TSA relaxes carry-on rules for liquids and gels
Starting Tuesday morning, air travelers coming through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will be able to bring small amounts of liquids and gels on planes.
Minneapolis airport officials say they've gotten federal permission to ease restrictions on what airline passengers can take aboard the plane. The ban was put in place last month after British police foiled an alleged plot to bomb airplanes.
Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman, Pat Hogan, says the Transportation Safety Administration is requiring that the items all fit into a sealed one-quart zip-top plastic bag.
"As long as they have them all together in a single quart-sized, see-through ziploc bag," Hogan says.
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Hogan says those items must be travel-sized, three ounces or smaller.
"The TSA has done a number of tests -- of explosives tests -- to try to determine what amount people can safely carry without endangering the aircraft," Hogan says. "That's why there are still these size requirements, and the maximum you can bring through -- three ounces per item."
Hogan says passengers will not be allowed to bring water, coffee or other beverages through security checkpoints. But passengers will be allowed to purchase beverages in airport shops and take them on the plane.
Hogan says passengers will be allowed to take baby formula and prescription drugs through the checkpoints, but they must alert security officials first.
