Liquids fiasco

[tezzer]

I just got back from a trip to the far east, and my youngest asked me to pick up a bottle of a particular perfume, which I did at Bangkok duty free. It was in a sealed bag, with the receipt inside, and I thought no more about it, until of course I got on board for my flight to Schiphol.

Of course, ANY liquids must be in a sealed plastic bag, (it was !) and not more than 100ml (bottle was 50ml). So by word of the rules, it was valid. I have lost bottles of scotch before so knew the rules, a litre being ten times the allowed limit.

So to avoid the bottle being confiscated, I had a couple or 3 choices.

1) Leave it as it was, and hope it salipped through.
2) Buy something in Amsterdam and put it in the SEE BUY FLY carrier bag with my other purchases, and hope they don;t look TOO closely inside
3) Take it out of the bangkok duty free bag, put it in a clear plastic bag, and offer it up as "mine", less than 100ml and in a regulation bag.

Which asction would YOU have taken ?

[Wannabe Flyer]

I am assuming the rules and regulations stipulate # 3

If one was in compliance why would you want to do proceed otherwise?

[tezzer]

Doing so would still contravene the rules, the duty free bag SHOULD remain sealed until the end of the journey, not an intermediate stopover.

[TSR2]

2) Buy something in Amsterdam and put it in the SEE BUY FLY carrier bag with my other purchases, and hope they don;t look TOO closely inside

This option does not seem quite right. Is Duty Free shopping not after security clearance ?

[tezzer]

No, final security clearance (for flights to the UK) is at theentrance to gate D6, just before the boarding area, so you come off a connecting flight onto the shopping plaza, BEFORE security.

[jackieofalltrades]

Having flown through Schiphol many times I've never had problem with duty free (even 1L bottles of Whisky) so long as they were in a sealed plastic bag with the receipt clearly visible. At X-ray the bag is always checked, but so long as it's an official duty free bag and the seal has not been broken they always permit it through security before boarding the plane.

What happened in your case tezzer? You talk about your trip in the past tense and say it as a fiasco, but don't actually say what happened.

[tezzer]

If they are bought in the EU, or on a EU carrier, thats fine, but non EU is a confiscation order.

[Callum Riseley]

I work in securiy at Stansted airport. I'm not quite sure what your question is asking here but so long as the item was purchased ON THE DAY and is in a sealed, see through duty free bag it doesn't matter how big it is, it's fine. However if the item is not in a sealed duty free bag or the bag has been opened or the purchase was EARLIER THAN 24 HOURS AGO then if the item is above 100ml it has to either be checked in as hold luggage or thrown away and if it is below 100ml it has to be put into the standard 20x20 resealable, air tight bag.

[tezzer]

Quote from their current rules and regulations.

Travel starting outside the European Union: according to an EU regulation effective per 29 April 2011, passengers who started their trip outside the European Union and who will transfer at an EU airport may again be permitted to bring with them duty-free liquids and gels bought at non-EU airports. However, the authorities of the Netherlands and some other EU countries will continue to maintain the rule that passengers travelling from non-EU countries are not allowed to bring duty-free liquids and gels with them when transferring at an EU airport.

We therefore strongly advise against buying any duty-free liquids and gels at non-EU airports if you will transfer at an EU airport since liquids and gels might be confiscated upon boarding.
However, you are allowed to bring these liquids on board if the liquids have been purchased at the following airports:

All airports in Canada
All airports in the United States
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Croatia: Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar or Zagreb

[ChicoG]

I got fed up with inconsistent information and inconsistent application of the rules, and if I really want to take something through a stopover, I clear my luggage at the first point of arrival, and then stick the liquids in the suitcase before checking it back in.

It's not as much of an inconvenience as it sounds at some airports.

[Dont Hang Up]

TSR2
Is Duty Free shopping not after security clearance ?

Not always. Brussels Terminal B for example.

I have never been quite sure what prevents a terrorist from taking a litre of liquid through the duty free shop in a pristine gin bottle and getting the kind people at the check-out to put it in a sealed duty free bag complete with receipt.

:rolleyes:

[geertvds]

correct, and...unfortunately, I found this out the hard way.
Travelled home on KLM from Mexico City via Schiphol, and they would not let me pass security in Schiphol with the sealed (and ticketed) litre of alcohol I had purchased in duty free of Mexico. The only solution I had was to buy a 15€ backpack in the schiphol duty free, and check the bottle in as luggage. Obviously, a long layover time here helps...

[jackieofalltrades]

I have never been quite sure what prevents a terrorist from taking a litre of liquid through the duty free shop in a pristine gin bottle and getting the kind people at the check-out to put it in a sealed duty free bag complete with receipt.

Interesting idea, but most explosives will show up in the X-ray scanner. The machines have different settings that indicate to the controller explosives or other "nasties" depending on the wavelength of the X-ray and (I understand) filter used.

[Pontius Navigator]

passengers who started their trip outside the European Union and who will transfer at an EU airport may again be permitted to bring with them duty-free liquids and gels bought at non-EU airports. However, the authorities of the Netherlands and some other EU countries will continue to maintain the rule that passengers travelling from non-EU countries are not allowed to bring duty-free liquids and gels with them when transferring at an EU airport.
. . .
allowed to bring these liquids on board if the liquids have been purchased at the following airports:

All airports in Canada
All airports in the United States
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Croatia: Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar or Zagreb


Looks pretty clear here. Note it is MAY not WILL and clearly a number of EU States do not trust duty-free outlets or security at many other airports.

Only by going the 100ml/clear bag route would you be clear. Don't confuse security rules and customs rules. Duty free wise, you have a receipt for customs.

[SeenItAll]

Bought a bottle of Aquavit at Stavanger (Norway) airport duty-free. Was sealed in clear bag. Arrived (on KLM) in Schiphol to transfer (on KLM) to Washington, DC. Bottle confiscated at Schiphol security before I could board flight to DC. Asked the gents why? Was told that while they could trust Schiphol duty-free, they could not trust non-Schiphol duty-free. I chalked it up to authorities' interest in promoting the commerce of local duty-free shop over distant ones'.

Information provided by tezzer may provide a better clue -- those shifty Norwegians -- so rich with oil they don't want to join the EU. We'll show show them -- dump all of their duty-free into the bin.