoints and don't pack them. They know the drill of taking off their shoes, jackets, etc. On the plane they haven't carried everything they own onboard. If you are flying for a business trip maybe you don't have time to get your luggage from the carousel but most flyers do have that time.

Thankfully at least for Orlando I have the Clear card so I don't get stuck behind these people that act like they have never been in an airport before or read the news.

 

[bavaria]

Thankfully at least for Orlando I have the Clear card so I don't get stuck behind these people that act like they have never been in an airport before or read the news.

For all that people complain about frequent fliers getting priority treatment (there was even a story on NPR griping about it over the weekend!) that is why it makes sense.

I too live in a tourist mecca; Saturday morning cruise passengers going back home, combined with the Hawaii tourist crowd, are insane.

And they often merge the family line with the elite line, which means that tempers flare.... I've even seen the CATSA agents blow up at their supervisor for merging the two most disparate lines into one.

 

[ducklite]

For all that people complain about frequent fliers getting priority treatment (there was even a story on NPR griping about it over the weekend!) that is why it makes sense.

I too live in a tourist mecca; Saturday morning cruise passengers going back home, combined with the Hawaii tourist crowd, are insane.

And they often merge the family line with the elite line, which means that tempers flare.... I've even seen the CATSA agents blow up at their supervisor for merging the two most disparate lines into one.

Bavaria-

Safetymom, CarolA and I all have a CLEAR card, which is why we get priority treatment. (We're all eleite fliers on US Airways as well if I'm not mistaken)

For the CLEAR card we pay an annual fee AND submit to even closer scrutiny than TSA employees do.

Anyone who takes the time and spends the money for one of those is a frequent flier who "gets it."

Last night for the first time EVER my bag got a secondary screening--in Philly--because they saw a lighter on the x-ray machine. They were smoking crack, because I don't own a lighter. They looked for that lighter for a good three minutes, I thought they were going to try to disassemble my suitcase to find the lighter that wasn't there, and was just about to ask for a supervisor when they simply gave up.

OK, so was it there and they didn't bother to actually find it, or was the x-ray screener a crack smoking visually impaired imbecile? Because it was either one or the other.

Either way I sat there thinking I've got Beavis and Butthead rummaging through my bag, and I've had more security screening than they have--what's srong with this picture??

Anne

 

[bicker]

I realize this is 'over the top' but I still think we should just do away with carryon luggage.

The biggest problem with that is that aircraft are designed under the assumption that a certain percentage of passenger luggage will be stored in the passenger cabin. There would have to be some impractically large changes made aircraft to shift the available space into the cargo compartment, perhaps even on a going-forward construction basis with existing aircraft designs.

So what you're really saying is that we should reduce the amount of luggage a passenger is allowed by approximately 25% (do the math -- that's pretty close), and furthermore do away with carry-on luggage. The latter isn't really 'over the top' IMHO, but combine the two and you've got a very tough situation.

I think one viable approach might be to retrofit jets so that overhead compartments (except those used exclusively for the on-board entertainment system) can be locked from outside of the aircraft (by the jetway door, of course) with no means to unlock them from inside the aircraft during flight. So once the aircraft pushes back, there is absolutely no way to get at carry-ons, except those stored under the seat in front of you.

Unfortunately, it doesn't resolve the issue, but only minimizes it, because nothing stops folks from storing their carry-on's with contraband under the seat in front of them.

 

[bavaria]

Bavaria-

Safetymom, CarolA and I all have a CLEAR card, which is why we get priority treatment. (We're all eleite fliers on US Airways as well if I'm not mistaken)

For the CLEAR card we pay an annual fee AND submit to even closer scrutiny than TSA employees do.

Anyone who takes the time and spends the money for one of those is a frequent flier who "gets it."

Last night for the first time EVER my bag got a secondary screening--in Philly--because they saw a lighter on the x-ray machine. They were smoking crack, because I don't own a lighter. They looked for that lighter for a good three minutes, I thought they were going to try to disassemble my suitcase to find the lighter that wasn't there, and was just about to ask for a supervisor when they simply gave up.

OK, so was it there and they didn't bother to actually find it, or was the x-ray screener a crack smoking visually impaired imbecile? Because it was either one or the other.

Either way I sat there thinking I've got Beavis and Butthead rummaging through my bag, and I've had more security screening than they have--what's srong with this picture??

Anne

Anne, sorry if I wasn't clear - I am in AGREEMENT with you. I pay for two different types of cards to clear the border, and will pay for Clear when it becomes available.

I am speaking to those who whine about us being 'elite' and getting preferential treatment ie our own lines. No, we went through special prescreening and pay dearly for those cards, not just with money.

We can clear security much quicker because we do it weekly. I have no probelm with the fact that we all went through that additional screening to get our cards and can should get through quicker.

I DO have a problem with posters calling me elitist, or telling me to get out of the US because I am not a citizen....