Passengers Cope With New Restrictions At Pearson
Posted August 11, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Put the lotion in the basket. It used to be a famous quote from the movie “The Silence of the Lambs”. But passengers at Pearson International Airport never thought it would become a rule they had to follow before they could get on a flight.
On the day after the British terror threat caused a sudden flurry of changes at Canada’s busiest terminals, there were fewer delays, shorter lines and most people had heeded the word about the new carry-on restrictions.
An alleged plot by U.K. terrorists to blow up as many as 10 planes using a liquid explosive caused a ban on items that seemed so innocent earlier this week. Passengers can no longer take bottled water, perfume, toothpaste, suntan lotion or anything in a liquid or gel form aboard a plane in Canada.
And while you’re not likely to be packing any of these, the Canadian government has also responded to the crisis by imposing tight restrictions on nine chemicals that could be used to make bombs.
“I have no concerns travelling,” assures Lucie Nadon. “I know everything will work out. I’m just finding it inconvenient that we have to, like, put our purse and all that stuff in the luggage, but that’s basically it. I’m good.”
But while everyone understands the danger, many think the new restrictions go too far.
“They want everything just in transparent plastic for clarity and there’s nothing in there, just ticket, passport, money, my book and that’s all,” puzzles Paul Weiss on his way to London.
Most travellers also got the word about getting there early.
“We showed up about three hours before our flight,” confirms Jim Fusco, who’s heading to the U.S. “We’re scheduled to take off about three hours from now, and obviously the lines are much shorter than we expected, so it looks like we won’t have much of a delay.”
“I’m going to Europe, to Germany, actually to Munich and I’m going over through Boston,” Josip Basar relates. “And I show up four hours earlier just to be sure that everything’s going to be on time.”
One man was so spooked by the urgent appeals to not be tardy he arrived five hours before his flight to England, just to be sure.
The government denies the new rules are slowing things down, insisting they add ten minutes to a traveller’s stopover at most. And that seemed to be true – Pearson was busy but not crowded on Friday, as travellers arrived to catch their flights.
“It is empty,” marveled one flyer. “I’m surprised.”
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority claims there’s no reason for anyone to fear major delays, despite the extra scrutiny. “The bottom line is if we have a doubt, we hand search every single piece of luggage,” defends C.A.T.S.A.’s Jacques Duchesneau.
It’s not known how long the restrictions might last, but some experts believe they could be made permanent.
Airport spokespeople are hinting as much.
“The official Transport Canada directive that came out yesterday morning…was 72 hours so that takes us into Sunday morning,” explains Scott Anderson of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. “But we’ve also been advised that we should consider them in place until further notice.”
New Items Banned On Carry-On Luggage In Canadian Airports
Bottled Water,
Soft Drinks or any beverage (including juice),
Toothpaste,
Suntan lotion,
Perfume,
Hair Gel,
Creams,
Anything liquid,
Any products that are in gel or aerosol form.
Mothers can bring formula, breast milk or juice if they have a baby with them.
Prescription medicine will be allowed, but only if the name on the bottle matches the name on the airline ticket. Most non-prescription medications are also O.K.
Here’s what else you can’t take onboard an airplane in this country.
| Permitted & Non-Permitted Items |
Carry On
|
Checked
|
| KNIVES | ||
| Belt Buckle knives (Constant Companion) |
No
|
No
|
| Butterfly knives |
No
|
No
|
| Comb knives |
No
|
No
|
| Concealed knives of any length |
No
|
No
|
| Lipstick knives |
No
|
No
|
| Pen knives |
No
|
No
|
| Push daggers |
No
|
No
|
| Swichblade knives |
No
|
No
|
| Throwing knives |
No
|
No
|
| Hunting knives |
No
|
Yes
|
| Jacknife (e.g. Swiss army knife) |
No
|
Yes
|
| INCAPACITATING SPRAYS, LIQUIDS OR POWDERS | ||
| Mace |
No
|
No
|
| Pepper spray (including bear and dog sprays) |
No
|
No
|
| Tear gas |
No
|
No
|
| MARTIAL ARTS WEAPONS | ||
| Billy clubs and blackjacks |
No
|
Yes
|
| Bladed or spiked finger rings |
No
|
No
|
| Brass knuckles |
No
|
No
|
| Spiked collars or wristbands or any similar device |
No
|
No
|
| Kiyoga (steel) batons |
No
|
No
|
| Kubasuant (with knife blades) |
No
|
No
|
| Kubatons |
No
|
No
|
| Kusari (handgrip and chain) |
No
|
No
|
| Morning stars |
No
|
No
|
| Numchucks |
No
|
No
|
| Nunchaku sticks |
No
|
No
|
| Shuriken |
No
|
No
|
| Throwing stars |
No
|
No
|
| Yaqua Blowguns |
No
|
No
|
| OTHER WEAPONS | ||
| Arrows and darts used in crossbows |
No
|
No
|
| Blowguns |
No
|
No
|
| Crossbows (length not exceeding 500 mm) |
No
|
No
|
| Electric stun guns (except medical defibrillators) |
No
|
No
|
| Catapults |
No
|
No*
|
| Kubasuant (without knife blade) |
No
|
No*
|
| Pick-in-handle umbrellas |
No
|
No*
|
| Slingshots |
No
|
No*
|
| Sword canes |
No
|
No*
|
| * May be permitted in checked bags if approved by air carrier | ||
| EXPLOSIVES AND IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES | ||
| Fake ammunition including belts made with fake bullets and bullet key chains |
No
|
Yes
|
| Black and smokeless powders |
No
|
No
|
| Bombs (pipe, mortar, etc.) including replicas |
No
|
No
|
| Detonators (electric and non-electric) |
No
|
No
|
| Distress flares |
No
|
No
|
| Dynamite |
No
|
No
|
| Fireworks |
No
