New scam at Suvarnabhumi

[Brer Fox]

This is for the benefit of people travelling to Australia. Two weeks ago I departed Hanoi via Bangkok Airways to Melbourne. I transited at BKK and then after passing security at the transit area then proceeded through to duty free and the boarding gate; there they checked me to see I did not carry any liquids of more than 100ml.. I was OK and after passing through I went to duty free and purchased some perfume (200ml) and expensive whisky which was sealed in the usual plastic bag.I then proceeded to the gate lounge and waited.

Come boarding time I was confronted with Thai security officials all set up with tables at the departure lounge who demanded to inspect my carry-on bag which contained my perfumes and my whisky. They immediately confiscated them and when I challenged them they produced some tatty looking supposed authority from the Australian government that I could not board with and liquid in excess of 100ml. They showed me the papers allegedly produced by the Australian government invoking this rule. They were insistent so I had to give it up otherwise I would not be flying. They were all smirking as only Thais in a position of power can do. They said I could not take more than 100ml of liquid on the plane despite the fact I had already passed security in the transit section and had just purchased it within the duty free section not more than 100 metres away. They were not prepared to discuss and I just had to give it up. And all the time they were smirking to themselves. They knew they were on a winner.

On return to Australia I started phoning around. I first called the Customs and Immigration Department and they denied knowledge of such an instruction, I asked specifically did they issue such instructions to a foreign government and a foreign airline and they denied that. Then they passed me on to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and I called them. They in turn transferred me to the Transport and Security Department. and they again could not confirm issuing such an instruction in writing to the Thai government or Thai Airways. After explaining my circumstances to them they seemed to smell a rat but could not say any more for obvious diplomatic reasons. They were very sympathetic asked me to send them a full report of my experience to them which I have done.

The authorities in Australia urged me in future to take photos of the documents and the staff (and their ID's) demanding all passengers duty free liquids. I urge people travelling to Australia from Suvanabhumi who experience the same problem to do the same

I pass this experienc on for what it is worth.

[whiteman]

Well done I hope some one gets them make sure you get them holding the paper up when you take the photo so they can not say it was not them or the paper. the more that do this the sooner the scam goes away

[lopburi3]

This has been the rule and is clearly stated with a 2 minute Google search.

http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/dutyfree_to.aspx

Don't have liquids, aerosols or gels in containers larger than 100 millilitres in your possession. You will have to surrender these at the security screening point in order to board your aircraft.

Purchase duty free at your last airport before Australia, but make sure it is delivered to the boarding gate. Alternatively, purchase duty free items onboard the last leg of the flight to Australia. Have your duty free items in their sealed plastic bag ready for screening upon arrival at the Australian international gateway airport transit screening point. Don't carry duty free purchased at another airport through the screening point, as it will not be allowed on flights to Australia. You risk having to surrender these items. Only duty free delivered to the boarding gate will be allowed onboard flights to Australia.

[fey]

duty free or not has nothing to do with it.

you can't board an aircraft with liquid over the stated regulations. it does not matter if you have already been searched or not. if they are found on the plane you also forfeit.

same goes for any other prohibited items you may be carrying.

[moe666]

This has been the rule and is clearly stated with a 2 minute Google search.

http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/dutyfree_to.aspx

Don't have liquids, aerosols or gels in containers larger than 100 millilitres in your possession. You will have to surrender these at the security screening point in order to board your aircraft.

Purchase duty free at your last airport before Australia, but make sure it is delivered to the boarding gate. Alternatively, purchase duty free items onboard the last leg of the flight to Australia. Have your duty free items in their sealed plastic bag ready for screening upon arrival at the Australian international gateway airport transit screening point. Don't carry duty free purchased at another airport through the screening point, as it will not be allowed on flights to Australia. You risk having to surrender these items. Only duty free delivered to the boarding gate will be allowed onboard flights to Australia.

I guess you were not scammed

[Don Mega]

Bangkok Air flies to Melbourne now ?

[Satcommlee]

Where is the duty of care of the duty free shop? I presume a big one like King power, they have to scan your boarding pass.

They once did refuse to sell me cigarettes because I was going to Singapore (where you cant import any)

Why did you not return to the duty free store?

