I just had a razor confiscated

[BBCnorthants]

It was at Miami airport

I'd left my kindle in my carry on (which I thought was ok to do, but apparently not). The TSA guy took my bag to one side to search it, and he found the Mach 3 I'd bought in Walgreens on the way to the airport, still sealed and still in a Walgreens bag, but because it was a "threat to passenger safety", it was confiscated.

[slymyke]

Just as I suspected, Rob.... I knew you were a trouble maker!       

Welcome to USA...lol

[Switchy]

Just as I suspected, Rob.... I knew you were a trouble maker!       

Welcome to USA...lol

So would you like to show us your Mack 10 !  This is a crock and not of pickles.  It is what people call overkill !   

[Gary~]

It was at Miami airport

I'd left my kindle in my carry on (which I thought was ok to do, but apparently not). The TSA guy took my bag to one side to search it, and he found the Mach 3 I'd bought in Walgreens on the way to the airport, still sealed and still in a Walgreens bag, but because it was a "threat to passenger safety", it was confiscated.

I seriously think that Voodoo might have been right on the mark here -- there is no way that they are going to throw away those sealed razors. 'Threat to passenger safety' is a euphemism for 'I'll find that useful thank you very much'. I bet they talk about all the non-dangerous stuff they have confiscated during their coffee breaks and have a good laugh.

I'd have to draw the line at letting them take an i-Pad or some such thing though.

[BBCnorthants]

well I couldnt argue with him, I was going to miss my flight. I was annoyed though, I cant see how something like that could be a threat to anyone or anything except maybe my own scalp.

[Gary~]

well I couldnt argue with him, I was going to miss my flight. I was annoyed though, I cant see how something like that could be a threat to anyone or anything except maybe my own scalp.

Especially annoying because if you check the link that Tyler provided [ http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items ] it says 'disposable razors and their cartridges are permitted'.

[Beardman]

Oh well, in future you now know that you are permitted to carry them, so you can call him out on it, if it happens again and hopefully you'll catch him with his pants down and he'll just let you go to avoid embarrassment.

[Gary~]

I have been thinking about how this could happen and it is now crystal clear to me that the razors were confiscated because of BBCnorthants's shifty look.

If you look carefully and deeply at his picture it is not hard to imagine him holding one of those razors to an aircraft attendant's head and shouting:

"Turn this plane towards Cuba or I'll shave her head -- I'm not kidding I'll do it?"

Or perhaps
"Turn this plane towards Cuba or I'll give the captain and co-pilot a very nasty shaving nick?"
Can't be too careful.

[Slyfive]

I sure do love your stories!

[BBCnorthants]

Well nobody could ever accuse me of looking like a choir boy. Or acting like one 

[mrzed]

well I couldnt argue with him, I was going to miss my flight. I was annoyed though, I cant see how something like that could be a threat to anyone or anything except maybe my own scalp.

My wife had a new bottle of hand cream (expensive stuff) in her handbag when going through security. They confiscated it. Hand cream was a threat to the passengers. Might explode.

And on another flight, they took my jar of peanut butter!  It's a liquid they said!

[Blitzed]

All of this depends on your level of concern and your reasons to have concerns. 40 years ago we routinely had boarding passengers remove their bayonet lenses from cameras, politely "held" straight razors until the passenger reached their destination and, of course, all fire arms-save Elephant guns which were checked separately-were surrendered to security-and again returned at the destination. This was Jan Smuts in Johannesburg and, of course, the airline was South African.

That said, people have little to no idea what passengers feel is "perfectly alright" to bring with them as it's their personal property. One late night on a PanAm flight from Sao Paulo to New York screaming suddenly erupted in First Class when a "pet" Boa Constrictor unwound itself from its owner and slithered along the heat vents to get warm. Beyond safety considerations, there are extreme health risks and not just to humans. There is a green tree viper that has decimated the bird population of Guam and is just one unguarded pallet from Honolulu. The few birds that could be caught were moved to Saipan but only a few species even survive. I will understand a certain level of outrage and security but we brought this on ourselves by having no consideration for others and assuming an "exception" would be made for whoever wanted one.

[BBCnorthants]

Yeah but with a good enough aim, someone can still stab a crew member in the eyeball with a ballpoint pen, or grab a wine bottle from a passing food trolley, smash it and stab a flight attendant or a passenger in the neck.

I dont really see how a safety razor can be considered a threat to public safety.

If I was a madman planning to bring a plane down, or to cause mayhem on a flight, I doubt I'd try to do it with a Mach 3.

In addition, from this layman's point of view, several years after 9/11, its probably about time airports around the world started to sync their security efforts. Whats ok at one airport isnt ok at another, and its no passengers get confused and why queues at security checkpoints are horrendous.

I flew from Massachusetts to North Carolina a few weeks ago. It was ok to leave my laptop in its case to go through the security check, as long as the case snugly fitted the laptop, but that wasnt ok yesterday at Miami. The laptop had to be removed from its case.

[Sir Harry]

Wow, Rob, tough break man. What I find highly amusing is that when I returned to Iraq after my 15 day leave back in Summer of 2010, I had a five pack of Fromm Straight Razors......TSA seemed more interested in the Bump Stopper I had in my carry on Alice Pack than the razors. I was asked did I have a prescription for the Bump Stopper and I said, it's not required. I was in uniform and they let me go. But to be safe, on the return trip, I packed the straight razors in the duffel bag and locked it. I guess I got off so easy because it was a fairly slow day at the airport, or the guy just plain slipped up that day....

[BBCnorthants]

The rules are very confusing, and they seem to change from day to day, and from airport to airport.

No big deal though, I bought another Mach 3 this morning