Regulations for Traveling with Needles

by Jamie Rhein on

I keep thinking about that syringe/hypodermic needle combo under my 5 year-old’s airplane seat. The one I mentioned in a previous post. Sure, the package was still intact, but whoever used it didn’t listen to the Skybus folks when they said, “Please, hand us any trash so we can throw it out.” And they ask often–so it’s not that the opportunity wasn’t there. I was asked a couple of times if I wanted to throw out my styrofoam tea cup, but since I was in the mood for refills, it took me awhile to give it up.

One of the ways Skybus keeps its costs low is by everybody pitching in to help. If you’re a passenger, part of the courtesy is to help throw out the trash. During our flights to and from Bellingham, the crew went through the cabin several times with garbage bags asking people to pitch in by pitching out. The requests were made with smiles and reminders that one of the ways to keep costs low and the planes running on schedule is if the trash is not left behind when the passengers leave. The planes are not at the gate all that long for a detailed cleaning either. Passengers get off. Passengers get on and the plane heads out once more. It’s a smooth system for the most part–but stuff can be missed.

The syringe packaging and the vial in the seat pocket told me that the person had to have injected him or herself while still seated. The vial was a teeny, tiny thing. So was the one that I found on the floor under the seat. The flight attendant was aghast when I handed everything over and then mentioned that the crew knew a person with diabetes was on board. If people are traveling with hypodermic needles, according to the regulations, they are supposed to let the airlines know and have documentation that says they are to have it. I’ve been interested in the rules about hypodermic needles since there are rules for so many other things. There doesn’t seem to be any other rules posted for what to do with the needles once they are on board and I’ve been looking. I did come across this post about hypodermic needles on a flight to Helsinki and Qantas Airlines has more detailed information.

It would be easy for a hypodermic needle to fall out of a purse or tumble out of a backpack when it’s slid under a seat for take off or landing. And it must be hell to try to do an injection without a lot of leg room, but I sure wish the person had done a quick check before heading off the plane. Then again, it’s easy to leave stuff behind when you’re feeling bleary-eyed and rushed, and without a lot of elbow or leg room for searching for items that may have scattered.

Oh, when our hand cleaner was confiscated at security screening, I asked if I could use another dab. Not that my hands were dirty, but I hate to waste stuff. Nope, that was a little too dangerous. The TSA person said the only way I could use it again was if I passed back through security to the terminal.

New Air Passenger Screening: Round 3

by Catherine Bodry on

The U.S. is finally figuring out how to screen flight passengers without compromising the privacy of its citizens. The Associated Press reports that a “new” and simpler program, called “Secure Flight,” was introduced recently to improve security and keep terrorists off airplanes.

The solution? Passengers must give their full names when booking a flight, whether it be online or by phone. Not only that, but they are also asked to agree to a confirmation of their age and gender in order to reduce the chance of a false match with names on the watch lists.

Hasn’t this always happened? Not only do I give my full name when I book a flight, I also show my i.d. a bazillion times as I check my bags, pass security, and board my flight. But according to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, airlines are passing along their manifests after flights have left, rendering a lot of those i.d.-checking measures a waste of time.

It makes me wonder — if asking for my name, gender, and birth date when I fly is a “new” security tactic, what were the old tactics? If these measures are “simpler,” what other measures will they do away with? With all the flight delays happening, it would be nice not to spend an hour in a security line. But I have little hope of this happening any time soon.

Airport Security, Knife Woes and a Hypodermic Needle

by Jamie Rhein on

When I read about the actor Ed Harris recently throwing a fit in the Heathrow Airport in London because there was a knife in his pocket, I could relate. I almost threw my own fit at the airport in Bellingham, Washington before our Skybus flight. One of my husband’s carry-ons was picked for closer inspection.

Here’s what came out: liquid hand-cleaner, a pair of scissors (we have no idea whose scissors) and a mini-wine tasting kit. The mini-wine tasting kit was still in its packaged box, never opened. It’s one of those gift-items that has a corkscrew, a how to give a wine-tasting party booklet and wine glass charms. Real cute. Perfect for a stocking stuffer. TSA security opened the kit and took the corkscrew. There was a knife attached. I offered to break the knife part off–no sense in leaving behind a perfectly good corkscrew, but she said I would have to go back through security to do that.

The pair of scissors, metal ones and adult size, was allowed. The liquid gel wasn’t given back, but it should have been since it was less than 3 ounces. We couldn’t use it again unless we went back through security. Here’s a list of what is allowed and not allowed on flights if you need a refresher.

While we packed, I forgot to look through my husband’s carry-on. It had been the catch all when we cleaned out the car. Darn it. I would have liked to have kept that corkscrew.

Oh, here’s the irony of all this security checking. I found an unused hypodermic needle and syringe still in the packaging and two empty medicine vials under my 5 year-old son’s seat about halfway through the flight. One of the crew said there had been a diabetic on board on the flight from Columbus. That’s fine, but with all that security, it was an interesting experience to be on the lookout for a used needle when searching for my son’s spilled crayons.

NY Air Travelers Have Rights. Well, Some Anyway …

by Martha Edwards on

I’m sure we’ve all heard of, seen or experienced first hand the horrors of flight delays. Aside from long in-airport delays, I’ve been pretty lucky in that I’ve never had to wait inside a plane for hours without food or water. But others haven’t been so fortunate, like the people on this flight or this one.

But don’t think that the powers that be haven’t noticed how much it can suck being a lowly coach passenger. Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed a ‘passenger’s bill of rights’ which is meant to protect air travellers in New York in case of such delays. According to the bill, New York airlines must provide passengers with food, water, fresh air, power and working bathrooms on any flights that have been sitting on the Tarmac for 3 hours.

Wait a second …. 3 hours? That seems like a bit much … I wonder how Eliot Spitzer would feel about waiting 3 hours to go to the bathroom. An hour sitting in the tarmac is enough to warrant fresh water, food and bathrooms if you ask me.

Airport Security: Once You Go Through, There’s No Turning Back

by Justin Glow on

On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that once a passenger places an item on the x-ray machine’s conveyor belt, or walks through a metal detector, they can not refuse further searching.

According to Christopher Elliot, “The decision involved a Hawaii airline passenger, Daniel Kuualoha Aukai, who was arrested for crystal methamphetamine possession before boarding a scheduled flight to Kona from Honolulu in 2003.”

Mr. Aukai was flagged for not having identification and pulled aside for subsequent searching. He then claimed he was late for his flight (which was true) and left the designated search area bound for the gate. He was stopped, and forced into a search which revealed drug paraphernalia.

In this situation, I think the court’s decision is correct. If you’ve been pulled aside for whatever reason, you can’t just get up and walk out. If you could, the search would be useless, as all those who did not have anything illegal on them would comply, while anyone carrying something illegal would simply walk away. This ruling needs to exist for the searches to do any good.