|
No
|
| Hand grenades (including replicas) |
No
|
No
|
| Molotov cocktails |
No
|
No
|
| Nitroglycerin |
No
|
No
|
| Plastic explosives (C4, SEMTEX, TNT, sheet explosives, etc.) |
No
|
No
|
| SPORTING GOODS | ||
| Arrows and darts for archery (sport use) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Billiard cues |
No
|
Yes
|
| Bolt cutters |
No
|
Yes
|
| Bowling balls |
No
|
Yes
|
| Golf clubs |
No
|
Yes
|
| Hockey sticks |
No
|
Yes
|
| Hunting knives |
No
|
Yes
|
| Ice axes |
No
|
Yes
|
| Ice picks |
No
|
Yes
|
| Ice skates |
No
|
Yes
|
| Lacrosse sticks |
No
|
Yes
|
| Lawn darts |
No
|
Yes
|
| Sabers |
No
|
Yes
|
| SCUBA knives |
No
|
Yes
|
| Ski poles |
No
|
Yes
|
| Sport bats (such as baseball and cricket bats) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Swords |
No
|
Yes
|
| Fishing poles (no hooks) |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
| Parachute |
Yes
|
Yes*
|
| Skateboards |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
| Sports raquets |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
| Miniature sports equipment |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
| Whips |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
| * Air carriers may permit provided certain conditions are met | ||
| DANGEROUS ARTICLES / SHARP OBJECTS | ||
| Axes |
No
|
Yes
|
| Belt buckles shaped like a gun and any similar items |
No
|
Yes
|
| Box cutters |
No
|
Yes
|
| Cigar cutters without removable blades |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Corkscrews, other than those with attached knives |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Cutting instruments (e.g. paring knives) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Cuticle cutters |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Disposable razors |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Digital meat thermometer |
No
|
Yes
|
| Hatchets |
No
|
Yes
|
| Items that look like weapons (e.g. perfume bottles shaped like a grenade) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Kitchen forks (plastic and metal) |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Knitting needles |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Laser pointers |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Meat cleavers |
No
|
Yes
|
| Nail clippers |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Nail files (of all types) |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Pins for attaching all medals and pins on broches |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Penetrating objects (including scissors with pointed tips) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Razor blades (not in a cartridge) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Razor blades cartridges |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Restraining devices (including handcuffs or other devices used by air carrier crew or police officers) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Sewing kits containing small sewing needles |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Straight razors (including cigar cutters that when pulled apart have an exposed blade) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, drills, saws, crow bars and heavy tools Note: Tool boxes containing dangerous goods such as explosives (power rivets), compressed gas or aerosols, flammable gases (butane cylinders or torches), flammable adhesives or paints, corrosive liquids, ets.) are not permitted to be trasported in passenger’s carry-on or checked baggage. |
No
|
Yes
|
| Toy transformer robots in the form of a firearm |
No
|
Yes
|
| Toy weapons (e.g. water gun, squirt gun, toy grenade) |
No
|
Yes
|
| Tweezers |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Heat producing articles | ||
|
Underwater torches |
Yes*
|
No
|
|
Soldering irons |
Yes*
|
No
|
| Oxygen generators |
No
|
No
|
| * Air carriers may permit provided certain conditions are met | ||
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Lighters and matches | ||
| Lighter fuel and refills |
No
|
No
|
| Lighters shaped like guns or grenades |
No
|
No
|
| Strike anywhere matches |
No
|
No
|
| One lighter intended for personal use and not containing unabsorbed liquid fuel when carried on the person (e.g. in pocket or purse), except at PBS checkpoints where US pre-clearance is in place |
Yes
|
No*
|
| One book of safety matches intended for personal use when carried on the person (e.g. in pocket or purse) |
Yes
|
No
|
| * Including Zippo | ||
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Flammables | ||
|
Flammable aerosols that are not toiletry items (e.g. static guard, aerosol laundry starch) |
No
|
No
|
| Gas refills |
No
|
No
|
| Gas torches |
No
|
No
|
| Insecticides (except those to be used by crew members for disinfection purposes) |
No
|
No
|
| Liquids marked as flammable (e.g. gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid and turpentine) |
No
|
No
|
|
Paint (including enamel, lacquer, liquid filler, paint thinner, stain, shellac, varnish and liquid lacquer base, solvent-based paint, spray paint) |
No
|
No
|
| Quick Lighting Charcoal Tablets |
No
|
No
|
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Medical Items | ||
| Oxygen cylinders, including chemical oxygen generators and liquid oxygen |
No
|
No
|
|
Small gaseous oxygen or air cylinders for medical use |
Yes*
|
Yes
|
|
Medical kits carried by health care professionals if the medical kit does not include sharp or cutting instruments and if the name and medical license of the health care professional or his or her name and company identification are provided |
