MICHELLE MUELLER / MMUELLER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Joe Guyton, state airport security manager, handled a toy bazooka yesterday that was confiscated at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Honolulu Airport.
Contraband collection
grows at Honolulu AirportPassengers are asked to check in as much
as possible to avoid confiscation delays
In just one week this month, Honolulu Airport security agents confiscated 1,897 prohibited items, including 1,009 pairs of scissors, eight box cutters and two toy swords.
"Every time we have to confiscate an item, it holds the line up 30 seconds to a minute," said Joe Guyton, state airport security manager. "If everyone does their part, we'll find lines more manageable."
The number of confiscated goods is rising, said airport officials who displayed thousands of surrendered items yesterday. They want to remind the public to do their part to keep security lines moving by keeping their carry-on baggage free of prohibited items.
Travelers are prohibited from carrying any item onto a plane that can potentially be used as a weapon. These include sharp objects such as scissors, knives and box cutters; firearms and toy replica guns; tools, including hammers and screwdrivers; and self-defense items.
Although the Transportation Security Administration's Web site (www.tsa.gov/public) indicates that travelers can bring nail clippers and tweezers, these items were confiscated by Honolulu TSA screeners. Lauren Stover, a TSA spokeswoman in Virginia, said TSA agents can use "their own discretion."
Guyton has advice for all travelers: "Get as much as possible in your (check-in) bag." He said although some travelers ignore the list of prohibited items, some just do not know the rules.
Amy Weisgerber, who was traveling to Los Angeles yesterday, said she thinks more people need to do their homework to find out what they can bring on board.
"There's no excuse," she said. "They post a list of items on the Web, on a board at ticketing and on your ticket."
In the airport's lost and found, Guyton walked through rows of shelves stuffed with boxes full of scissors and knives.
He pointed to machete knifes, a 10-pound dumbbell, torch lighters, cans of spray paint and lubricants, and a large hammer-- all things travelers tried to bring on planes.
"There have been some bona fide instances where people didn't get the message," said Guyton. "But why do you need a 10-pound weight on a flight to San Francisco?"
Confiscated items at Honolulu Airport included plastic toy weapons and tools. But Guyton said these toy swords and chain saws are still a threat.
"The general public doesn't know it's a toy. You're going to assume it's the real deal," he said.
When images of guns or other weapons appear on the X-ray machines, security screeners have to call law enforcement to investigate, and the screening machine is shut down, making lines even longer, said Guyton.
San Francisco resident Danny Ma is frustrated the rules mean waiting in more lines. "I can't kill anyone with pocket scissors," he said while standing in long security lines at Honolulu Airport.
"Normally I don't have to check in bags. Now I have to go through the hassle of checking in a bag -- all for a tiny eyeglasses screwdriver."
Although traveler Jeff Peckham said he feels safer, he said the rules are "ridiculous." He said: "If I really wanted, I could find things on a plane to do harm. First-class meals come with metal knives."
But the bottom line for Elliott Say is the safety of his children when the family travels home to San Francisco. "It's frustrating but it helps," he said. "I feel so much safer."
