Airline Security Redux

The Washington Post has a report about how screeners keep missing many of the items that were recently added to the prohibited items list in the aftermath of the foiled British air terror plot that would have involved the use of liquid explosives.

Wendy Shanker was passing through security at the St. Louis airport Friday when the X-ray machine detected a potential weapon inside her carry-on bag. A screener dug into the satchel and found a pair of scissors that Shanker used for knitting. The scissors' blades were shorter than the 4-inch federal limit so the screener plopped them back into the bag.

But he missed something else: Shanker's two-ounce container of Neutrogena hand cream, a substance banned since federal authorities clamped down last month on allowing liquids and gels into airline passenger cabins.

"They focused in on the scissors and didn't seem to see the cream," said Shanker, who didn't realize it was in her bag until she was on her way to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Like Shanker, many people are inadvertently taking banned liquids and gels through security in their pockets and carry-on luggage, according to interviews with several dozen travelers at local airports and with pilots and security officials.

Others, however, say they're simply not going to tolerate the new rules. They admit that they ignore the restrictions, slipping expensive cologne, perfume, lip gloss, lotion and other ointments into their carry-on bags or into their pockets in hopes of sneaking them past security. Some of the items get flagged by screeners, others do not.

Unlike Shanker, the cream and liquid smugglers refused to give their full names. One woman said she slipped her Blistex lip balm into a pocket because her lips dry out on flights; another stashed her perfume in her carry-on because she didn't trust baggage handlers; another kept a small container of body lotion in her purse to apply in the aircraft lavatory.

A business executive said he always traveled with hand sanitizer in his pocket because he worries about germs on planes. He has made about 10 trips since the restrictions went into effect and hasn't been caught.

Since the rules went into effect, most travelers have abided by the law, packing their hand cream, hair gel and toothpaste in their checked luggage or leaving the items at home. The flouters, however, say they hate the hassle of long waits at baggage carousels and worry that their expensive bottles of perfume will be broken or stolen if placed in their checked luggage.

The observations mirror some of those that I had when flying in August. It is discouraging and disturbing that the screeners are not taking this potential threat more seriously, and that too many people think that they have the right to carry these items on board despite the prohibitions. What may seem like a convenience for them, could be exploited by terrorists who have other goals in mind.