Customs search my bag for 10 minutes for a screw in my jeans pocket, yet you can buy these in duty free right before getting on the plane? 🤷‍♂️

18 comments

  1. Picture taken at Basel airport. This was after my bag was searched after being x-rayed. I must have had a screw in the pocket of one of my jeans from doing some DIY. I just found it pretty ridiculous that a loose screw is considered a security threat when you can buy a serious army knife right before getting on a plane. Its this really about security? Also not picking on Switzerland. I’ve encountered similar situations in other countries, cafes serving food with real knives right before boarding etc

  2. If they saw it on the millimeter-radar, they didn’t know it was a screw. It could’ve been any 2cm piece of steel, or a 5cm piece of aluminium. So they probably had to make sure they knew what it was.

  6. I once had to leave a 4x3x0,5cm stone in Munich. The interesting part was the explanation that “I could have used it to cut someone’s throat”…. “yeah sure, it would be easier to strangle them with my belt” wasn’t the response they wanted to hear.

    Edit. I’d probably have to use the belt anyway, since cutting someone with that stone would have been as time consuming as cutting down a 10 meter high tree with a pocket knife.

  7. Swiss airports don’t take pocket knives off you because it’s a common souvenir and it would cause a publicity issue.

    However on the way back, make sure you pack it in the checked luggage.

  8. But you are not allowed to take it out of the sealed plastic bag. So you can’t hurt anybody…

  9. I’ve got one of the smaller keyring ones and been through airports all over the world with no fuss with it

  11. A few years ago I was getting on a transatlantic flight with Lufthansa. There was an 85+ year old WW2 veteran and his elderly wife in front of me. They confiscated his foldable pocket knife that was tiny. Apparently it carried him safely all the way through WW2. Only for Lufthansa to confiscate it. On the plane when a meal was served they gave us all metal knives 3x as big as this knife. Havent seen too many 85 year old’s cry during dinner.

  13. Had to leave a rock behind I collected on Aconcagua. They told me it’s a weapon, I almost responded:” where I come from we already have invented steel for that purpose”, but because I wanted to fly I kept my mouth shut

  14. I often set off the alarms. Zürich airport is one of the few that doesn’t like my belts. One time I was being scanned, couldn’t find it, wasn’t my adamantium skeleteon, they took my shoes away, and returned them with a GBP 1 coin they had found under the top of the heel. I have no idea how it got there.

  16. If it has logic, it is not Switzerland. If it costs you nothing, it is not Switzerland. Rules must make no sense, and things must cost. Always.

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