> bottled water is expensive but - somehow - really profitable!
The first time I encountered liquids being banned from carry-on luggage – a few years before any ban came into force in North America or Europe – was in China. A bottle of spirits I had packed in my carry-on was confiscated as I passed through security. And yet as soon as I got through security, I arrived at a series of shops selling the exact same stuff that people could buy and take on the plane. At the time, I wondered if this was less a security fear, and more an intentional trick to drum up business for the airport’s own retail by forcing passengers to buy bottled water, gifts and souvenirs from them instead of a cheaper place in town.
I mean I agree the TSA theatre is complete and total nonsense, but the logic here is at least defensible. Those goods are inspected as well and they have a known supply chain.
They’re not worried about bottled water, obviously, they’re worried about something bad that looks like bottled water carried in by you.
Notice that I wrote at the time. I am uncertain whether the Beijing airport rule, in place well before the 2006 ban in North America and the EU, was truly motivated by security fears as opposed to boosting airport retail sales. I had hoped that someone else might chime in with some proof that the Chinese authorities were already sincerely concerned then with liquids due to terrorist threats.
The first time I encountered liquids being banned from carry-on luggage – a few years before any ban came into force in North America or Europe – was in China. A bottle of spirits I had packed in my carry-on was confiscated as I passed through security. And yet as soon as I got through security, I arrived at a series of shops selling the exact same stuff that people could buy and take on the plane. At the time, I wondered if this was less a security fear, and more an intentional trick to drum up business for the airport’s own retail by forcing passengers to buy bottled water, gifts and souvenirs from them instead of a cheaper place in town.