Go ahead: Pack that lip balm in your carry-on luggage.
Passengers will be able to carry lotions and gels onto airliners again after a six-week ban – but only in containers of 3 ounces or less and only if they’re carried in clear sealable plastic bags.
Starting today, air travelers also will be able to buy drinks or other liquids or gels at shops inside airport security checkpoints and carry them on board under partially relaxed anti-terror rules.
The new rules for carry-on items on U.S. airliners:
* Liquid and gel toiletries in 3-ounce containers or smaller are allowed if they are in a clear plastic, quart-size sealable bag.
* Up to 4 ounces of some items are permitted in carry-on bags: eye drops, saline solution, nonprescription medicine and personal lubricants.
* Drinks, liquids and gels purchased in airport stores past security checkpoints can be carried into passenger cabins.
* Baby formula and medications are allowed but will be inspected.
* Larger bottles of liquids and gels from outside – including shampoo, suntan lotion, creams and toothpaste – are allowed only in checked baggage.
* Lighters are banned in carry-on bags and in checked luggage, unless they don’t have fuel or are in a case approved by the Transportation Department.
* Laptops, cell phones, pagers and personal data assistants are allowed.
Travelers on international flights should check with individual airlines as to what can be carried on board.
The relaxed rules shouldn’t pose undue concern for travelers.
The FBI and other laboratories tested a variety of explosives and found that tiny amounts of substances – so small they fit into a quart-size plastic bag – can’t blow up an airliner, said Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley at a news conference at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Lisa Cohen, a congressional staff member who flies weekly between Denver and Washington, said the changes should make flying easier.
“I understand the concerns, but it’s been a colossal pain this last several months,” Cohen said as she lugged a large carry-on bag through the airport.
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