Changi Airport offers mail service for prohibited items

[feb01mel]

Changi Airport offers mail service for prohibited items

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Changi Airport is offering a first-of-its kind service in Asia. It's giving travellers the option to post hand-carried items like liquids and aerosols that are not allowed on flights.

Travellers can use the Speedpost@Changi service and mail the prohibited items home or to the hotel they're staying in.

They must fit either of two standard Speedpost envelope sizes.

The limit for liquids is 200ml.

Alan Tan, head Aviation Security, Changi Airport Group, said: “A lot of passengers may not be familiar with travel restrictions and even those who are familiar may even forget to pack in these items into their check in baggage.

“So at pre-flight screenings, when they discover these items, it will have to be disposed off. To some of them, these items may be of high value or sentimental value, so it's actually quite painful and quite an unpleasant experience.

Travellers share this sentiment.

One traveller Zachary Davidson, said: "I lost a knife my grandfather had given me back in the States in the bag scan and never got it back and never have it again. So, it's pretty great because it’s irreplaceable. I mean, if it's minor then there's no need to do it, but it's something nice."

Another traveller May Romen said: "I've seen people get really angry when they have to throw away their expensive perfume or anything else. So that's probably a good initiative, so at least people have the opportunity to not lose the product.”

Besides saving items of special value, it also saves money.

Mr Tan added: "There's a particular customer from Singapore who had six cans of sardines and then decided to post back home. I think it makes economic sense for them because it saved them S$10 at the end of the day. One can of sardine costs like S$3, 6 cans is S$18 and posting it back is just S$10 so it saved them S$8."

The service is being tried out for two months at the transit area of Terminal 1.

Changi Airport Group and SingPost will look at the operational issues, passenger feedback and demand and then decide if they should extend the service to the rest of the airport. - CNA/vm

Taken off Channelnewsasia Website

[Pinkfloyd]

[B]Mr Tan added: "There's a particular customer from Singapore who had six cans of sardines and then decided to post back home. I think it makes economic sense for them because it saved them S$10 at the end of the day. One can of sardine costs like S$3, 6 cans is S$18 and posting it back is just S$10 so it saved them S$8."[/I]

Am I the only one confused with the maths here??

Slow day at the office and I'm bored...

[jjpb3]

Am I the only one confused with the maths here??

Slow day at the office and I'm bored...

Maybe he was doing his calculations in British lira (it's no longer the pound sterling, given its gyrations), so the savings begin disappearing in the same paragraph.

[Pinkfloyd]

He should probably lay off the stuff he's been smoking!

But honestly, posting back sardines?!?!

[DinkumDave]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't it also possible to take the items to the transfer desk and have them checked in? Assuming there is still enough time available, of course.

I was in a similar situation at BKK recently when the X-ray machine picked up a bullet built into one of the wife's amulets. Stupid, I know, but it's honestly not something we ever thought about. It's been carried on aircraft dozens of times before without being spotted.

Anyway, the wife didn't want to ditch the amulet, so I emptied out the contents of her Hello Kitty make-up bag into another bag, put the amulet in there, and took it to the desk to be checked in.

The check in staff weighed the bag - 0.1kg - before wrapping it in an enormous plastic bag which must have weighed another kg or two! Then they made us take it to the "oversize baggage" counter, because they were worried it would get squashed if it was thrown in with the ordinary baggage.

19 hours, 3000 miles, and one transit later, Hello Kitty was the very first item to appear on the baggage carousel, totally unharmed, and contents intact.

Total cost - $0. Just great service from SQ

[Guy Betsy]

Am I the only one confused with the maths here??

Slow day at the office and I'm bored...

If the person had to throw away the 6 cans of sardines he would have wasted $18. But if he mailed it . he would only spend $10. So that he would not have to buy another 6 cans at another $18.. thereby 'saving' $8.

[FN-GM]

If the person had to throw away the 6 cans of sardines he would have wasted $18. But if he mailed it . he would only spend $10. So that he would not have to buy another 6 cans at another $18.. thereby 'saving' $8.

Yet it would be cheaper and easier to buy on the other side or to check it in.

[Pinkfloyd]

If the person had to throw away the 6 cans of sardines he would have wasted $18. But if he mailed it . he would only spend $10. So that he would not have to buy another 6 cans at another $18.. thereby 'saving' $8.

That is right, but what confuses me is the is the contradiction in Mr. Tan's statement:

Mr Tan added: "There's a particular customer from Singapore who had six cans of sardines and then decided to post back home. I think it makes economic sense for them because it saved them S$10 at the end of the day. One can of sardine costs like S$3, 6 cans is S$18 and posting it back is just S$10 so it saved them S$8."

Anyways, like I said, what is the point in posting back sardines of all things?

[MSPeconomist]

I had an issue once at gate security in T1 before a NW flight to NRT and the US when I had assumed that the SIN rules were the same as those used by the US TSA. In particular, I had an extremely small (but expensive) pair of scissors in my carryon as well as a cheap corkscrew without a blade. To make the situation worse, I was one of the last to report to the gate from the lounge, although I was in WBC and left when the lounge dragon told me to go.

NW provided a nice new sturdy cardboard box for these items at the gate, wrapped and taped it carefully, and put it into the plane as checked luggage, complete with priority tags. Very nice!

However, it did not appear at SFO during a bad IROPs day and I had difficulty convincing the baggage people in customs that they should look for it. Sure enough, the box was found, complete with the priority luggage tags, and the excuse was that it was too small (maybe about a ten inch cube) to go through the standard luggage belt. When I left customs and went to the domestic terminal to recheck my bag for the connecting flight, I threw away the box and put the offending items back into my carryon in order to avoid another piece of stuff to handle at arrival; I didn't want to have issues twice with my precious little box.

[MSPeconomist]

how helpful will it be?

In thinking further about this new service, I'm doubtful that it can help many passengers. Once one has a problem with screening at the gate, there typically will be no time to walk to this mail service, stand in line, pack the item, write the address, pay the fees, etc. and still return to the gate in time to prevent missing the plane.

Moreover, 200 mil of liquid isn't very much, just a somewhat larger non-travel/sample size toiletry container. It doesn't seem to allow for any alcohol or normal-sized food containers. Is caviar considered to be a liquid or gel?