Be careful of duty-free shopping when changing planes

An acquaintance of mine related a gotcha for travelers who buy from a duty-free shop, then have to change planes at another airport.

My acquaintance has no idea what the product was. He saw a couple receive a delivery of a purchase on their plane from a duty-free shop, as we have seen on occasion. The delivery is to a boarded passenger who avoids duty on the product, usually an expensive scotch or other liquor from what I have seen, but apparently not in this case.

The couple and my friend flew to a city prior to their destination where they had to change planes, leaving the secure area in the process, then passing through screening again. At this second screening, the package was banned. The couple was not allowed to bring it into the secure area, despite their pleas and assurances. From the carrying on of the couple, it was apparently an expensive item. For whatever reason, the couple had to abandon it.

In this instance, the intermediate stop was at a small airport, and there is no immediate way to have an item shipped either home or to their vacation address. Additionally, even if their had been a shipper hande, the stop was the last stop before arrival at a vacation destination, so the couple may not have had an address or other place at their destination to ship the item to separately.

There are many times when we have to leave a secure area to get to another flight, forcing us to go through screening again. If you have purchased a banned item in a secure area, be aware of this gotcha if you have a stop before reaching your destination.

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