Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the 2006 terrorist plot referenced in this article was caught before it was carried out. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the plotters had smuggled liquid explosives aboard aircraft.
Knives. Snow globes. Blender blades.
Just three items that officials with the Kelowna International Airport (YLW) and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) are reminding air passengers that they can’t carry on to planes with them.
It’s a warning that comes as hundreds more people are set to fly out of the Kelowna airport by this weekend.
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Lines at the airport are expected to be longer as Okanagan school districts close down for spring break next week.
So it’s a perfect time to remind people what constitutes a prohibited item for carry-on — and to let passengers know that trying to skirt around the rules will just slow down the screening process.
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The airport displayed a table full of knifes, tools and other items all found on Kelowna passengers or in their carry-on baggage in just the last week on Thursday.
“Every time screening officers see an item like that in a passenger’s pocket or passengers’ bags it leads to an additional search of the bag,” CATSA spokesperson Mathieu Larocque said.
“Most of these have blades: box cutters, knives, multi-tool knives,” he added.
Passengers are allowed to bring jackknives in their checked baggage, but not their carry-on.
Concealed blades, however, like a credit card knife that was found on a Kelowna passenger this week, aren’t allowed on planes at all.
The rules prohibiting blades in your carry-on extends to blenders. One Kelowna passenger found that out the hard way when they had to leave the base of their blender behind.
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Other items Kelowna travelers weren’t allowed to bring with them this week included a hammer, which is not allowed in carry-on baggage, and torch lighters which can’t fly at all.
It’s not just sharp objects that trip travelers up. The liquids, gels and aerosols that were left behind at security by Kelowna passengers in the span of just four and a half hours on Thursday morning were enough to fill another table on their own.
The abandoned property included an entire jar of salsa, water, juice, wine bottles, a snow globe and mayonnaise. All of it had to be left behind by travelers because each item is bigger than the 100 ml allowed in carry-on baggage.
“Anything larger must go in checked baggage,” Larocque said.
The rule limiting the size of liquids in your carry-on was implemented because of a planned terror attack that was thwarted in 2006.
Terrorists planned to travel on planes from London, England to Canada and the United States and use “everyday items” to bring liquid explosives aboard, with a plan to detonate them in the air.
“Luckily the plot was caught before they were able to carry it out but after that incident most countries in the world adopted a rule that limited the amount of liquids, aerosols, and gels or the size of the containers in carry-on baggage,” Larocque explained.
The Kelowna airport is advising passengers to arrive for their flights early and to research carry-on restrictions to make sure their spring break plans take off smoothly.
- With files from Erika Tucker