Warning! Connecting flights at a European airport? Your duty free may be confiscated.

luci

We flew back from Las Vegas to Aberdeen via Manchester in the November just after the liquids rule came into force.

We haven't bought duty free booze for years, but bought a bottle of vodka at McCarran airport. When we went through security for our Aberdeen flight it was confiscated even though it was still sealed in the duty free bag.

I wanted to argue that it had been bought in a secure area and was still sealed, but there's no point arguing when you have no hope of winning.

Tils

How does it work if you buy the items ON the plane on the way back. For example if you bought your booze from KLM on the plane...do they put them in bags? would it have been confiscated aswell?

Incapuppy

Keebs wrote: »

This took me all of about 5 seconds to find

Clearly there are a lot of people unaware of the regulations so it's good that Wendy's experience is enlightening them. I can't really see any room for complaint though as the information is readily available.

But thats the problem though isn't it - that the information isn't always readily available? (as the experiences on here have shown)

I quite agree that its easy to search for and find information on the net but if you have absolutely no idea about these regulations in the first place it wouldn't occur to you to look for more info about them.

salvadorescobar

tip for any wannabe terrorist hell bent on taking a plane out of the sky :

1. buy rocket launcher (have a wander around Salford or somewhere like that, you shouldn't have much difficulty in finding some bloke selling one in a pub - the BBC covered this a few years ago : thanks Auntie).
2. stand outside airport.
3. wait for plane.
4. shoot plane with rocket launcher.
5. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT try and smuggle rocket launcher onto plane inside a bottle of vodka.

tip for airport security :

1. ban anyone from going near an airport.

In seriousness I had an argument with KLM at Amsterdam last year. I'd a bottle of champagne in my hand luggage and they confiscated it because it wasn't in a duty free bag. The security guy said if it'd have been in a duty free bag then i'd have been ok. When I pointed out to him that if I'd have just got a duty free bag and taken the bottle out of my suitcase and carried it through in the duty free bag then he could have let me bring anything on the flight he looked confused and then dis-interested. These guys are just following protocol. Try and point out a hole in their system and I was suprised to find that they weren't interested. Maybe we should just close all duty free shops? That would fill that hole. Oh, but then the companies wouldn't make any money would they, and I'm sure BAA would be on their side rather than ours.

digital

We bought duty free in Amsterdam en-route to Bergen two weeks ago and a very helpful employee in the duty free shop told us to put the bottles in our hold luggage on the way back. They were still in the sealed bags they were placed in when we purchased them but it was a 'just in case' (pun not intended) piece of advice.

As for buying duty free on departure and then flying it several hundred miles (or, on many occasions, thousands of miles) to a holiday destination and then back to the UK again, it's madness. Norway has the sensible idea: allow duty free purchases on arrival. Now why can't the UK do that? Or at least allow us to buy on departure and collect on our return.

It's almost as daft as putting water in plastic bottles and then flying it to countries that have perfectly acceptable water that comes out of taps.

digital

salvadorescobar wrote: »

In seriousness I had an argument with KLM at Amsterdam last year. I'd a bottle of champagne in my hand luggage and they confiscated it because it wasn't in a duty free bag. The security guy said if it'd have been in a duty free bag then i'd have been ok. When I pointed out to him that if I'd have just got a duty free bag and taken the bottle out of my suitcase and carried it through in the duty free bag then he could have let me bring anything on the flight he looked confused and then dis-interested.

You probably got that response because the duty free bags at Amsterdam are not the usual supermarket type bags that have traditionally been used for duty free purchases at airports but have special markings and have a strong seal which will tear the bag when it's opened.

vladman

Most of the unpleasant experiences recounted here seem to occur at the Amsterdam airport, with KLM... Hmm...

What happened to me and my girlfriend is a step further (in ridiculousness) from what everyone else described, because we were flying from Prague (EU) via Amsterdam (EU) to London (EU)! I bought some booze in Prague, specifically asked to have them sealed, just in case, then had these confiscated in Amsterdam anyway, despite them being in the bags, and the receipt clearly showing they were bought a few hours ago in Prague duty free. The reason was Amsterdam security staff didn't consider Prague's tamper-free bag tamper-free enough (they were perfectly fine). We argued, but to no avail. My girlfriend then also wrote a letter of complaint to KLM, which got us nowhere.

Clearly, the KLM security staff fancied a bit of gin on us...

Finishrich

digital wrote: »

As for buying duty free on departure and then flying it several hundred miles (or, on many occasions, thousands of miles) to a holiday destination and then back to the UK again, it's madness. Norway has the sensible idea: allow duty free purchases on arrival. Now why can't the UK do that? Or at least allow us to buy on departure and collect on our return.

I'm pretty sure you can collect duty free on your return already. It's certainly available a Edinburgh airport. It's just remembering to pick it up on your return that's the problem!! :rolleyes:

bonfire_2

Mellymel wrote: »

Was spookily having this conversation last night. I am travelling to Dubai in March. Have booked flights with Air France from Manchester to Paris and then we get a connecting flight to Dubai from Pairs - again with Air France. Was unsure how the Duty Free thing worked. Does anybody know then can I buy ciagrettes in Manchester and take them through? If you do get a secure bag for alcohol in Manchester is this alright to take through? Or do you go through Duty Free again once you are in Paris - and can you then buy stuff there? Any Answers

Three points, firstly this situation is in relation to liquids only, secondly the cheapest place to buy fags is in supermarket in Dubai and lastly the best saving is to give them up...soz :-)

HenBroon

I flew from Santiago in Chile to London via Madrid last year. The staff in Duty Free at Santiago asked me at the checkout if I was connecting in Europe and, when I said that I was, told me that the bottles I wanted to buy would be confiscated in Madrid.

At Madrid I saw two people lose expensive champagne and whisky. I am still proudly wearing the Chilean flag apron I bought instead with my leftover pesos.