No serious problems on first day of tighter hand luggage regulations
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"I packed everything at home, but in the wrong kind of plastic bag", said a passenger at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport as he repacked his aftershave and deodorant to conform with new flight safety regulations that came into force at airports in the European Union on Monday.
The gentleman had used a grey freezer bag with a capacity of three litres, which he had closed by tying its mouth into a knot.
Smiling airport personnel gave the man an approved container: a clear and transparent reuseable zip-lock bag with a volume of one litre.
Airport customer service employee Monica Rutanen started helping passengers in dealing with the new regulations at half past five in the morning in the domestic flights terminal. From there, she moved to the check-in area of international flights at seven in the morning.
There was slight congestion in the check-in area, but in general, the first day of the new security rules passed without major problems. Many accepted the flyer handed out by Rutanen - including many of those who had packed their hand baggage and liquid products according to the new regulations.
"People know the new regulations quite well", Rutanen pondered.
Olli-Petteri Lehtinen, en route to Stockholm, pondered that the new regulations are an unfortunate burden for those who travel frequently.
Tiina Lipponen and Seppo Ali-Hokka, who were leaving for a five-day business trip to Manchester, had packed the liquids in their hand luggage at home in the proper manner. However, Lipponen had to do some repacking after she discovered a bottle of mascara was still found in her handbag. It was placed in the same plastic bag with her deodorant and nasal spray.
The new EU regulations limit the transport of liquids in hand baggage. In addition to the EU, the regulations are in effect in at least Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.
The bag containing the liquid containers, with a volume of no more than one tenth of a litre, must be shown at the security control. Larger liquid containers must be placed in checked luggage, left at the airport in storage, or be discarded.
"There it goes", said Olli-Petteri Lehtinen, bidding farewell to an excessively large can of hair mousse.
The rule applies to all liquids and gels. It does not apply to baby foods or beverages for babies on the flight, nor to prescription medicines.
Beverages and other goods can still be bought at airport shops after the security check. They will be sealed in a transparent plastic bag before being taken onto the plane.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.11.2006 - TODAY |
 No serious problems on first day of tighter hand luggage regulations
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