There is at least a colorable concern about liquid explosive or even toxic volatile liquids.
What you do with bags that have already gone through all security screening they are going to go through on the jetway or on board the plane for which there is no room in the overhead bins seems to be completely unrelated to any security concern.
My point is that the impacts of 9/11 aren’t just regulations promulgated by Homeland Security and TSA. Corporations also have made changes to their own procedures to either give the appearance of better security for their customers, employees, etc. 9/11 is the logical answer when you ask what happened to cause a change in airline procedure after the year 2000.
The you-can’t-bring-your-liquids-onto-the-plane rule was in response to a foiled terrorist plot that took place around 2005 that involved explosives disguised as drinking material.
I find the three-ounce rule particularly annoying, as it prevents me from bringing a beverage through the checkpoint, or carrying more than tiny little bottles of shampoo and soap.
I proposed the theory that not being allowed to carry liquids through security was sponsored by the airport merchants so you would be forced to buy their expensive bottles of water.
I foil them by carrying an empty bottle and filling it at the drinking fountain. And apparently I’m not the only one, because airports are now posting bottle-filling stations at the drinking fountains.
I usually have things in the bag I’m going to need during the flight. I check everything I won’t need during the flight. Domestic flights, I usually just have a backpack that fits under the seat. International flights, I’ve got food, medicine, my neck pillow and eye shades, blanket and stuff in the overhead bin.
But that kind of disproves your Merchant Theory. If the merchants had enough influence to ban liquids “for security reasons”, surely they’d have enough influence to oppose bottle filling stations. Why provide something that makes it easier for you to circumvent their Evil Plot?
I hadn’t thought of that. Of course, before the bottle-filling stations appeared, I was just filling my water bottle at the drinking fountains.
The power of the Merchant Cabal should have found a rationale for being able to ban bringing empty cpntainers into the boarding area.
Drinking fountains with water bottle filling features have been commonplace in public buildings since 10-20 years ago when people started carrying personal water bottles everywhere like 4yo dragging a stuffed bunny.
They’re no more or less common in airports than they are in shopping malls.
IMO YMMV.
As someone who likes to have a bottle of water when flying, i can say that water bottle filling stations have become a lot more common in airports than they were when airports started taking away water. I don’t recall exactly when they started being common.
Yes, I’ve been stuck on an airplane for hours with no food or water. But that only happened to me once. I’ve carried food and water when i fly since then.
I usually have to fly Air Canada and I don’t even know why people bother to be ready at all at the official boarding time. Boarding never begins on time anyway. If my boarding pass says boarding is at 6, I don’t bother to even be there at 6. As long as I’m in the airport I’m fine, I can wander over a little late and in all likelihood they won’t even have let anyone on yet, much less gotten past the special groups.