I was flying home from Taipei last weekend and I witnessed an American passenger get very upset going through a security checkpoint during a layover in the US. The flight left Taipei and had a stop in Seattle before arriving to Newark. The stop in Seattle was scheduled for less than two hours and was to allow for the plane to refuel and to drop off and pick up any new passengers in Seattle. However, as Seattle was the first US destination we were landing in, all of us had to clear customs, claim our bags and re-check them into Newark. While going through the security to reboard the plane, the TSA agent repeatedly announced no liquids. He then stopped one passenger and removed a large bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label from his bag. The bottle was bought in duty free from the airport in Taipei. It was sealed tight and marked duty free. However, after putting up a lengthy fight, the TSA agent would not budge. I believe the passenger decided to check his bag with the bottle in it (in my opinion he was lucky to be given that option after his argument) and all he could mutter as he made his way out of the line was “Welcome to America” and “Don’t expect me to wait in this line again!” Looking back on the situation, the TSA agent held a strong fist, but was polite and doing his job, which the passenger conveniently forgot was for his own good. I would have liked to give that passenger a piece of my mind for forgetting about all of our safety, but I also understand the bottle of Blue Label can be quite expensive, ranging from $150 and up. When I was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, another passenger who was in transit from Sri Lanka also encountered the same problem and the alcohol she purchased at duty free in Sri Lanka had to be confiscated as it was in her hand luggage. As all of us on the plane heading to Newark had been screened once in Taipei before boarding, my questions are:

• Where is it marked that buying alcohol at duty free shops may not be allowed to your final destination if you have a layover?
• Is it the fault of the passenger for buying the bottle of alcohol?
• The fault of the duty free shop in Taipei for not relaying the message to the passenger it may be confiscated?
• TSA, or international security, for not getting the message out clear enough?

Click this link to the TSA – I’ll let you decide who is at fault! –Alex Young,Vice President and Associate Publisher