Personally, I would have turned around and tipped the contents down a drain rather than hand them over like that.

It is a scam in a way, I bet one that only the most senior were enforcing..

[thedemon]

It has been this way for years and is an Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulation. Similar rules used to apply to US bound flights when the non-stop THAI BKK-JFK and BKK-LAX flights were still in operation.

Normally Kingpower won't sell you liquids outside the allowable limits. I have purchased perfumes prior to boarding and Aus bound flight and they have made sure that I bought nothing over 100ml and all could fit in a 1 Litre ziplock bag.

I guess Kingpower made a mistake in selling the liquids to you but the same thing would have happened had you bought the stuff in Vietnam prior to transiting BKK. No doubt Kingpower's position will be that it is ultimately your responsibility to be aware of the rules for carry-on to your destination.

I'm sure it was a very frustrating experience. Normally once you reach the gate at Suvarnabhumi there won't be time to return to the duty free to claim a refund. I guess you could copy that woman in China last year that, faced with the same situation, knocked back 1 litre bottle of Cognac before boarding. Unfortunately she passed out before making it to the aircraft though.

[tonray]

Next time sit back and drink 100 mls before your board.

[bwpage3]

Free Valentines gifts for the crooked officials to keep for themselves

[sipi]

Not specific to departing Thailand. I had the same thing departing Brunei years ago. I requested that the airline find my checked in luggage which they did, and I packed it there.

[balo]

You were not scammed , so you can now change the title of your thread to: not scammed at suvarnabhumi .

[cgphuket]

There is a store in BKK where they only sell items confiscated from passengers at either of the airports in BKK. Mostly perfume and booze....

[frimu]

This has been the rule and is clearly stated with a 2 minute Google search.

http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/dutyfree_to.aspx

Don't have liquids, aerosols or gels in containers larger than 100 millilitres in your possession. You will have to surrender these at the security screening point in order to board your aircraft.

Purchase duty free at your last airport before Australia, but make sure it is delivered to the boarding gate. Alternatively, purchase duty free items onboard the last leg of the flight to Australia. Have your duty free items in their sealed plastic bag ready for screening upon arrival at the Australian international gateway airport transit screening point. Don't carry duty free purchased at another airport through the screening point, as it will not be allowed on flights to Australia. You risk having to surrender these items. Only duty free delivered to the boarding gate will be allowed onboard flights to Australia.

Why do you Australians put up with all that overregulation nonsense? Can't you hand a petition to your government to stop this?

[houlicha]

Happened to us in Shanghai last year. We had some RMB left, so figured we'd spend as much as we could at the shop right next to the boarding gates. After checking in as the flight was called, we went on to the actual mobile ramp, and around the corner where you couldn't see it from outside, there was the table with 2 cops. They were confiscating all liquids, and they had a ton.

[monkey4u]

Why would you buy Duty Free alcohol at Swampy

It is way more expensive than on your return to Aus

[mcfish]

I would have given them to another tourist rather than hand them over

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Thomas33399]

You were unlucky. Your behaviour was more than reasonable. Most people would have expected that they were within the regulations by doing what you did. Thanks for letting others know.

The real problem is that Australia is developing these very complex safety measures but does very little in making passengers aware of what they need to do to comply. Passengers can hardly be expected to consult an Australian government website at the airport.

The government has a duty to inform duty free shops who should be made to be ask questions and inform passengers and to comply with the regulations. The sales people in these shops are usually very hungry for a sale and know they have no responsibility to their customers.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Thomas33399

[Berkshire]

This has been the rule and is clearly stated with a 2 minute Google search.

http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/dutyfree_to.aspx

Don't have liquids, aerosols or gels in containers larger than 100 millilitres in your possession. You will have to surrender these at the security screening point in order to board your aircraft.

Purchase duty free at your last airport before Australia, but make sure it is delivered to the boarding gate. Alternatively, purchase duty free items onboard the last leg of the flight to Australia. Have your duty free items in their sealed plastic bag ready for screening upon arrival at the Australian international gateway airport transit screening point. Don't carry duty free purchased at another airport through the screening point, as it will not be allowed on flights to Australia. You risk having to surrender these items. Only duty free delivered to the boarding gate will be allowed onboard flights to Australia.

