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

Mr_Warren_2

The regulation concerning duty free booze is getting muddier and muddier.

I travel abroad about twice per month and once coming back from Moscow (therefore non-EU) through CDG Paris with my bottle of Gin in a sealed plastic bag and receipt in, the security staff wouldn't hear about it and were going to confiscate the lot.

ONLY BOOZE BOUGHT IN THE EU IS ALLOWED THROUGH SECURITY.

I therefore went out the passport way and purchased from Air france desk a €10 cardboard box with foam inside that I used to protect my bottle of Gin and check it in as luggage.

I now travel with that same box in my luggage and save myself the harrassment.

However the trick for all travellers is to get your luggage checked-in to your transiting airport only (do this only if you have plenty time for your connection). Take you luggage through custom, re-check said luggage for your final flight once you have packed your foreign non EU duty free amongs your underpants.

I hope this little tip helps you beat the system (and it's all very legal)

xadoc

I know it's not about duty-free, but had a similar irritating experience at East Midlands airport travelling to Venezuela.

I have 3 ft long hair... yes, really, and often wear it held up in a clip. I was fully aware of all the regulations regarding carry-on luggage prohibitions. I even checked the poster at the check in desk and moved an attack alarm from my hand luggage to my hold luggage at that point (because that was listed as prohibited - something I'd never heard of before)... when I got to security, the same poster had a handwritten addition - 'hair clips', and the security man wouldn't back down.

I was furious. I was travelling light so had not packed another clip - only had the one in my hair. I was travelling for 3 weeks. He maintained I could stab someone with it... believe me, I wanted to stab him with it...

I have no problem with things being prohibited - it's meant to be for our safety after all. - I had read the information that came with my ticket, and read the information again at the desk. Hair Clips was not on there. I think I'd have noticed.

We do not have psychic abilities and merely ask that we receive clear notice of a change in goalposts... surely that's fair!!!

BRIWJL

I had to dump a 1 litre bottle of whisky bought at Bristol Airport when travelling through Amsterdam airport. Since this was for a friend at the far I had to buy another there, making it the most expensive bottle I'd ever bought! I hadn't transited an airport for ages, so it was all new to me. (Like the tip about giving it away - never thought of that.)

I complained to Bristol Airport on my return that I had been given the bottle in an unsealed bag, despite my presenting both boarding cards to the person at the till. Phoning was useless - I was given some spiel by the duty-free manager about needing to get a confiscation receipt from Amsterdam, but an e-mail to the airport's complaints people got a much faster and better response. I was asked for a copy of the original receipt (scanned and sent as a JPEG) and have just had my money refunded to my credit card by Nuance, the people who run Bristol's duty free shop.

Easiest to avoid the whole mess, but if this does happen to you, try the route I took.

odowdchr

An interesting one....a group of us came back to Birmingham from Barcelona via Zurich.
Strangely, because we were only transitting and staying airside, we were allowed to purchase duty free goods at the worldwide price rather then the EU price. ie... cigarettes £7 for 200 etc..
Didn't ask for it....it just came up as the price when boarding pases were scanned at the till.

Security had however, claimed all the duty free liquids we'd bought at Barcelona !

lynzpower

I flew from Malawi, via nairobi in October last year, we were flying direct fromNairobi to heathrow.

We bought a couple of bottles of gin in malawis duty free shops, and they put them in standard issue carrier bags ( not clear) and stapled them over. There was a bit of a kerfuffle in Nairobi over it but they let us through ( but not my stick deoderant for some reason :rolleyes:

When we bought from Nairobi on the way out ( cigarettes) they were in a heatsealed clear carrier bag with recipt. It took all of 30 seconds to tear open the carrier bag anyway! I mean come on!! Its hardly 'security' is it.

jnm21

MADCAT19 wrote: »

I keep thinking that, if I had just taken it out of the plastic bag and put it in my bag, it'd have made it thru security with no problems. Alas, we live, we learn.

Probably true & worth the risk - so long as you know the risk - at the best, you'll have everything in the bag dumped out for all to see while they search it & in the worst case you'll be treated like a terror suspect (likely leading to a strip search).

My mum took an umbrealla to Spain :rolleyes: and they thought it was a bottle (similar shape on the scanner) - they searched her bag & still wouldn't believe there wasn't a bottle hidden in it, so scanned it again empty.

SPF

Hi all, I discovered this in January 07 travelling back from Jamaica via Gatwick to Inverness. I asked the cabin crew on the flight to Gatwick before purchasing anything what I should do about my duty free and their reply was don't bother! So when travelling back from Goa via Gatwick to Inverness in November last year we packed all duty frees in our cases. It is unfair as this is one of the perks of travelling abroad and I feel if it's sealed and you have a receipt from the airline or airport this should be sufficient.

GM1966

Whilst in the USA last year, I put my bottle of wine in my suitcase and so didn't get it confiscated (or so I thought).

The check-in lady then asked if I had any bottles in my case and when I said yes, she asked how it was wrapped up.

"In a towel" was my reply.

"Sorry but that won't do - take it out and we'll dump it" was her reply.

Now the bottles must be packed in a certain way for them to be allowed in your case (can't remember how though). The US are quite anal about this and if it's wrapped one safe way, that won't do unless it's wrapped in their stipulated manner.

If you lie and say there's nothing in your suitcase, they scan and break it open anyway - and then they'll probably fine you for being a terrorist (or at least for lying to them). Then your case is ruined.

Moral - pay the full price at home and at least give our Chancellor some extra cash to waste

Edinburghlass_2

I just found my receipt for duty free bought in Edinburgh (perfume) and noted it said at the bottom of the receipt that if I intended bringing this back into the UK it would have to be packed into hold luggage.

I wouldn't have thought of checking the receipt to be honest and as it happens I did pack it into my hold bag.

SuperChap

Thanks MSE Wendy for highlighting this issue. Martin was right to let you do so, you've brought to light a serious problem that needs addressing!

Funnily enough the exact same thing happened to me - I also flew from Cairo through Amsterdam and had my duty free goods confiscated. Cairo's duty free staff were clearly clueless about EU regulations and KLM didn't give a stuff. Both parties should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

The most aggravating thing about this is that NOBODY seems to want to take responsibility - if the information is out there it's on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'. And that's no good to anyone.