Frozen Christmas ham does not cut the mustard with airport security officers

When a solid is a liquid, it goes in the hold

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Friday night at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport. A Finnish businessman living in London enters the security check area. He only has hand luggage with him, including a hard lump wrapped in paper and plastic.
      “Is this Christmas ham?” the security official asks.
      “Yes it is”, the man replies.
      “Is it fresh or frozen?”
      “Frozen.”
      The food item in question is a frozen boneless Christmas ham weighing 6.1 kilograms.
      The ham is removed from the man’s hand luggage and sent to the plane’s luggage hold instead. According to the security officer “all frozen items are forbidden as they are considered liquids.”
     
The hand luggage regulations were tightened a couple of years ago.
      Passengers are well aware of the liquids rule, according to which all items containing more than 100 millilitres of liquid must travel in the airplane’s luggage compartment. The restriction was imposed in order to prevent the use of liquid explosives in possible terror attacks.
      The extension of the rule, however, is less well known. It states, for example, that shampoos, pastes, and gels are all classified as liquids.
      The 49-year-old businessman also learned the rule the hard way. The man, who considers himself a professional traveller, is surprised by the practice.
      “I do not want to protest against the security measures, but how the hell would I have been able to defrost the ham in the cabin?” he asks.
      The man said there was pressure to bring a ham from Finland, as the hams sold in London are too salty for his family’s taste.
     
Security officer Arto Tuominen from airport services operator Finavia points out that the regulations are quite clear.
      “If the package containing liquids exceeds 100 millilitres in size, the rule simply forbids it. There is no room for negotiation, even if it was obvious that a container was only half full, and the actual volume of the liquid inside was less than 100 millilitres."
      The same 100 ml rule applies to frozen goods as well, for they may defrost during the flight.
      Based on the same ruling, many Christmas dishes are also forbidden as they may contain purees or pastes.
     
The ban also applies to gel-like products such as marmalades.
      Of the traditional Finnish Christmas dishes, for example Christmas tarts with plum jam filling, various types of casseroles, curd cheese products, layer cakes, and frozen hams are all forbidden.
      Those readers who are travelling abroad (or home) for Christmas - you have been warned. A full list of proscribed items is given in the link below.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Christmas tarts and other goodies fall foul of airport security checks (14.12.2007)

Links:
  Finavia: The Right Way to Pack

Helsingin Sanomat