Hundreds of bottles of champagne seized at airport

OVER 600 bottles of champagne, 14,600 bottles of beer and 6,500 bottles of spirits have been confiscated at Dublin airport as three years on, airline passengers still forget the 100ml liquid rule.

Security staff at Dublin Airport say they are continually amazed at the high quantity of bottles being seized under the EU regulations which stipulate that only liquids of 100ml, or less, can be carried on to an aircraft.

Almost 33,000 items have been surrendered to airport security staff since November 2006 when the law was implemented, including 4,000 bottles of wine, over 6,500 bottles of spirits, over 1,500 bottles of cream liquors, over 14,600 bottles and cans of beer and 4,500 quarter bottles of wines and spirits. A further 750 perfume and body lotion gift sets have been seized.

Dublin Airport Authority spokeswoman, Siobhan Moore, said offending passengers should also remember that confiscating goods slows down the security process for all other passengers.

“I am amazed at what’s still being seized. Very expensive make-up and bath sets are still being stopped and you see people carrying expensive gifts of wine and spirits in their hand luggage as they’re scared that it will get broken in their plane luggage. They still forget. Naturally, they can be quite upset when they have to surrender it but there can be no exceptions to this rule,” she said.

“People really must keep security issues in mind when they are packing,” she said.

At Cork Airport, management say the quantities of liquids they seize at the boarding gates has declined sharply, describing it as “a trickle”.

“We would have seized about three trolleys each quarter of 2007; we now only seize about a suitcase of liquids every three months,” a spokesman said.

Each quarter, any unopened alcohol confiscated at Dublin airport is made into hampers which are sent to their chosen charity for auction. This year the chosen charity is Irish Autism Action. At Cork airport, unopened goods are raffled for the Cork Simon Community and Irish Guide Dogs For the Blind.

The EU regulations, devised because of a heightened risk of terrorism following 9/11, state that only liquids of 100ml and under can be carried on board a flight and they must be placed in a separate transparent resealable bag. The two exceptions to the rule are baby food and medicines required during a flight.