Alcohol confiscated at Bangkok Airport in transit - isn't it a scam?

[Bermuda_5]

I travelled from Delhi to Sydney yesterday, during transit at Bangkok Airport they confiscated my two very expensive bottles of scotch just before boarding gate. These bottles were purchased at Delhi Airport and still sealed in a security bag. Their explanation was that Australian law doesn't allow any liquids more than 100 ml to be carried as carry on. They just took the bottles, no paperwork was done or provided - unreal. But the real shock was - just after that bag check station they had trolleys full of duty free bags of the alcohol and other items purchased from Bangkok Duty Free, waiting to be delivered to passengers. I asked the airline staff and they confirmed that if you bought the items at BKK airport you can carry them after being delivered at boarding gate. How can Australian law not apply to that stuff?
Also, on the same day my wife was able to bring the other two bottles purchased at Delhi Airport because she travelled by Malaysian Airlines via Kuala Lumpur. All they did at KL was checked the bag was still sealed or not. Again, if Australia doesn't allow what Thais claim, it should apply at other airports as well.
I really want to highlight this issue and wondering what else can be done to address this scam.

 

[Hvr]

Not good but not a scam. Australia doesn't allow LAGS >100ml to transit in hand luggage through intermediate ports.

 

[Forg]

I don’t think you could do much about it, you’re not allowed to carry more than 100mL of liquid & in theory if they “catch” you “trying to” then they can just confiscate it.

It’s not just Bangkok, you see it in Hong Kong as well, people have killed time during transit buying bottles of booze & it gets confiscated boarding the ‘plane.

My wife’s started considering using the service where you buy something & pick it up after you land; problem being that Dan Murphy’s has generally been cheaper, so it’s not been worth the hassle.

 

[Bermuda_5]

Not good but not a scam. Australia doesn't allow LAGS >100ml to transit in hand luggage through intermediate ports.

If that's the case, Malaysia should have followed it as well.

 

[love_the_life]

Same as the system at Singapore IIRC. You can purchase at Changi, have the goods packaged and then pick them up at the gate but anything larger than 100ml purchased elsewhere is confiscated. Have had duty free staff in other airports ask if I was flying on to Australia and point this out.

 

[davidj]

If that's the case, Malaysia should have followed it as well.

Maybe they are more lax at KUL. See Inconsistencies in airport security around the world

Their explanation was that Australian law doesn't allow any liquids more than 100 ml to be carried as carry on.

It's about allowing liquids that have been under the control of pax, vs. what was provided directly by the retail outlet at the airport (even if both are sealed). Goods under the control of pax obviously are high risk, although retail outlet liquids in theory could be compromised too.

Also, on the same day my wife... travelled by Malaysian Airlines via Kuala Lumpur.

Interesting, why did you both fly on separate airlines?

 

[JohnK]

Not a scam. Unfortunately has been the case for a long time but I thought sealed bags were ok.

Don't blame Thailand. This is all our doing. Would not even let me bring the water I took from the lounge to the gate.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I travelled from Delhi to Sydney yesterday, during transit at Bangkok Airport they confiscated my two very expensive bottles of scotch just before boarding gate. .

I was flying to MAN from SIN once and flight transited via MUN..

On landing in MUN you had to take all hand luggage with even though we were getting back on the same aircraft to continue on the MAN. Everyone one who got off with duty free
alcohol had it confiscated.

Now I was not surprised as I has read about it happening in advance. But there were a lot of very disappointed passengers on that flight!

I believe from what I have read that this happens at a number of airports.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

There's only one thing you can do in these situations.

Woman downs whole bottle of cognac at Beijing airport security control - The Guardian

 

[Aussiejosh]

I've always known it to be the case that you do not buy alcohol if you have a transit stop on the way to a destination. If you do it gets packed in checked luggage.

Otherwise you buy at the final departure point and then depending on the airport (if its separated arrivals/departures you can usually take it straight from the shop) if arrivals and departures are integrated you will get it after a secondary security point.

 

[serfty]

Not good but not a scam. Australia doesn't allow LAGS >100ml to transit in hand luggage through intermediate ports.

In some places they do - as long as in a sealed bag. BKK is not one of those ports.

 

[serfty]

Note there are no bag searches ex NZ, ex USA nor ex Japan; there may be others.

 

[davidj]

There's only one thing you can do in these situations.

I was just going to ask! What are the options? Drink? Contaminate? Surely a good bottle is 're purposed' by airport staff (particularly in third world states)?

In Delhi I noticed a pax spitting into the bottle before handing it to officials.

If it was a good bottle you could always ask it to be gate-checked (depending on the port).

 

[davidj]

This is all our doing.This is all the terrorists' doing.

There, corrected for you.

 

[JohnK]

There, corrected for you.

Nothing to do with them.

I've mentioned in other thread. You can bring a bottle of water from airside lounge to gate in BKK and it is confiscated. Or you can bring empty bottle and fill up at the gate. What was the teorrist going to do with that bottle of water from lounge that they now can't do with water at gate.

Similarly sealed bags with sealed bottles of alcohol are confiscated. Why? If it happened to me I will try to exit back and check the bottles in checked luggage. If not then I will go to bathroom and spill in sink. I'm not giving away free alcohol for the security staff parties.

 

[Austman]

At many airports any transit LAG checks will simply check the tamper proof bags. But they are exceptions: Eg transiting within the EU from outside the EU.

And at all airports except for those in NZ and USA, for non-stop flights to Australia, LAG checks must be done at the gate and nothing over 100ml is allowed (tamper proof bag or not). Carry-on DF purchases can be made at those airports only IF they can be delivered to the gate for collection after the LAG check. Not all airports/DF shops can or will do that.

And although the rules can seem complex and unreasonable, they have been in place for well over 10 years.

 

[Austman]

Note there are no bag searches ex NZ, ex USA nor ex Japan; there may be others.

It should only be ex NZ and ex USA as they are the only two exempt countries.

Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005, Authorised Version F2018C00068 registered 19/01/2018:

"exempt country means New Zealand or the United States of America"

 

[Pushka]

I was flying to MAN from SIN once and flight transited via MUN..

On landing in MUN you had to take all hand luggage with even though we were getting back on the same aircraft to continue on the MAN. Everyone one who got off with duty free
alcohol had it confiscated.

Now I was not surprised as I has read about it happening in advance. But there were a lot of very disappointed passengers on that flight!

I believe from what I have read that this happens at a number of airports.

This has been happening for years. On a flight from Sth America a work colleague had purchased Sth Am wine. They transited in NZ before onwards to Australia. MrP told them if they took them off in NZ they would be confiscated. Then suggested they pushed the bottles into the recesses of the overhead bin. On the off chance they wouldn’t be seen. Colleague was very relieved to reboard and find all bottles in the bin.

This was several years ago and others lost their wine when taken off in NZ. That seems to have changed as per above but not then. More than 10 years ago.

 

[Austman]

This was several years ago and others lost their wine when taken off in NZ. That seems to have changed as per above but not then. More than 10 years ago.

It will happen everywhere for non-stop flights to Australia. You have to actually purchase carry-on >100ml LAGs, air-side, at the final airport before your non-stop flight. And they must also be delivered to the gate except for flights departing NZ and USA.

 

[moa999]

And because HKG refuses to do this, no ≥100ml DF at all in HKG