Flight Travel FYI

[erparamedic]

This morning my parents left for a dive vacation in Roatan. They flew out of Indianapolis.... and just called me from Atlanta.... where they will be catching a connecting flight.

Mom says, that they almost didn't get to leave Indy!! When the luggage AND carry-onse were inspected.... they came back positive for EXPLOSIVES!!! :11: They were held for over 30 minutes and questioned while their luggage and carry-on was repeatedly tested, and repeately shown positive for explosives!!

It was determined that the cleaner that they use for their gear contains silicone and glycerin. It left enough residue on the gear that it was detected by the airline security. So... moral of the story... be sure to arrive PLENTY early for your flights, cause if your gear cleaner leaves a residue, you may be held for questioning before being allowed on the flight.

I don't know the name of the cleaner that they use... as they didn't actually have the bottle with them, and they don't remember the name of it. Anyway... I found that info interesting, and thought I'd pass it along.

All is well... and they should be in Roatan, basking in the sun and diving to their hearts content by later this afternoon.

 

[*Floater*]

I also flew recently and they were doing "random" bag searches on people waiting at the gate (US Airways) so don't go to the gate until boarding time unless you want to be searched. But they were also doing random(?) searches on people boarding the plane so waiting until boarding may not help either.

In addition, they were very strict about luggage weight limits. Usually most airlines I've used haven't cared about 5 lbs here or there, but with US Airways I had to repack (re-distribute) weight within my suitcases both times.

 

[REII]

I love it. Terrorists are ok, but god forbid a diver gets on a plane...

TOM

 

[erparamedic]

No kidding... I talked to mom again, before she and dad took off from Atlants... and I miscommunicated something in the initial post... It was just their carry-on luggage that was with them.... their other luggage had already been checked in for the plane.

Mom mentioned the regs in particular... that the screeners kept going back to them and testing them.... and they kept turning up positive. They questioned dad about his line of work... then they let them go... again, determining that the gear cleaner contained the silicone and glycerin... explosive in nature.

Unbelievable!!

 

[knotical]

My luggage checked positive for explosives once, apparently because it was brand new. According to the TSA folks, some residual chemicals from the manufacturing process can trigger it. Fortunately, they were knowledgeable and simply did a more thorough search than usual, at the same time explaining what and why. The same bag has caused me no problem since.

 

[rjsimp]

On our trip to Grand Cayman over Labor Day weekend, my pelican case which has my camera housing and gear in it came through with a "BSD - Alerted" sticker on the outside. Something I never had seen before, but looks like a "Bomb Sniffing Dog" maybe smelled something on my case.

There was dog hair all over inside the case, so I am sure they let the dog go sniffing through my gear. Nothing like removing dog hair from all your o-rings and gear before diving.. :shakehead

There must be something (in this case the silicone maybe) that they are triggering off of.

 

[erparamedic]

I wonder if their other gear made it thru intact then.... Of course, they're in Roatan now, so I won't be talking to them till they are back in the states, but they might have had their other luggage opened to... as all their gear is cleaned with the same stuff. I would imagine if the carry-ons set off the security checks, then the other bigger cases would probably do the same. I hope they have all their stuff... and nothing is missing. That would be BAD!

 

[Damselfish]

My husband once spread some grass seed with fertilizer on a bare spot on the lawn then handled his laptop before leaving on a business trip. Had a heck of a time getting through security, and that was pre 9/11.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

In addition, they were very strict about luggage weight limits. Usually most airlines I've used haven't cared about 5 lbs here or there, but with US Airways I had to repack (re-distribute) weight within my suitcases both times.

It's not just USAirways. Airtran, Spirit & Southwest haven't been letting people slide either......

 

[tstormdiver]

This morning my parents left for a dive vacation in Roatan. They flew out of Indianapolis.... and just called me from Atlanta.... where they will be catching a connecting flight.

Mom says, that they almost didn't get to leave Indy!! When the luggage AND carry-onse were inspected.... they came back positive for EXPLOSIVES!!! :11: They were held for over 30 minutes and questioned while their luggage and carry-on was repeatedly tested, and repeately shown positive for explosives!!

It was determined that the cleaner that they use for their gear contains silicone and glycerin. It left enough residue on the gear that it was detected by the airline security. So... moral of the story... be sure to arrive PLENTY early for your flights, cause if your gear cleaner leaves a residue, you may be held for questioning before being allowed on the flight.

I don't know the name of the cleaner that they use... as they didn't actually have the bottle with them, and they don't remember the name of it. Anyway... I found that info interesting, and thought I'd pass it along.

All is well... and they should be in Roatan, basking in the sun and diving to their hearts content by later this afternoon.

I had the same thing happen last week, flying out of Evansville, In to the Bahamas. It was found on my big dive bag. I take this bag with me to the quarries for diving. The only thing I could guess in my case, was that a lot of the quarries use explosives to mine the rocks & that the residue is stll in the ground & possibly the water. Once I explained the situation the security screener seemed to relax & we even joked about it a bit. What should have been a 2- 3 min. search took 20 min. & held a lot of people up:blush: .