TORONTO -- The holiday travel season is just around the corner -- a time filled not only with cheer, but with thousands of panicked travellers trying not to pack the wrong thing in their carry-on luggage.
While it may seem like common sense not to pack a hunting knife in your purse, some of the restrictions aren鈥檛 so straightforward.
Christine Langlois, spokesperson for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), walked through the do鈥檚 and don鈥檛鈥檚 of packing for air travel during the holidays.
WRAPPED GIFTS
One type of item that becomes more of a concern during December is gifts. If you have wrapped gifts in your luggage, they may have to be unwrapped at checkpoints, according to Langlois, wasting all that work you spent on getting the paper folded just so.
Langlois said she鈥檚 a fan of unwrapping presents, but would rather not unwrap other people鈥檚 gifts.
鈥淲e want to preserve the Christmas magic, so make sure to wrap after the checkpoint,鈥� she said.
However, she said 鈥渢here鈥檚 no limit on wrapping paper, you can bring as much as you want.鈥�
CANNABIS PRODUCTS
This is the first holiday season that cannabis edibles are legal, but it鈥檚 important to understand the rules around flying.
Up to 30 grams of recreational cannabis can be brought onto a plane in your carry-on -- as long as it is a domestic flight. For medicinal users, the limit is 150 grams, as long as they have the proper documentation.
鈥淵ou should not cross international borders with cannabis,鈥� Langlois said.
This could be tricky. If a domestic flight is rerouted into the U.S. due to technical issues or an emergency, passengers carrying cannabis could find themselves at risk of receiving a lifetime ban from travelling to the U.S.
This was the situation that some travellers on a Vancouver flight found themselves in this week in Washington. No bans were reported, but some criticized Air Canada for the lack of clarity over what passengers were expected to do.
While some states have legalized cannabis, the federal policy in the U.S. is strictly opposed to it.
POWDERS, SALTS
There鈥檚 a limit for inorganic powders as well -- you can only bring 350 milliliters. Bath salts are one common example.
鈥淏ath salt is extremely relaxing,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut if you have more than roughly the size of a soda can, it鈥檚 much more relaxing if you have it in your checked luggage.鈥�
The same goes for sand and cooking salts.
But some products affected by this rule aren鈥檛 as obvious. She pointed out that hand warming pouches, which understandably become more popular to carry in the colder months, often contain inorganic powders.
鈥淚f you have two or three, perfectly fine,鈥� she said.
But if you鈥檙e hauling around a box of them, maybe put them in your checked luggage.
LIQUIDS AND GELS
The rule regarding liquids and gels is one that has tripped up a lot of people -- shampoo and perfume are two of the most common items that have to be removed from carry-ons.
You can bring liquids or gels on a plane if they are in containers that only fit 100 ml or less -- and if all of these travel-sized containers fit in a one litre clear plastic bag.
There are exceptions: if you want to bring milk and you鈥檙e travelling with a child two years or younger, 鈥測ou鈥檙e allowed more, but you have to show it at the checkpoint,鈥� she said.
The same goes for liquid medication, such as cough syrup.
DANGEROUS ITEMS
Langlois said she鈥檚 seen a lot of strange items come through the checkpoints.
As an example, she displayed a large, two-pronged cooking fork that a traveler had to leave behind.
鈥淢aybe 鈥� somebody was planning to do a turkey at home,鈥� she theorized, 鈥�(but) that (should) have gone in checked luggage, not in carry-on.鈥�
December 20th is expected to be one of the busiest travel days, as well as the following days leading up to Christmas Day.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting about 8,000 travellers (at the Ottawa International Airport) at departures only for those days,鈥� Langlois said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 going to be very busy.鈥�
The Toronto Pearson Airport regularly sees over 100,000 people go through its terminals daily through those peak travel days in December.
The year-round rules on what to leave out when you鈥檙e packing can be found on the . The ban includes weapons, sharp objects, ammunition and explosives, as well as toys or models that imitate a weapon too realistically.
PLAN AHEAD
Appropriate planning can help avert any potential problems at the airport. Thousands of items have to be left behind every day by travellers who mistakenly put them in their carry-on, Langlois said.
鈥淲e all make better decisions when we have time. So give yourself plenty of time. It鈥檚 going to be busy, we know about it, so let鈥檚 prepare and give ourselves time,鈥� she said.
One of the tools that can help with planning is the , Breeze Through Security, which shows the wait time in real time in fourteen different Canadian airports, and allows you to search an item to see whether you should put it in checking or carry-on.
CATSA also responds to travellers鈥� questions during business hours through and
鈥淪ometimes when people want to travel with something a bit unusual, they send us a picture of the item, with a short description, and it helps us tell them where it should go,鈥� Langlois said.
So what is the strangest thing she鈥檚 seen a traveler try to bring on a plane? One contender: a carton of eggs.
鈥淭he eggs are a bit unusual to me, I鈥檒l be completely honest with you,鈥� she told CTV Ottawa. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time (I鈥檝e seen) a dozen of fresh eggs at the checkpoint in all my tours in Canada.鈥�
