Airport Security (apologies if this topic has been addressed before)

[Rael007]

Let me preface this by saying I am a frequent and smart traveler; I know what I can bring in my carry-on and what I cannot.  At least, I thought I did.

 

Recently I traveled to Phuket from Bangkok Don Mueang.  Among the items in my carry-on (as I was not checking any baggage) was a clear plastic bag with several travel-size bottles of various toiletries; hair conditioner, hand sanitizer, etc.  Also among the items was my portable iPhone charger; a Jackery power pack which is smaller than my palm.  The power pack was not the problem (but I'll get to that later) - it was my plastic travel bottles, which I've traveled with hundreds of times without ever once having an issue.

 

I was pulled aside by security, who looked through my plastic bag and said I was okay to bring pre-packaged items, such as my store-bought travel shaving cream, eye contact solution, bug spray, etc., but I could NOT go through with my generic travel bottles because the bottles did not EXPLICITLY state what size they were...even though it was obvious they were 100ml or less and were originally bought in a pack that said "for travel".  I do speak some Thai and I keep a cool head, so I was able to get them to ultimately allow me to pass.  But it left me frustrated and curious, as this was the first time EVER, in my many travels, that anyone had stopped me with these little bottles because the bottles themselves did not have their size physically written on them.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  And why sell travel size bottles at Big C (for example), if airport security won't let you use them?

 

Now to the phone charger issue:  As I stated, it was not an issue at Don Mueang...and has never once been an issue in all my travels.  Returning from HKT Airport in Phuket, I was once again pulled aside by security.  I assumed it was for my travel bottles again.  But no.  They said the bottles were fine and mentioned nothing about the fact they were generic, unlabeled bottles.  They said I could not board the plane with my phone charger, BECAUSE IT does not have the size written on it.  It fits in the palm of my hand and, for what it's worth, is no bigger than the travel bottles.  Other than the voltage (which is printed clearly on the battery), how many battery packs do you know of that state its physical size?  Again, being polite and language-friendly, I was able to go on my way with my battery, but the fact remains they wanted me to give up a $140 battery for a reason I have never heard of.

 

To review:  DMK > HKT, no problem whatsoever with the phone charger, but a problem with perfectly reasonable plastic travel bottles, simply because the bottles didn't explicitly state their volume.  HKT > DMK, no problem whatsoever with the travel bottles, but issue with phone charger because it, too, does not state its size.

 

Any feedback? 

[Argus Tuft]

Its frustrating I know - but I have also experienced this issue.

Not unusual and depends on the staff on the day.

[impulse]

22 minutes ago, Argus Tuft said:

Its frustrating I know - but I have also experienced this issue.

Not unusual and depends on the staff on the day.

 

And what they got chewed out for the day before... 

 

[KhunBENQ]

Think about the opposite: 150 ml labeled toothpaste.

"Obviously" only filled one third.

What happens at a western airport?

-> to the bin

Security personnel has no discretion and does the job dogged by the book fearing for the job.

And some of them are not the brightest candle on the cake (I couldn't resist).

 

These rules are stupid and running after each event.

One day a terrorist will have the explosives baked into his clothes.

Then we will all have to fly naked.

Israel shows how smart security works.

But hey, it's discriminating!

[cornishcarlos]

Can't bring Brie or Chicken Liver pate from Oz to Bangkok, unless its less than 100g !! So you can being 2kg of it in 90g packs but not 120g :) Why ? Because its mouldable like explosive.. Hard cheese is no issue.. So what about frozen brie ?

[new2here]

Let me preface this by saying I am a frequent and smart traveler; I know what I can bring in my carry-on and what I cannot.  At least, I thought I did.
 
Recently I traveled to Phuket from Bangkok Don Mueang.  Among the items in my carry-on (as I was not checking any baggage) was a clear plastic bag with several travel-size bottles of various toiletries; hair conditioner, hand sanitizer, etc.  Also among the items was my portable iPhone charger; a Jackery power pack which is smaller than my palm.  The power pack was not the problem (but I'll get to that later) - it was my plastic travel bottles, which I've traveled with hundreds of times without ever once having an issue.
 
I was pulled aside by security, who looked through my plastic bag and said I was okay to bring pre-packaged items, such as my store-bought travel shaving cream, eye contact solution, bug spray, etc., but I could NOT go through with my generic travel bottles because the bottles did not EXPLICITLY state what size they were...even though it was obvious they were 100ml or less and were originally bought in a pack that said "for travel".  I do speak some Thai and I keep a cool head, so I was able to get them to ultimately allow me to pass.  But it left me frustrated and curious, as this was the first time EVER, in my many travels, that anyone had stopped me with these little bottles because the bottles themselves did not have their size physically written on them.  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  And why sell travel size bottles at Big C (for example), if airport security won't let you use them?
 
Now to the phone charger issue:  As I stated, it was not an issue at Don Mueang...and has never once been an issue in all my travels.  Returning from HKT Airport in Phuket, I was once again pulled aside by security.  I assumed it was for my travel bottles again.  But no.  They said the bottles were fine and mentioned nothing about the fact they were generic, unlabeled bottles.  They said I could not board the plane with my phone charger, BECAUSE IT does not have the size written on it.  It fits in the palm of my hand and, for what it's worth, is no bigger than the travel bottles.  Other than the voltage (which is printed clearly on the battery), how many battery packs do you know of that state its physical size?  Again, being polite and language-friendly, I was able to go on my way with my battery, but the fact remains they wanted me to give up a $140 battery for a reason I have never heard of.
 
To review:  DMK > HKT, no problem whatsoever with the phone charger, but a problem with perfectly reasonable plastic travel bottles, simply because the bottles didn't explicitly state their volume.  HKT > DMK, no problem whatsoever with the travel bottles, but issue with phone charger because it, too, does not state its size.
 
Any feedback? 

I tend to find this issue - the no labeling of power banks - common in China, but occasionally here in Thailand as well. As for the marked generic size containers; for me this has been hit-or-miss. I have had them questioned before.. but the ones I had (I’ve since moved to ones that do have sized printed on them) usually were well, well under 100ml- like 25ml or smaller.. but usually the issue was the unmarked part and not questioning the size of it per se.


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[Crossy]

On 4/18/2018 at 6:58 AM, Rael007 said:

how many battery packs do you know of that state its physical size? 

Nothing to do with physical size, it's Watt/hours or Amp/hours that's the issue.

 

That said, something the size you describe should be no issue.

[observer90210]

I can fully understand the frustration and the suspicions of corruption from airport security in arbitrary seizures.

 

To soften the issue, believe me, such ridiculous incidents also occur in european or Dubai airports,  where one can equally suspect the security personnal to hide their corruption behind the regulations.

 

It does get rather disgusting and annoying, I agree....just don't give those crooks a chance to rip you off from your perfumes or chargers and stick to the rules by the book and check before on the airline/airport's website when travelling.

[merijn]

Thai airport regulations require that the battery packs have their Wah printed on them. (even stickers with the battery pack strength can be refused)

The actual size of the battery pack does not matter as the staff can not see from the size of it is allowed or not. ( 32.000 Mah = 160 Wah max capacity )

 

I never had any problems (or checks) for my small liquid bottles with or without labels.