So the OP was wrong and the Thai security officials were right. There was no scam. The title of this thread then is also false.

[darkian]

Not a scam, this bag check is pretty standard for flights to Australia. I had a couple of cans of beer and they said I could drink them or bin them but they weren't coming on the plane.

[SoiBiker]

This has been the rule and is clearly stated with a 2 minute Google search.

http://travelsecure.infrastructure.gov.au/international/lags/dutyfree_to.aspx

Don't have liquids, aerosols or gels in containers larger than 100 millilitres in your possession. You will have to surrender these at the security screening point in order to board your aircraft.

Purchase duty free at your last airport before Australia, but make sure it is delivered to the boarding gate. Alternatively, purchase duty free items onboard the last leg of the flight to Australia. Have your duty free items in their sealed plastic bag ready for screening upon arrival at the Australian international gateway airport transit screening point. Don't carry duty free purchased at another airport through the screening point, as it will not be allowed on flights to Australia. You risk having to surrender these items. Only duty free delivered to the boarding gate will be allowed onboard flights to Australia.

So the OP was wrong and the Thai security officials were right. There was no scam. The title of this thread then is also false.

Pretty much every time someone starts a thread with 'scam' in the title, it turns out not to actually be a scam.

[PREM-R]

It may not be a "Scam" but something is not right about this. If it is not allowed to take duty free liquids into the plane cabin, why does the duty free shop, located after baggage check in, allow such goods to be sold. When making payment the boarding card has to be shown which should surely flag a warning to the sales staff that the products being purchased would not be allowed on the flight. Maybe not a Scam but certainly unethical. OOoops! I forgot, all duty free at Swampy is controlled by King Power.

[Coota]

This has been the rule for years, I often stopover at Brunei on my trips to Australia and am checked at the boarding gate there for liquids. It is NOT a scam.

[torpedo1970]

Where is the duty of care of the duty free shop? I presume a big one like King power, they have to scan your boarding pass.

They once did refuse to sell me cigarettes because I was going to Singapore (where you cant import any)

Why did you not return to the duty free store?

Personally, I would have turned around and tipped the contents down a drain rather than hand them over like that.

It is a scam in a way, I bet one that only the most senior were enforcing..

The duty free is named? King Power! So good luck with the complaining.

been many years since i even considered buying anything at the airport duty free.

[Oldgumshoe]

Good morning, I travel regularly from Australia (Brisbane) to Thailand (Bangkok) and return. When departing Brisbane after security and immigration I go to the duty free and buy a bottle of spirits which I put in my unsealed duty free bag and there is no further check, however, on my last trip I purchased 2 mini bottles at the Brisbane duty free and they put them in a sealed bag telling me it was a new requirement.

Every time I fly from Savanabhumi back to Brisbane all passengers get checked when entering the departure lounge, been happening for years.

[RayHaas]

Why did you not walk back the 100 meters and got a refund from the shop you purchased it from? I would have done that regardless boarding or not. Or at least open it up and flush it on the floor instead of handing it over.

[steve0367]

The scam was from the duty free shop you purchased from. I was told 3 years ago when I tried to purchase drinks there that I could not take it on the plane by the duty fee shop

[Langsuan Man]

This is problem is usually eliminated when duty free is delivered in the jet way leading to the plane, Don't know why it is not done here

When Thai used to fly to LAX via Seoul, many people got banged when they had to go through security again in Inchon. Lesson learned was to leave your duty free on the plane in the overhead.

This is really an Asian thing, transit Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo or Taipei (don't know about Singapore) and even if you are staying on the same plane you will have to go through security screening again

In the US and most European airports once you have been through initial screening at your departure point , transits are handled plane side and you are not required to go through security again since you are considered in a "controlled, secure " area

[Roomuck]

It is Australia's stupid law mate. The Aussie officials you spoke to lied to you. But blame the scheming scamming Thais. Blame

Thainess. The Aussies love complaining, don't let the the truth get in the way of a good whinge.

This has been the law for at least 10 years.

[kamahele]

This is the rule of law in Australia at least the last time I was there about 6 years ago. Signs at the airport in Sydney were clear and the security staff strict.