A chara, – We are very grateful to D Breathnach (December 29th), for his speedy reply to our letter (December 27th) and although his bread and butter letter clarifies one or two points, the jam is still missing and some important questions remain unanswered.
Our client had read the notices at Dublin airport and had indeed consulted its “excellent” website.
There was a comprehensive list of prohibited items for hand luggage which included animal stunners, grenades and harpoon guns. He searched high and low but he did not find jam on the list.
On the slightly more complex issue of whether jam is a liquid or not, our client did not find any specific mention of jam as a liquid or a water-tight definition of a liquid that would satisfactorily encompass country market jam.
Dublin airport website states: “Some things are evidently liquid, like drinks and perfume. Others are less obvious, like gels, pastes, lotions, mixture of liquids and solids and the contents of aerosols. Some examples of these are toothpastes, hair gels, face creams, liquid cosmetics, lip-gloss, deodorants, perfumes and shaving foam.” No mention of jam.
As to the actual consistency of the jam in question: we rely on the author Patrick Quigley of Blanchardstown who bought two jars at the same time. “As to Alan’s jam, I can testify that it’s the real thing with no relation to the watery mess promoted in supermarkets. A mouse or other small mammal could trot across the surface without fear of coming to a sticky end. The apricot has a lovely texture this consumer loves to savour for as long as possible before swallowing. On a dark winter morning it evokes the image of a sun-kissed terrace in Longford.”
We see also from the website that the Dublin airport authorities are abiding by EU Regulation (EC NO 1546/2006) for their rules.
But if you try to find these regulations online you find that the annex, which should have all the details and definitions on it, turns out to be a blank piece of paper. It is a classified secret and is not to be divulged to the general public.
So we all have to abide by a secret EU regulation. How can we know accurately in advance how to interpret the law about airport safety if it is not officially published in the EU journal?
We should point out that my client was only in Ireland for one night and was travelling light. He did not have any hold luggage.
And what, we wonder, would have happened if instead of jam my client had taken through three jars of the very best Irish honey that had set hard and was obviously no longer a liquid? This has all the makings of a Flann O’Brien story, but then again the jam was bought in the Michael Collins Bar of the Greville Arms and Flann O’Brien was no stranger to bars. He certainly knew a liquid when he saw one, and also knew how to down a liquid to fuel his writing. Whether he drank jam is not known.
We would be very grateful indeed for further clarification on these important issues either by Irish Customs, the airport search unit, the airport police or the cosy offices of the EU in Brussels.
Just for the record, our client was not “embarrassed”, as D Breathnach suggests, only “bemused” and curious to get to the bottom of this sticky conundrum. – Is mise,
Sir, – The reason that a passenger at Dublin Airport was not permitted to board an aircraft with three pots of jam (Pól Ó Murchú, December 27th) was because the items in question breached European Union security regulations.
The EU regulations regarding liquids, pastes and gels, which have been in been in place for five years, state that liquids, pastes and gels cannot be brought through the passenger security screening area in containers measuring more than 100ml. To comply with the regulations, these containers must be placed into a re-sealable transparent plastic bag measuring 20cm x 20cm and presented at the passenger security screening area.
As the jars of jam measured more than 100ml they did not meet these EU regulations. Other items considered a liquid, paste or gel include honey, peanut butter, chocolate spread, toothpastes and mayonnaise.
Ideally, to avoid having to possibly surrender an item at security, passengers should if possible, place all jams, conserves, pastes, gels and other liquids into checked-in baggage.
These are EU-wide rules and, contrary to the impression given by your correspondent, they apply in the UK as well as in Ireland. Our security screening staff are audited on a regular basis by officials from the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport to ensure compliance with these rules and all other current security regulations.
Any liquids or gels surrendered at Dublin airport security that are unopened are donated to charity. – Yours, etc,