Sending perfume airmail

Holygrail

Hi guys,

Do you, or do you know, anyone who can answer the following question for me?

If it is not permissible to send perfume out of the UK via airmail then why is it permissible for people to take a personal allowance of perfume on an aeroplane? If it poses such a danger to life then surely no perfume whatsoever should be allowed anywhere near an aircraft. The logic of this ruling defies me and I can't seem to find an answer to it anywhere.

Confused of Hampshire.

hollydays

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_transatlantic_aircraft_plot

donnac2558

No. Unless you pay a courier with a license to do so(its very expensive), you will receive a letter from RM stating your perfume has been destroyed. Don't do it again or might be prosecuted.

You will get people who state they did do it. But I belong to a few perfume forums and they have had very expensive perfumes destroyed. Everything is now X Rayed.

We are an island in more ways than one it seems. Strangely we can get perfume shipped into us, if the correct paperwork is filled in.

The new rules came in back in early 2015

You bring your personal allowance on the plane with you and even then its restricted the amount of liquid you can carry in hand luggage. Suicide bombers are not known for travelling with their Chanel No5

Here are the rules:

http://www.airsafe.com/danger.htm

Holygrail

Thanks for those links guys. However it still leaves the issue of why perfume can't be sent through if it has gone through the post office or courier and clearly states that it is perfume with the appropriate form declaring it as such on the outside of the parcel (which has to be on there before we can send perfume inland UK) and only holds the permittable amount allowed. Especially if it is checked at customs before it goes into the cargo hold of an aeroplane. Do they open the bottles of passengers who have declared perfume to see if that is what is really in the bottles? There are incongruities in their rulings in my opinion.
I had a perfume I wanted to send to my friend in the US. My son was going on a trip over there so took it over as part of his hold luggage which was totally acceptable. He sent it on via fedex land postage from there. So what would have been so different about me packaging it up, adorning it with the appropriate hazardous (potentially) perfume sticker which is extremely noticeable and having customs look at it before putting it on board.
And yes, you are spot on, only a total idiot would take the chance of trying it.

hollydays

The way I see it, if liquid goes through airlines security in small amounts,eg handluggage, they can test it( I've had this done).if you purchase in duty free it's larger amounts but sealed. Not sure what you don't understand? If it goes to the post office counter they only have your word for what's in it.
Have you actually read the link and the reasons behind it?

hollydays

Ie
"The plotters planned to use peroxide-based liquid explosives.[9] US authorities named two peroxides that could be used: acetone peroxide (TATP) and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD). These "are sensitive to heat, shock, and friction, can be initiated simply with fire or electrical charge, and can also be used to produce improvised detonators."[20][21]Metropolitan Police sources confirmed that the plot involved TATP.[22] According to the New York Times, the plotters wanted to use HMTD.[13]
During the trial of the conspirators the prosecution stated that each alleged bomber would board a plane with the "necessary ingredients and equipment". They would then construct the devices mid-flight and detonate them. The alleged bombs would include 500!ml plastic bottles of the Oasis and Lucozade soft drinks. A sugary drink powder, Tang, would be mixed with hydrogen peroxide to colour the liquid to resemble a normal soft drink. Hydrogen peroxide is widely available for use as hair bleach and along with the other ingredients can become explosive if mixed to a specific strength."

agrinnall

hollydays wrote: »

If it goes to the post office counter they only have your word for what's in it.

hollydays wrote: »

During the trial of the conspirators the prosecution stated that each alleged bomber would board a plane with the "necessary ingredients and equipment". They would then construct the devices mid-flight and detonate them.

Are you suggesting that the OP would include themselves in the mail package so that they could construct and detonate the device while it was being transported by RM/other carriers? Because if you're not then what was planned in 2006 is completely irrelevant.

To me it seems a reasonable question to ask why perfume cannot be sent by mail, and the potential for it to really be a bomb seems like a huge red herring.

donnac2558

Actually its nothing to do with being a bomb. Perfume contains alcohol therefore flammable. So in the hold and something happens it can cause a fire it seems. If it goes surface or ship easier to control.

I will tell you all a better one. Did you know in the US the alcohol used in perfume is not the same as elsewhere in the world? Goes back to prohibitionist, the alcohol in perfumes in France etc is potato based(vodka), which was banned. So many perfumes even today will have the concentrate sent to the US where they add their own alcohol base. Quite a few perfumistas insist they can smell a difference, the US ones are slightly sweeter.;)

Oh and its quite a few liquids nail polish cannot it seems be sent from the UK to Ireland. People have ordered from QVC the shopping channel and had the orders returned to QVC as the courier or RM refuse to handle it.

Holygrail

Hi donna,
Actually its nothing to do with being a bomb. Perfume contains alcohol therefore flammable. So in the hold and something happens it can cause a fire it seems. If it goes surface or ship easier to control.
This is actually the point I am trying to make. If that is the reason why perfume cannot be shipped airmail then why are they allowing passengers to take it on board at all[[/I]/I]

molerat

There are lots of these stupid air mail regulations. Did you know you can send an old knackered laptop with its old knackered battery installed by air but you would not be able to send a brand new one in its box with the battery packed separately inside the box. Go figure that one out - which one do you think would more likely be hazardous ? Interestingly Amazon seem to be exempt from the RM regulations. I purchased a 200ml bottle of EDT and it came RM correctly labelled but the max allowable is 150ml. And why is a 200ml single bottle more hazardous than 4 150ml bottles ?

hollydays

donnac2558 wrote: »

Actually its nothing to do with being a bomb. Perfume contains alcohol therefore flammable. So in the hold and something happens it can cause a fire it seems. If it goes surface or ship easier to control.

I will tell you all a better one. Did you know in the US the alcohol used in perfume is not the same as elsewhere in the world? Goes back to prohibitionist, the alcohol in perfumes in France etc is potato based(vodka), which was banned. So many perfumes even today will have the concentrate sent to the US where they add their own alcohol base. Quite a few perfumistas insist they can smell a difference, the US ones are slightly sweeter.;)

Oh and its quite a few liquids nail polish cannot it seems be sent from the UK to Ireland. People have ordered from QVC the shopping channel and had the orders returned to QVC as the courier or RM refuse to handle it.

That's my theory debunked then