Contact lense solutions - allowed or not ?

Does anyone know the story (re: taking them on a flight) with the storage containers for lenses ?

I am going for a short trip and would normally wear lenses, with my container in my carry on in case I need to take the lenses out. I understand that the big bottles of solition won't be allowed on, but does this restriction go all the way down to the few CCs of solution in the container ?

If it does, then it looks like there will be a thriving business in airport arrival halls for people selling little mini-toothpaste, mini-lense solutions, mini-shampoos, etc . . .

z

Where are you flying from/to? If you are not travelling from/to/via the UK/US then I don't think that any new security/baggage restrictions apply. If you are then I think that contact lens cases with a small amount of solution are allowed but I'm not 100% certain. I presume the relevant UK/US airport/security authority websites have the specific details.

I am monitoring this closely. I suffer from dry eye so have to have eye drops with me on any flight... Usually they're non-prescription but it looks like I will have to get them as prescription medecines to beat the security measures.

From the BAA website here are their latest guidelines.

10 August 2006
Alert at UK Airports
Following this morning's police operation, the Department for Transport has asked all UK airports to apply additional security measures designed to ensure passenger safety.

Hand baggage restrictions:
These measures will prevent passengers from carrying hand luggage into the cabin of an aircraft with the following excepts (which must be placed in a plastic bag):

pocket size wallets and pocket size purses plus contents (for example money, credit cards, identity cards etc (not handbags));
travel documents essential for the journey (for example passports and travel tickets);
prescription medicines and medical items sufficient and essential for the flight (e.g. diabetic kit), except in liquid form unless verified as authentic.
spectacles and sunglasses, without cases.
contact lens holders, without bottles of solution.
for those travelling with an infant: baby food, milk (the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger) and
sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight (nappies, wipes, creams and nappy disposal bags).female sanitary items sufficient and essential for the flight, if unboxed (eg tampons, pads, towels and wipes).
tissues (unboxed) and/or handkerchiefs
keys (but no electrical key fobs)
All passengers must be hand searched, and their footwear and all the items they are carrying must be x-ray screened. Any liquids discovered must be removed from the passenger.

Pushchairs and walking aids must be x-ray screened, and only airport-provided wheelchairs may pass through the screening point. In addition to the above, all passengers boarding flights to the USA and all the items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, must be subjected to secondary search at the boarding gate. Any liquids discovered must be removed from the passenger.

gearoid - BAA have updated information as of 1330 today. The regulations are changing (relaxing) again tomorrow, but I still can't quite work out the lenses issue.

Further info here - [broken link removed]

Among the detail on the Heathrow part is this covering regulations in place from tomorrow -
***START***
New hand baggage guidelines (applies tomorrow, 15 August)
Strictly one item of cabin baggage per passenger, no bigger than the size of a laptop of small rucksack - 35cm (13.5 inches) wide x 45cm (17.5 inches) long x 16cm (6.5 inches) high.

The bag must NOT contain:
- Any liquids, cosmetics or toiletries, including gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures, perfumes and the contents of pressurised containers - these must be checked in as hold baggage
- Cigarette lighters are NOT permitted in hold baggage or through the security search. These may be purchased airside.

The bag CAN include:
- Electronic equipment including mobile phones, digital cameras and MP3 players (such as i-Pods)
- Prescription medicines in liquid form, eg diabetic kit
- Baby milk and liquid baby food (the contents of each bottle MUST be tasted by the accompanying passenger)
- Laptops must be removed from the bag for x-ray.
***END***

Based on the above, the lenses containers won't be allowed as they contain liquid and that is covered by the first line. However, humans all contain liquid so there could be a problem there. Hopefully there will be some level of common sense applied by the time I travel at the end of the month.

ClubMan - I am flying into Heathrow, but luckily I am coming back from a different airport.

z

zag-if it's any use-try calling BAA or your airline and ask them if they will allow you to carry the solution if you demonstrate that it is ok, i.e. fire some into your eye in front of security.

zag said:

I am flying into Heathrow, but luckily I am coming back from a different airport.

Click to expand...

For your flight to Heathrow there are no restrictions (that is to say the situation is exactly the same as it was before the latest changes) - so your lens solution would be fine to take through security / on board the aircraft. I just flew Dublin-Heathrow this morning and there were no abnormal restrictions apart from those passengers connecting to another flight departing from Heathrow

Assuming you are returning from another UK airport you still will not be allowed to bring any liquids through security (but you could buy lens solution in Boots airside after security and take it on the plane)

EvilDoctorK has it. To check the latest situation, go to [broken link removed] and navigate to the site for your airport, and then to the page on luggage restrictions. Currently they all say

Once in the departure lounge passengers may purchase any item in any store and take it onto the aircraft as normal unless you are travelling to the USA.

Click to expand...

(I would link to the page in question, but the URLs are dynamic and I'm fairly sure they expire.).

N.B. your airline or checkin personnel may (deliberately or accidentally) impose extra restrictions above and beyond those listed on the BAA site.

I am also travelling through the UK at the end of the month, and was planning to only carry hand luggage. The carry-on bag I usually fit everything in exceeds the new guidelines by 1cm in each dimension!

For what it's worth my experiences in the last few days with the travel chaos (according to Sky News anyway) actually wasn't that bad at all.

Departing Heathrow for Dublin on Friday evening
No delays at security, in fact faster than a normal friday afternoon at Heathrow (The UK & Ireland depature gates were very quiet) .. I had no bag to check at all (travelled very light!) and did online checkin so that saved time as I didn't have to do any queueing for a boarding pass or to drop bags (but even if I had to check a bag / get a boarding card the queues - for bmi at least - didn't look bad) .. flight was fairly much on time - well no more delayed then normal anyway!

Flight from Dublin to Heathrow this morning
No delays at all - no luggage restrictions - flight arrived 30 mins early too

The UK Authorities have relaxed the restrisctions somewhat today (may not be relaxed everywhere until tomorrow) - so I would expect things to return to normal-ish by the time I come back to Dublin later in the week.

EvilDoctorK - did you notice anyone following you getting on the plane on Friday night ? Travelling with no luggage at all is possibly as likely to set off some alert as any of the other triggers out there when it comes to risk profiling.

Well spotted about the LHR inbound thing. I was just assuming the restrictions would be in place on flights arriving there as well as flights leaving. I guess I wasn't thinking straight . . .

We will be leaving from Aberdeen, so I'll check their site (also a BAA airport) and see what the story is there, but it's not as important on the way back.

z

zag said:

EvilDoctorK - did you notice anyone following you getting on the plane on Friday night ? Travelling with no luggage at all is possibly as likely to set off some alert as any of the other triggers out there when it comes to risk profiling.

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone was following me - but you never know

Seriously though once I got to security I had exactly the same amount of luggage as anyone else (i.e. nothing) - I don't think BAA security is sophisticated enough for them to have a clue that I'd checked in nothing ... of course it might be a different story with the secondary screening before boarding a US flight (or maybe worse again an El Al flight to Tel Aviv).. but there's none of that on most flights - it's just the regular screening as you go airside (albeit with more restrictions than normal) .. no extra checks at the gate or anything.