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Syringes, hypodermic needles and biojectors for personal medical use, if the needle guard is in place, and the person possesses medication that is to be administered by means of the syringe or needle and biojectors, and if that is in a container that bears the name of the medication and the name of either the pharmacy that dispensed the medication or the manufacturer of the medication |
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Batteries: Wheelchairs and other battery-powered mobility aids (personal) |
No
|
Yes*
|
|
Medical or clinical thermometer (one small medical or clinical thermometer that contains mercury, for personal use, when in a protective case) |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Small cylinders of a gas of Division 2.2 of TDG Act (Transport Dangerous Goods), (e.g. carbon dioxide, azote, compressed air, etc.) worn for the operation of mechanical limbs and spare cylinders of similar size required to ensure an adequate supply during travel |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| * Air carriers may permit provided certain conditions are met | ||
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Sporting goods | ||
|
Equipment designed to contain a flammable liquid and containing dangerous goods (e.g. camping stoves and canisters) |
No
|
No
|
| Paintball gun |
No
|
Yes**
|
| Scuba tanks |
No
|
Yes**
|
| Carbon dioxide (CO 2) cylinders or cartridges (except those required for medical purposes; those to be used for aircraft maintenance or for aerodrome maintenance or construction; or those used for self-inflating life-jackets) |
No
|
No
|
|
CO 2 cylinders for self-inflating life-jacket |
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
|
* Air carriers may permit provided certain conditions are met |
||
| OTHER DANGEROUS GOODS | ||
|
Consumer electronic devices containing lithium or lithium cells or batteries when carried for personal use (e.g. laptop, cellular phone, camcorder) |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Spare batteries for consumer electronic devices containing lithium or lithium cells or batteries when carried for personal use. They must be individually protected and each spare battery must not exceed: – for lithium metal or lithium alloy batteries, a lithium content of not more than 2 grams; or – for lithium ion batteries, an aggregate equivalent lithium content of not more than 8 grams. |
Yes
|
No
|
| Fire extinguishers |
No
|
No
|
|
Mercury barometers or thermometers carried by a representative from government weather bureau or similar official agency |
Yes*
|
No
|
| Dry ice not exceeding 2 kg per person used for packaging perishables |
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
| Caustic materials such as liquid bleach and chlorine |
No
|
No
|
| One gas-operated hair curler per person provided that the safety cover is securely fitted over the heating element. Gas refills for such curlers are prohibited |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| * Air carriers may permit provided certain conditions are met | ||
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Aerosols | ||
|
Non-flammable, non-poisonous aerosols for sporting and home use (e.g. Reddi Whip) |
No
|
Yes
|
| DANGEROUS GOODS – Toiletries / personal items | ||
|
Insect repellent, limit of one canister of aerosol |
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Non-radioactive medicinal or toilet articles for personal use, nail polish remover, hair spray |
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
Perfume, cologne, and medicine containing alcohol including rubbing alcohol |
Yes
|
Yes
|
|
3% hydrogen peroxide found in drug stores to clean cuts |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| 4.5 CONTRABAND | ||
|
Intoxicants |
No
|
No
|
| Money |
No
|
No
|
In addition to the above, no weapons, firearms or cartridges are allowed in any carry-on bags. In some cases, they may be stored in luggage with the prior approval of the carrier.
Courtesy: Transport Canada
If you’re heading to the U.S. or Britain, things get even more confusing. Some places allow you to take one thing while others don’t.
Here’s a look at the differences.
Carry-on bags
Allowed in U.S. but not on British Airways planes.
Baby Formula/Milk
U.S. officials may ask to examine it. British officials will demand you taste it in front of them.
Electronic devices
No laptops, iPods or cell phones allowed in the passenger cabins on any flight from Britain and on British Airways flights from the U.S. to the U.K. You can take a crossword puzzle that fits into your pocket, along with a pencil or pen – but not a newspaper.
But all those items are allowed if you’re flying on an American carrier in the U.S.
British Airways Restrictions
BA has also issued a list of items that can be taken and a few that can’t. They include:
Acceptable:
- Pocket-size wallets and pocket-size purses, such as money, credit cards and identity cards
- Travel documents essential for the journey such as passports and tickets
- Prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (for example, a diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic
- Spectacles and sunglasses, without cases
- Contact lens holders, without bottles of solution
- Female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed, including tampons, pads, towels and wipes
- Unboxed tissues and handkerchiefs
- Keys, but no electrical key fobs.
- Baby food and milk, but the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger
- Sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, such as diapers, wipes, creams and diaper disposal bags.
Not acceptable
- Handbags
- Cosmetics, including lipstick
- All electronic items
- Newspapers (British Airways has them on board for passengers)
