Fraport News - August 11, 2009

FRA/rap-th> At vacation time people are looking forward to their holidays. To ensure the pleasure of traveling remains unflawed, fliers should remember when packing their suitcases that certain items are not allowed onboard the aircraft.  For example, so-called dangerous goods which involve a fire or explosion hazard, do not belong in travel baggage. These also include supposedly harmless items such as lighters or diving lights.  Under the regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) you may carry on your person only one lighter for personal use.

Because all check-in baggage at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is x-rayed on its way from the check-in counter to the aircraft, it is impossible to contact the respective passenger when a dangerous item has been found in the baggage item.  The prohibited item has to be removed from the bag or suitcase to ensure the baggage item will arrive at the flight destination together with the passengers.  Prohibited high-value items will be stored in a special storage area for up to four weeks, from where they may be retrieved when the owner returns to FRA.

In addition to lighters, chainsaws are considered dangerous.  Last month alone, some 63 chainsaws were removed from baggage.  Even brand new chainsaws are not allowed, because fuel and oil residues from factory testing present a potential hazard. Summer vacation-specific items with hazardous characteristics include camping ovens and stoves, diving lights and compressed-gas life jackets.  In contrast, winter is the season of avalanche backpacks with gas cartridges, which must be packed carefully to prevent accidental inflation.

Further information on dangerous goods in air transportation and a current list of prohibited items are available on the Internet via Fraport AG's web site  at:  http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/cms/default/dok/339/339762.dangerous_goods.html and in German only on the  website of the German Air Transportation Safety Board (LBA Luftfahrtbundesamt) at http://www.lba.de/cin_010/nn_57316/DE/Betrieb/Gefahrguttransport/A_Z_Passagierinfo_Gefahrgut_Gepaeck.html