Perhaps one of you could enlighten me to the rationale of the situation I found myself in today. Or maybe you’ll share my frustration and empathize. Here’s the deal.
I had to leave my annual river trip to be driven to Fresno so I could fly to Arizona. Having been on the river trip, I had one suitcase packed for that trip and another packed to take with me to Arizona.
So far so good.
But the toiletries I needed were to be transferred from one bag to another.
That right there is where my troubles began.
I was dropped off at the airport and decided to carry on my bag since it was small enough to save time upon arriving in Arizona.
Good thought? I thought it was.
I got in line to check in, and noticed that everyone in line was to board my flight. About half checked their bags, for which they were charged. I, along with the other half, opted to carry on.
After getting my boarding pass, I made my way to security check where I knew I’d have to remove all liquids and have all my items scanned.
No problem. Or so I thought.
FAA security requires that all liquids be place in containers not measuring more than three ounces. I’d done that. They also state, though rarely enforce, that all those containers must fit in a one-quart zipped baggie.
I knew I might have trouble with this should they opt to enforce it. But, seeing as I travel all over the world and have only had this rule enacted a few times, I thought I’d take my chances since I only had a couple of containers that wouldn’t fit in a one-quart baggie.
But this was Fresno airport where apparently they are adamant about the one-quart bag rule. The extra containers I had were of natural pain relieving remedies that I’d transferred into those three-ounce containers for my lower back.
The oh-so-helpful TSA individual pointed out that had I left the remedies in their original containers, regardless of their size, and I’d had a doctor’s note, then I could have brought them without them needing to fit in that quart baggie.
What?! I could have sworn that we are ordered to transfer all liquids, lotions and creams into containers measuring no larger than three ounces. Hmmm….
Since the TSA person was trying to be nice, he crammed as many of my three-ounce containers in the baggie without being able to close the top. And then I had to choose which items to leave behind.
Special! That’s always so much fun, especially seeing how most of my items can’t be purchased just anywhere. What joy!
I finally made it through the security checkpoint, carrying a few less things than I’d entered with.
Hope I don’t need those abandoned items.
By the time I made it to my gate, the plane was already boarding. I handed my ticket to the agent who smiled when she handed me back its stub along with a nifty little yellow ticket.
Hmmm…this looks suspiciously like a paper luggage tag.
I asked the woman what the yellow tag was, despite being fairly sure I knew. She seemed to delight in telling me that it was for my carryon. That, I” could simply leave it at the end of the ramp, and they’d check it for me, since carry-ons wouldn’t fit in the overhead compartments because the place was too small.”
Holy shit and OMG! Is she kidding?
I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing her, trying to figure if she was serious or not. She smiled even more broadly and waved me on as thoughts rapid-fired their way through my mind.
If the plane was too small to handle carryon bags in the micro overhead compartments, then why the hell didn’t the attendant mention that when I checked in? He could have spared me the whole having to discard items at the security checkpoint. And why was I allowed to “carry on” my bag, while others were charged to check theirs, when ultimately, all our bags had to be checked?
Good lord! Why, why, why are the airlines sooooo disorganized? And why have I never heard the regulation about non-prescription remedies being allowed as carry-ons, no matter the size of their original container, as long as a doctor’s note accompanies them? And why, if the airlines know the plane is too small to accommodate 99.9% of carry-ons in their overhead compartments, do they allow folks to check in and go to the security checkpoint with the full intent of carrying on those bags? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just have the folks check the bags to begin with?
Oh, wait, we’re talking airline companies, here. The ones who have all sorts of wonderful concepts that the FAA forces upon them, thus us, which time and time again prove ineffective at stopping the ones they’re intending to, only serving to slow down and inconvenience the rest of us.
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