Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Air Travel Conspiracy

I'm convinced it's a conspiracy of some sort.

The TSA rules specifically state that liquids and gels carried onboard an airplane be limited to 3 oz. containers.

John is flying every week these days and checking baggage is not an expedient option. We went shopping to buy him the necessary gels and liquids in the appropriate size containers so he can just carry-on his small bag for these two and three day trips.

I promise you that saline solution for contact lens wearers comes in two small sizes: a.) a 2 oz. bottle packaged with a contact lens case and b.) a 4 oz. bottle.

It also so happens that the 4 oz. bottle says, right there on the packaging: "travel size" complete with a picture of an airplane. This type of false advertising should not be legal.

If we continue buying the 2 oz. regulation size saline solution bottles, we will have more contact lens cases than we know what to do with. (As it is I think we have an entire drawer full of them already.) To add insult to injury, the 2 oz. package is almost twice as much as the 4 oz. bottle! Granted, it does come with a case (THAT I DON'T WANT).

My husband decided he wanted to buy one 4 oz. bottle to use as an experiment. Will the security people even notice that this bottle is 1 ounce larger than regulations permit?

I did some further research on TSA's website and discovered that saline solution counts as a "medically necessary liquid", meaning any size can be brought onboard as long as it is in a separate bag and it is handed over and shown to the security person on duty to visually inspect and approve.

My husband wasn't thrilled with this option since he gets to the airport just in time to go through security and board his plane...no time for extra shenanigans with the security people.

How hard would it be to produce 3 oz. bottles of saline solution?

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