Are you preparing to fly this year? Whether you are scheduling a business trip or a family vacation, there is a good chance that you will want to pack and take a number of your belongings with you. Are you planning on bringing any items with you that are banned? If so, you may want to rethink your decision. As a traveler, you need to understand the importance of following air travel rules, including banned items.  

Before you can understand the importance of following air travel rules, you need to famialrize yourself with them. You can easily do this by contacting the airline or airport you plan on using. In addition to contacting them directly, you should also be able to find helpful information, including common air travel rules, on their online websites. These online websites, along with other valuable information on air travel, can be found by performing a standard internet search.

In your search you will not only be able to obtain a list of all of the banned items, but you also will learn specific information on those bans and exceptions to them. For instance, all liquids are currently banned from being stored in your carryon luggage, but small amounts of baby formula, eye care drops, and prescribed medications are allowed. In addition to information on items that are prohibited aboard an airplane or only allowed in certain plane areas, you can also learn more about the airport security screening process. This may include documents that you need to have handy, as well as the security checkpoints that you will have to go through.  

Once you have taken the time to familiarize yourself with many of the air travel rules, including those that were recently implemented, you should be able to have a pleasant experience at the airport, as well as aboard your airplane. However, knowing the new rules of air travel simply isn’t enough; you also need to follow them. In fact, if you don’t follow them you may be in for the shock or surprise of your life.  

When it comes to not following air travel rules or cooperating with airport security, you will find that there are a number of different consequences. Perhaps, the most common consequence is that you will miss your flight. If you are tied up with airport security, they are not required to hold your flight just for you; therefore you may be required to book a reservation on another flight. In addition to missing your flight, there is a chance that you could be detained by airport security or local authorities.  

While it is possible to be detained by airport security or by local authorities, you will find that it is often a rare occurrence. Most airport security incidents can be cleared up in a matter of minutes; however, there is still the chance that law enforcement could intervene. When it comes to banned items aboard a plan, you will not necessarily be detained unless you try to sneak aboard an item that is dangerous or illegal, such as drugs, guns, bombs, or other weapons. In the event you just forgot to take your mascara out of your purse, you will likely just have it taken away from you.  

As previously mentioned, another air travel rule, aside from leaving prohibited items at home, involves airport security checkpoints. All passengers are required to go through the proper checkpoints and successfully pass through them, before being able to board an airplane. Not only will you be required to hand over your carryon luggage bags, to be properly screened, but you will also be required to walk through a metal detector, as well as take off your shoes. All passengers, including children, need to follow these procedures. In the event that you refuse to, you will not be permitted to board your flight. There is also a good chance that you will be detained by airport security or by local authorities.

Essentially, the worst that could happen is that you will be question by authorities; however, this question may lead to you missing your flight or being banned from flying altogether. Although you may not necessarily be a risk, airport security cannot be sure. That is why they tend to overly cautious when it comes to air travel rule violations.