Baggage handling

An extract from the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 820/2008 of 8 August 2008 laying down measures for the implementation of the common basic standards on aviation security is provided below:

LIST OF ARTICLES WHICH ARE NOT PERMITTED IN THE HAND BAGGAGE

Passengers are not permitted to carry the following articles into the cabin of an aircraft:

• Guns, firearms and weapons

  Any object capable, or appearing capable, of discharging a projectile or causing injury, including:

  • all firearms (pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns etc.),
  • replica and imitation firearms,
  • component parts of firearms (excluding telescopic sighting devices and sights),
  • air pistols, rifles and pellet guns,
  • signal flare pistols,
  • starter pistols,
  • toy guns of all types,
  • ball-bearing guns,
  • industrial bolt and nail guns,
  • crossbows,
  • catapults,
  • harpoon and spear guns,
  • humane animal killing devices,
  • stun or shocking devices (e.g. cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy weapons (taser)),
  • lighters shaped like a firearm.
• Pointed/edged weapons and sharp objects

  Pointed or bladed articles capable of causing injury, including:

  • axes and hatchets,
  • arrows and darts,
  • crampons,
  • harpoons and spears,
  • ice axes and ice picks,
  • ice skates,
  • lockable or folding knives with blades of any length,
  • knives, including ceremonial knives, with blades of more than 6 cm, made of metal or any other material, strong enough to be used as a potential weapon,
  • meat cleavers,
  • machetes,
  • open razors and blades (excluding safety or disposable razors with blades enclosed in a cartridge),
  • sabres, swords and swordsticks,
  • scalpels,
  • scissors with blades more than 6 cm in length,
  • ski or walking/hiking poles,
  • throwing stars,
  • tools that have the potential to be used as a pointed or edged weapon (e.g. drills and drill bits, box cutters, utility knives, all saws, screwdrivers, crowbars, hammers, pliers, wrenches/spanners, blowtorches).

• Blunt instruments

  Any blunt instrument capable of causing injury, including:

  • baseball and softball bats,
  • clubs or batons – rigid or flexible (e.g. billy clubs, blackjacks, nightsticks and batons),
  • cricket bats,
  • golf clubs,
  • hockey sticks,
  • lacrosse sticks,
  • kayak and canoe paddles,
  • skateboards,
  • billiard, snooker and pool cues,
  • fishing rods, martial arts equipment (e.g. knuckledusters, clubs, coshes, rice flails, nunchucks, kubatons, kubasaunts).

• Explosives and flammable substances

  Any explosive or highly combustible substances which pose a risk to the health of passengers and crew or the security/safety of aircraft or property, including:

  • ammunition,
  • blasting caps,
  • detonators and fuses,
  • explosives and explosive devices,
  • replica or imitation explosive material or devices,
  • mines and other explosive military stores,
  • grenades of all types,
  • gas and gas containers (e.g. butane, propane, acetylene, oxygen) in large volume,
  • fireworks, flares (in any form) and other pyrotechnics (including party poppers and toy caps),
  • non-safety matches,
  • smoke generating canisters or cartridges,
  • flammable liquid fuel (e.g. petrol/gasoline, diesel, lighter fluid, alcohol, ethanol),
  • aerosol spray paint,
  • turpentine and paint thinner, alcoholic beverages exceeding 70 % by volume.
• Chemical and toxic substances

  Any chemical or toxic substances which pose a risk to the health of passengers and crew or the security or safety of aircraft or property, including:

  • acids and alkalis (e.g. spillable ‘wet’ batteries),
  • corrosive or bleaching substances (e.g. mercury, chlorine),
  • disabling or incapacitating sprays (e.g. mace, pepper spray, tear gas),
  • radioactive material (e.g. medicinal or commercial isotopes),
  • poisons,
  • infectious or biological hazardous material (e.g. infected blood, bacteria and viruses),
  • material capable of spontaneous ignition or combustion, fire extinguishers.
• Liquids

  Liquids, except in individual containers with a capacity not greater than 100 millilitres or equivalent and contained in one transparent resealable plastic bag with a capacity not exceeding one litre.((For your convenience, plastic bags of 1 litre capacity are available at the airport free of charge)). The contents of the plastic bag shall fit comfortably and the bag shall be completely closed. Liquids include gels, pastes, lotions, liquid/solid mixtures and the contents of pressurised containers, e.g. toothpaste, hair gel, drinks, soups, syrups, perfume, shaving foam, aerosols and other items of similar consistency.

  Exemptions may be granted if the liquid is:

  1) to be used during the trip and is either required for medical purposes or a special dietary requirement, including baby food. When requested to do so, the passenger shall provide proof of the authenticity of the exempted liquid;

  or

  2) obtained airside beyond the point where boarding passes are controlled from outlets that are subject to approved security procedures as part of the airport security programme, on condition that the liquid is packed in a bag that is both tamper evident and displays satisfactory proof of purchase at that airport on that day;

  or

  3) obtained in the security restricted area from outlets that are subject to approved security procedures as part of the airport security programme;

  or

  4) obtained at another Community airport, on condition that the liquid is packed in a bag that is both tamper evident and displays satisfactory proof of purchase at airside at that airport on that day;

  or

  5) obtained on board an aircraft of a Community air carrier, on condition that the liquid is packed in a bag that is both tamper evident and displays satisfactory proof of purchase on board that aircraft on that day;

  or

  6) obtained from outlets located in an airside area beyond the point wh ere boarding passes are controlled or in a restricted security area in an airport situated in a third country (Singapore (SIN) airport, Croatia Dubrovnik (DBV) airport, Rijeka (RJK) airport, Pula (PUY) airport, Split (SPU) airport, Zadar (ZAD) airport, Zagreb (ZAG) airport). The Commission may decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 9(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002, to include in Attachment 1 an airport of a third country, provided that the following conditions are met:

  • the third country has a good record of cooperation with the Community and its Member States, and
  • the Commission has recognised after verification that:

  
  

  (a) the third country applies satisfactory standards of aviation security; and

  (b) security measures are applied at the airport equivalent to those set out; and

  (c) the recommended security control guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation for screening liquids, gels and aerosols are implemented at the airport or, in the case of tamper-evident bags, equivalent specifications; and

  (d) the tamper-evident bag in which the liquid is placed displays satisfactory proof of purchase airside at the third country airport within the preceding 36 hours.

Security staff may refuse access to a security restricted area and the cabin of an aircraft any passenger in possession of an article not contained in the list above over which they have concern.

ARTICLES PROHIBITED IN HOLD BAGGAGE

The following articles may not be placed in checked baggage:

• explosives, including detonators, fuses, grenades, mines and explosives,
• gases, including propane and butane,
• flammable liquids, including gasoline and methanol,
• flammable solids and reactive substances, including magnesium, firelighters, fireworks and flares,
• oxidizers and organic peroxides, including bleach and car body repair kits,
• toxic or infectious substances, including rat poison and infected blood,
• radioactive material, including medicinal or commercial isotopes,
• corrosives, including mercury and vehicle batteries,
• vehicle fuel system components which have contained fuel.