Passenger: no, TSA, you can’t have my vodka

by Lisa Simeone on October 4, 2012


We’ve told you about the TSA’s little drink charade a few times before.

Long after you’ve cleared security, they come around to the gate and wave their little magic wand over your drink, a drink you’ve purchased in the so-called sterile area, to pretend they’re doing something. And if you don’t allow them to play games with your drink, they might just make you miss your flight.

Well, this woman would have none of it. The TSA didn’t pull the magic wand trick here; they just told the woman she couldn’t take her Big Scary Bottle of More-Than-Three-Ounces of Vodka on the plane. She wasn’t about to let it go to waste.

So she offered swigs to other passengers in line.

No word on whether the TSA detained or otherwise abused her. She looks like a tough cookie, though. Good for her for standing up to the martinets.

(Photo: Adam Conner)

Tagged as: abuse, Airport, DHS, Security, stupidity, theft, Travel, TSA

  • cjr001

    Wow. If I saw this at an airport, the first thing I’d do is report it to somebody, anybody.

    There’s no way in hell I’d want that person on a flight with me. She’s a restrained passenger and emergency landing waiting to happen.

    • http://tsanewsblog.com/214/news/history-repeats-itself-with-tsas-strip-search-tactics/ Lisa Simeone

      ??

      cjr001, are you being sarcastic?

      • cjr001

        No.

        If that’s an actual bottle of vodka, who knows how much of it she had before she got in line, much less how much she may have had if she got through security with it.

        Regardless of the 3 ounce silliness rule, nobody should be allowed to carry on board an opened fifth.

        • http://tsanewsblog.com/214/news/history-repeats-itself-with-tsas-strip-search-tactics/ Lisa Simeone

          There’s no indication it was a fifth. I don’t know how big it was. It says “handle” at the original Gawker entry. Was he using that term loosely? I don’t know. And it looks like she only opened it when the TSA said they were going to confiscate it.

          • LeeAnneClark

            Lisa, while I know that you know I share your utter revulsion for the TSA and everything to do with them, I can’t help but agree with cjr001 that she looks a bit scary to me. Look at that bottle – is she planning on drinking ALL of it? It appears half-full in the photo – how much of it has she drank already? And even if she’s just starting on it now, that’s enough vodka to put someone in a COMA! She already looks half-plastered – look at her mouth.

            I would NOT want to be on a flight with her. If she actually accomplished what it appears she’s trying to accomplish – finishing off that huge bottle of vodka – she’d be so inebriated that her behavior would be unpredictable, irrational and possibly belligerent. That’s if she even stayed conscious — that much vodka could easily result in alcohol poisoning. She could end up puking all over the poor passenger stuck next to her, then go into convulsions, requiring a medical-emergency landing.

            Still, I can’t help but laugh at her gumption. I’m sure the smurfs were not amused!

          • cjr001

            LeeAnne’s right. Just looking at the size of the bottle, I can tell it’s at least a fifth – a 750ml bottle. It might even be a 1 liter bottle. For reference, a fifth is in reference to being 1/5th of a gallon, which is 757ml. It’s a standard bottle size for liquors.

            The little sample-esque bottles you can buy in liquor stores and they sell on the planes? They’re only 50ml.

            Vodka is also at least 40% alcohol, which means for many people it only takes a few shots to get a good buzz going. That bottle is nearly half gone.

            Now, there’s no indication that she’s drank it all herself, or indeed that she had any at all before she got in line. But how much of it did she intend to drink then? And does anybody think it’s a good idea for her to be ‘offering swigs’ to other passengers?

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