Am I the only one who saw and read and thought hysterical that the big poohbah, TSA, had managed to lose the computer info on all it's employees..SS numbers , addresses, everything to some identity thief.



Doesn't that make you feel secure!

Hit reply too soon...TSA and HS are a joke. Just making the paranoid feel secure/

And per a previous post here, don't forget that the brilliant TSA doesn't know what a "quart-size bag" is unless manufactured by Ziploc or Hefty. I tried using a quart-size bag with a real zipper (from a previous product purchase) and they refused to let me use it. I held it up to their picture of a quart-size bag and it was exactly the same size! And yet, they argued that it wasn't quart-sized.

And ANY TIME I have asked for a supervisor when a TSA agent was playing "the game", the TSA supervisor backed up their employee. Period. Apparently, they are just not allowed to use common sense, even if they possess it.

The bottle that is over 3oz but half filled could be filled in the plane to concoct a bomb thingy.

Supposedly, this is the correct rule, i.e. the liquids or creams must be in the original containers.

Frankly, I don't hink they'd notice if you decanted your preferred products into a travel-size bottle with a label, as long as it looks like a similar product, i.e. do they all REALLY know what each shampoo looks like? The point: how insistent are you that you bring your favorites, or buy them at your destination (if available?)

'By the way, I've brought on board a 3-oz bottle of Kiehl's shampoo that was about 2/3 full. They didn;t seem to mind, or maybe I looked especially harmless that day.

Tricks when you ask for the supervisor.

1. Have the TSA webpage in your biefcase. Yes, folks LOTS of Frequent Fliers are now hauling around a PRINT out of the TSA rules since the TSA cannot be bothered to TRAIN their staff. Make them "explain" Always be polite, but make sure they FULLY explain. If they won't make sure that you repeat that back to them. (See #3 below)

2. Make sure you ASK for thier name and badge number. I write it down in front of them

3. FOLLOW UP. Write the airport, the TSA and your elected officals. The airport actually has no 'real' power, but they need to know that the TSA is driving off thier passengers. Witnesses are good. I got the names of other passengers who saw my "infamous" senior citizen abuse and included thier contact info iun my letter. (Not sure what worked, but the JERK TSA agent was NEVER spotted by me at BNA's security check points again. I checked every week for a year!!!)

What about putting the creams etc. in tiny ziplock bags?

Am I dead set on bringing my own products? No, especially not after what I have read regarding the inconsistencies in "liquids enforcement" by some TSA employees. The point of my posting the question in the first place was to see if others were getting unlabelled items confiscated. Obviously, although it is not technically part of the "official rules" there ARE some people that are getting these items confiscated, as per previous posts here. So I guess I am glad I asked.

I was really interested in whether the generic (read: previously unused) bottles would work for me, and it sounds like those "might" be taking a chance. I would be interested to know if anyone has gotten the ones with the "3 oz" sticker confiscated.

Although it obviously works for some people, I don't think I'll be washing out cheapie bottles to put my own stuff in. From my own experience, no matter how many times I wash out the bottles, whatever I put in it always winds up smelling like Pantene (or whatever else was in the bottle previously)!

I would also just like to point out that anecdotal stories of "I always do this and have never had a problem" don't change the fact that it only takes one employee interpreting the rules a certain way to get your stuff tossed in the bin. On the flip side, it only takes one story of someone getting their stuff taken away to convince me that it's not a good idea to even try.

By the way, no I don't need to use shampoo on the plane, or anything else for that matter. But as I mentioned in my previous post, I would like to avoid checking baggage if at all possible.

This is one of the many reasons why I hate flying.

My husband recently flew from Chicago to Atlanta and they threw out everything that was not in the original travel sized type containers. They told him that unless it is in its original packaging he could not take it on.

He travels a decent amound and this is the first time it happened, but it did happen.

Just out of curiosity, does the airport authority have any control over TSA?

I agree with the idiot assessment. I doubt very much if any TSA agent in range could tell if you had substituted Pantene for Pert in a shampoo container. Moreover I doubt very much if some of them ever bother to look at the content size printed on the container.

If the size is given only in millileters, I doubt if any TSA agent is going to multiply milliliters by .03381 to convert it to ounces. If the container looks too big, toss it.

In theory 88 ml should meet the 3 oz requirement, but whether it gets by or not is problematical.

I have found the best way is to use one of the TSA plastic bags (not yours), put all your liquids and gels in it, and put then put the bag in the plastic bin along with your belt, keys, shoes, and whatever else you decide to dump in there. (Mostly I take off my shoes only when I have on a pair that has a steel shank.)

The indifference and variability in
quality of TSA personnel are at times alarming.

I have a metal hip and every time I fly, I must go through the same nonsense of being spread eagled and wanded. Same hip, same results everytime. My most funny story about the experience was a few years ago after I rang the bell going through the metal detector. First, I got the usual banished to purgatory while someone bellowed out MALE ASSIST.

Second, after a few minutes some joker who looked like he would not know a tibia from a scapula came over to check me out.

His question: What's the trouble?
My response: I have a metal hip.
His next question: Where 'bouts?

Given that you might have this perspicacious gentleman, or someone similar, inspecting your liquids and gels, I think most anything could happen.

The airport authority has no real authority over the TSA. However, having talked to some folks in airport management, they do work together to resolve issues. The folks who check your ID do work for the airport. (And that's always interesting. I wonder what they have proven besides the ID and ticket match, about half the time they don't even look at me)

The reason I complain to the airport authority is that they have a vested interest in keeping passengers flying so maybe they will complain to the TSA if they get enough complaints.

<<So , next time I'll buy a travel size bottle of any shampoo and conditioner, empty them and fill them with my stuff.>>

Thus showing that any moderately clever person can circumvent the "rule" that original packaging must be used. A troublemaker could put their various indredients in 4 3-oz bottles that previously held something benign like Listerine - and wouldn't need a large bottle to mix them in, they could use the famed "one quart bag".

There are undoubtedly some very capable people working as screeners, but there are also some not so bright ones in the mix; so, possibly wisely given the circumstance, all are told to go strictly by a rule, rather than exercise judgment. Continuing on this path, judgment in all things will become a thing of the past! But at least we will have lots of marginally effective rules to fall back on.

I think someone really clever would start packaging all our travel needs as "water-soluble sheets", like thin leaves of soap that disappear as you use them - even clothes detergent in that form. Or maybe we need to go back to old-fashioned "tooth powders" and solid bars of shaving soap. Anything to avoid a scene at security gates.

Fly safe, all.

Jazzblues1...<I don't think I'll be washing out cheapie bottles to put my own stuff in>
If you are going to go with the regular travel size of your "non-regular" shampoo, make sure you use that shampoo at least once before traveling. Bad time to break out in allergic hives from new shampoo is when you're in Paris for your first time, etc.

bob_brown...<Given that you might have this perspicacious gentleman, or someone similar>

You slay me!! hahahahaha

I can't believe all this yak about
3 oz bottles. Surely, you can buy
shampoo, etc. for this trip that won't
make your hair fall out.
I intend to buy all of it when we get
to our destination, especially after
reading all these posts.

Here's a way to refill those travel sized toothpaste tubes, reduce landfill waste and save a buck. Watch it at youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tvDCl4EFdw

Last week I traveled on Southwest Airlings and was allowed to take creams, etc., on board but they had to be in a plastic zip lock bag and shown to the TSA guys when you go thru the scanner.
In April my friend had soaps, liquids, creams, etc. taken away becasue they were not in a plastic bag. We were on United Airlines.

this is nanabee again.
i wonder if some airports differ from others. san diego's airport will even provide the plastic zip lock bags to put your shampoo, creams, toothpaste, medicines, etc. into.
In Chicago airport last April they weren't as helpful.

The zip lok bags have been a requirement for several months now. You should be prepared before you get to the airport. They hand the baggies out at some airports simply to help those who don't have one.