FAA - Safety, will it cause the aircraft to go down?
TSA - Security, can it be used as a weapon or bomb?
Airline Policy - Does it pose a HAZMAT threat?
The FAA puts regulations (laws) in place, which are called Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's). These are based on data gathered in accident investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The FAA used to be the sole federal entity responsible for aviation security as well. The FAA used to set the security protocols and guidelines, and then approve private sector security firms to carry out the actual operations. After 9/11, congress determined that this process was not enough. Under the Department of Homeland Security, they bundled Customs, Immigration, Border Patrol, and many other related departments focused on protecting US citizens from external threats. They also formed the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to provide security for air operations in and out of the country. Their hot points change as intelligence dictates to respond to new threats.
The FAA still governs airline operations, which also include crew, passengers, and cargo. They dictate what an airline can and cant do, all regarding safety, like how a crew operates a plane and their procedures and protocols for handling certain situations. This includes transportation of hazardous materials, carry-on or checked, onboard passenger carrying aircraft.
Airline policy starts with the foundation of rules set forth by the FAA and TSA, but is not limited to them. All airlines implement much stricter guidelines than required by either of these agencies. This also includes the transportation of HAZMAT aboard passenger carrying aircraft.
For instance, the FAA may say that transporting an empty gas cylinder is ok, as long as it is packaged and stored properly in compliance with HAZMAT rules. The TSA may say that you cant take it through security, as it could be reassembled on the other side and used as a weapon or bomb, but you may check it as baggage in compliance with the FAA and airline policies. The airline may say that they will only accept these cylinders as checked baggage if they are used for life support for the person traveling in relation to medical reasons. Under this scenario, the airline says yes to check it, the FAA says yes to check it, and the TSA says yes to check it.
Most airlines used to allow this. Now they are starting to decline this type of cargo on passenger aircraft. Many airlines will no longer let you check HAZMAT because it is too difficult for them to be guaranteed that the packaging and labeling was done correctly. You can still ship this via cargo only aircraft though.
Youll ask, what about having the valve off the tank? They cannot be certain what you had stored in the cylinder and whether it possesses any residual harmful material. So, they say no. Before TSA and heightened security, you could do this and only a very few even wanted to mess with it. Now that they say no, everyone is up in arms.
It is a combination of aircraft accidents and incidents caused by HAZMAT, heightened security risks and threats, and tighter airline policies due to controlling costs that have led to these bans. You may not think that flying is any more secure, but you are wrong. For every one piece of contraband that gets through security today, 100 got through pre-9/11 and 1000 are caught and stopped from getting on board. If the increased hassle or inconvenience keeps one more aircraft from being used as a weapon, then I think we can all live with it. Try flying in and out of Israel, and ask yourself if we have it bad.
Our government agencies and airlines have a tough job to do. You may not agree with everything they do, but know that it is being done with the best intentions in mind, yours.
