Tag Archives: airport

Airport Security – the Ice Pack Saga

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Dan and I are just crazy about Maryland crabcakes. And it turns out, not surprisingly, that the best place to get Maryland crabcakes is, well, Maryland. And the best place in Maryland that we’ve found so far is the G&M Restaurant in Linthicum, conveniently located just a mile or so from BWI airport.

I used to bring crabcakes home all the time before security cracked down on bringing liquids in carry-on luggage. Then it got more complicated. With the ice packs, I’d have to check a bag, and I never want to do that, not if I can avoid it. Sure it’s the money (the crabcakes are expensive enough!), but it’s also the extra time at the airport waiting for the checked bag. And what if the bag damaged? What if it’s lost?

So, we were out of crabcakes and I decided it was time to find out just exactly what the TSA’s rule is regarding a material that is a liquid when at room temperature but is frozen solid when being carried through security. There is nothing about this on their Web site, so I wrote to them and asked. A response came promptly. Here is what they said:

“TSA permits regular ice, frozen gel packs, and dry ice in checked and carry-on baggage.  Frozen items are allowed so long as they are solid and in a “frozen state” when presented for screening.  If frozen items are partially melted or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, the ice/liquid container must meet 3-1-1 requirements.”

So in April I froze up some ice packs and prepared for a trip to Maryland.

“Better bring a copy of that email with you,” Dan advised. And so I did.

Sure enough. When I went through security, they saw the ice packs in my bag. "It's ice packs," I kept explaining. "Frozen ice packs." They ignored me. They pulled my bag out for detailed searching. The person checking my suitcase was a supervisor. “Are you aware of TSA regulations regarding liquids?”

“Yes sir.” I whisked the TSA email out of my pack. “They say it’s okay to carry on a frozen ice pack”

He read it carefully, frowning. Finally he figured out what I had done wrong. “You have to declare this kind of thing so that we can check it. I checked it. It’s okay. You want to pack up your things?”

And so I was able to carry my ice packs aboard and to bring my crabcakes home. Yesterday I went through the exercise again. I packed three ice packs, two thicker, newer ones, and an older one that was nice and thin, good for slipping into the suitcase. All solidly frozen. I put them in ziplock bags and “declared” them separately as I’d been instructed. And it turned out that the older ice pack has some air in it, so that even frozen it’s just a little squishy, not perfectly solid.

“This one’s not frozen,” the security agent said. “It’s squishy. What’s it for?”

“I’m going to be bringing back crabcakes. Also frozen.”

“This one’s not frozen.”

“Yes it is. I just took it out of the freezer half an hour ago.”

“It’s supposed to be only for medication.”

“That’s not true. I wrote to the TSA about this and I have an email from them that puts it in the category of foodstuffs. They said I could bring it as long as it’s frozen.”

“This one’s not frozen. It’s squishy.”

“It’s frozen. Really it is. There’s just some air in it. I took it out of the freezer less than an hour ago. Been in there for a week.”

“Well, I’ll let you on with it this time, but if it’s squishy it’s not frozen.”

I am effusively grateful. “Oh, thank you so much.”

Gaahh! These frozen ice packs just don’t mix well with airport security contractors. I wonder what adventure awaits me on the way home.

Airport Security

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This is what happened to me on the way home from Florida Monday:

 
I put my suitcase, my backpack, a tray containing my computer and the liquids baggy, and a tray containing my shoes and my dinner onto the belt and stepped through the personal scanning device, which I passed with no problem. As I went to wait for my stuff, the security guy asked me the dreaded question: “Is this your bag?” It was indeed my suitcase. My suitcase crammed full to bursting not only with everything I wanted to take for a week and a half in Florida but also several layers of sweaters, vests, and a jacket for arrival in chilly Massachusetts. “We’d like to just take a look inside,” he said. 
 
I got my shoes on and my backpack repacked with all the other stuff, and watched as the security guy undid the zipper of my suitcase. He undid the bands that keep my clothes folded neatly and began folding them all back to one side as he dug down toward the bottom.
 
I absolutely could not imagine what he might have seen in there, so I asked, “What are you looking for?”
 
He was vague, but asked if maybe I had a pack of spare batteries. Okay, batteries. “I have an iPod and a couple of spare batteries for it.” He dug that out and put it aside. 
 
“I also have a tape player, and there’s a couple of spare batteries for that, too.” That was in the other side of the suitcase, so after more rummaging around through all the clothes piled on top (further unfolding things, though he was very polite and did try hard not to) he pulled out the running belt with the tape player and spare batteries and put that aside. 
 
Then he found my night table kit, which, it turns out has in it a flashlight, along with (you guessed it) a couple of spare batteries. More rummaging, and he brought out my medicine/toiletries kit. Nope, no batteries there, but he added it to the growing pile beside the suitcase. Then he found the little box that had a little folding booklight in it. I’d forgotten about that, and it has, in fact, a very weird little battery. He added it to the pile. 
 
“We’re just going to run this through again,” said the security man, taking my suitcase minus the pile of suspicious objects and minus also a couple of books that had fallen out. 
 
And I’m thinking, thank heavens I allowed some extra time at the airport! (Yes, thanks, Mom; that came in handy!)
 
The security man returned shortly with my suitcase and announced, “Those weren’t it.” He began digging all the way to the bottom, and now I knew I was never going to get it all back together again. 
 
In a few moments, he pulled out a flat cardboard box (maybe only 3/4″ high by 4″ wide by 10″ long). “What’s this?” he asked.
 
What that was, was a set of twelve lovely antique crystal knife rests from Austria, a part of a place setting for a formal dinner in a bygone elegant era. They were a gift from a friend of my mother’s. “They’re crystal,” I told the security guy as he cautiously opened the box. 
 
He laughed, his relief evident. “Oh, crystal!” he said. “You know, that scans black.” And I thought, Like metal. Like batteries. Like explosives.
 
I guess it really *is* LEAD crystal!
 
So be warned, if you ever happened to be carrying any crystal through the airport, take it out of your bag in advance. I never did get all that stuff back into the suitcase right.