Forbidden items abound at airport
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Security screeners at Honolulu International Airport seize hundreds of contraband items every day, a process that contributes to long lines and frustration for many passengers, officials said yesterday.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Despite widespread publicity on what not to take on an airplane since the Sept. 11 attacks, daily contraband includes everything from machetes to tweezers, as well as real and toy guns, said Joe Guyton, state airport security manager in Honolulu.
Honolulu International Airport security manager Joe Guyton reaches for a toy chain saw that was recently confiscated at a security checkpoint. Guyton says such items can be used to terrorize passengers fooled by their realistic look.
"Either they're not getting the message, or they're ignoring it," Guyton said.
The number of contraband items surrendered by passengers has increased substantially in 2003, said Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
Most of the items are found in hand-carried luggage, causing significant delays for passengers, Guyton said.
"Every time we find something, the whole line comes to a screeching halt," he said. "It might only be 30 seconds or a minute, but it all adds up and keeps backing up just like a traffic jam on the freeway."
Passengers should put potentially dangerous items in their checked baggage, he said.
"Why would you need these on a five-hour flight to San Francisco?" Guyton asked, showing a foot-long machete and a life-size toy chain saw that were among the items confiscated in the past few weeks. "If you need it at home, put it into your checked bags."
The number and variety of the contraband material is staggering. During the first week of August, the haul included more than 1,000 pairs of scissors ranging from small sewing-kit types to large pruning sheers.
And the list continues
Here are some of the more common items collected by airport screeners in Honolulu Aug. 3-9: Scissors 1,009 Pocket/kitchen knives 240 Matches/lighters 236 Tools * 103 Straight razors/razor blades 75 Corkscrews 45 Bullet key chains/casings 41 Nail clippers 34 Leatherman tools 31 * Screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, wire-cutters, etc. Source: State Department of Transportation
Other items found in the past few weeks in Honolulu include a hacksaw, a claw hammer, foot-long screwdrivers, steak knives, switch blades, needle-nose pliers, a baseball bat, oven thermometers, darts, dumbbells, corkscrews, a railroad spike, 3-inch safety pins, Swiss Army knives, deep-sea fish hooks, wire and box cutters, potato peelers, pineapple- and plumeria-topped cocktail forks, and dozens of old-fashioned school compasses that hold a pencil on one end and rotate on a needle-sharp point on the other.
Confiscated
Screeners also have found a number of guns in checked baggage, Guyton said. If the guns are not registered, they are confiscated and their owners arrested, he said.
"It's amazing what you see," he said, holding up a martial-arts weapon. "Nunchaku — leave 'em at home."
Most people found with the forbidden items either claim they didn't know they were there or didn't know they were illegal, Guyton said.
Just keep it
Although many of the items surrendered to authorities can be put into checked luggage or recovered later, most people choose to give them up entirely rather than lose precious time in line, Guyton said.
Legally, the articles are surrendered, not confiscated. After 45 days, the items are given away or recycled, he said.
Passengers in a security checkpoint line that snaked out of the interisland terminal and into a parking area at the airport yesterday seemed to take an understanding approach to the delays caused by their fellow travelers.
"I guess they should have learned by now, but maybe they don't always realize," said Coreen Jara of Kalihi, who was taking her family to Maui for a wedding and had planned ahead to deal with the lines.
"We got here really early, but now we're running late," she said as the line inched forward.
Gary Dean of San Francisco said he had a small Swiss Army knife confiscated last year in Utah, but now knows to put dangerous items in his checked baggage.
"I just take a few seconds before each trip to think about it," he said.
That's the approach security officials would like from all passengers, Guyton said.
"If you want to have it at the other end of the trip, keep it out of the cabin," he said.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
