News Release
Loyola de Palacio
No. 8/04
January 16, 2004
AIR SECURITY: COMMISSION DRAWS
UP EU-WIDE LIST OF PROHIBITED ARTICLES ON PASSENGER AIRCRAFT
The
Commission has adopted a
Regulation that, for
the first time, sets out an agreed EU-wide list
of items that are not allowed to be taken on aircraft by passengers. The
primary purpose of the legislation is to give clear and unambiguous
information to passengers flying from EU airports as to which objects will
be confiscated at airport security checkpoints. "This is another step
in the Commission policy of seeking high standards in the field of civil
aviation security through the setting of harmonised rules," said
{European Commission
Energy and Transport Commissioner and] Vice President [Loyola]
de Palacio.
The
Commission has adopted a Regulation laying down a list of articles that
are clearly prohibited from being carried by passengers onto all flights
from European Union airports. The new legislation also requires national
authorities to inform passengers of the content of this list before the
check-in procedure is completed. The list could, for example, be published
within the check-in area of an airport to allow passengers to dispose of
the listed objects, for example by placing them in hold luggage rather
than simply having objects confiscated at an airport security checkpoint.
The list of
prohibited articles is not exhaustive, since it is always possible to
devise new potentially dangerous types of weapons. If, however, an
appropriate authority wishes to prohibit an object not contained on the EU
list, it should duly inform the passenger accordingly before the check-in
procedure. Law enforcement authorities will of course still be entitled to
confiscate any unlisted articles that, based on an individual on-the-spot
local risk assessment, are deemed potentially dangerous.
Nonetheless, for most objects and most passengers the existence of this
new Commission Regulation should ensure a more transparent and thus more
comprehensible system than is currently practised.
The Commission also decided on a similar, but shorter, list of those articles
that are banned from being transported in the hold of an aircraft (i.e., in the
checked luggage of passengers). Common rules are also set to cover the use of
otherwise prohibited articles by staff in security restricted areas. This includes
the use of tools for maintenance and repair purposes.
The Commission will update this list in a speedy manner with the help of a
Committee(1) with representatives of member states.
ANNEX
Passengers are not permitted to carry the following articles into the security
restricted area and the cabin of an aircraft:
a) Guns, Firearms & Weapons
Any object capable, or appearing capable, of discharging a projectile or causing
injury, including:
All firearms (pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, etc.)
Replica and imitation firearms
Component parts of firearms (excluding telescopic sighting devices & sights)
Air pistols, rifles and pellet guns
Signal flare pistols
Starter pistols
Toy guns of all types
Ball bearing guns
Industrial bolt and nail guns
Crossbows
Catapults
Harpoon and spear guns
Animal humane killers
Stun or shocking devices, e.g, cattle prods, ballistic conducted energy
weapons (tasers)
Lighters shaped like a firearm
b) Pointed/Edged Weapons & Sharp Objects
Pointed or bladed articles capable of causing injury, including:
Axes and hatchets
Arrows and darts
Crampons
Harpoons and spears
Ice axes an ice picks
Ice skates
Lockable or flick knives with blades of any length
Knives, including ceremonial knives, with blades of more than 6 cm., made
of metal or any other material strong enough to be used as a potential
weapon
Meat cleavers
Machetes
Open razors and blades (excluding safety or disposable razors with blades
enclosed in cartridges)
Sabres, swords and swordsticks
Scalpels
Scissors with blades more than 6 cm. in length
Ski and walking/hiking poles
Throwing stars
Tradesman's tools that have the potential to be used as a pointed or edged
weapon, e.g., drills and drill bits, box cutters, utility knives, all
saws, screwdrivers, crowbars, hammers, pliers, wrenches/spanners, blow
torches.
c) Blunt Instruments
Any blunt instrument capable of causing injury, including:
Baseball and softball bats
Clubs or batons rigid or flexible, e.g., billy clubs, blackjacks, night
sticks and batons
Cricket bats
Golf clubs
Hockey sticks
Lacrosse sticks
Kayak and canoe paddles
Skateboards
Billiard, snooker and pool cues
Fishing rods
Martial arts equipment, e.g., knuckle dusters, clubs, coshes, rice flails,
num chucks, kubatons, kubasaunts
d) Explosives and flammable Substances
Any explosive or highly combustible substances which poses a risk to the health
of passengers and crew or the security/safety of aircraft or property, including:
Ammunition
Blasting caps
Detonators and fuses
Explosives and explosive devices
Replica or imitation explosive material or devices
Mines and other explosive military stores
Grenades of all types
Gas and gas containers, e.g., butane, propane, acetylene, oxygen—in large
volume
Fireworks, flares in any form and other pyrotechnics (including party
poppers and toy caps)
Non-safety matches
Smoke-generating canisters or cartridges
Flammable liquid fuel,e.g., petrol/gasoline, diesel, lighter fluid,
alcohol, ethanol
Aerosol spray paint
Turpentine and paint thinner
Alcoholic beverages exceeding 70% by volume (140% proof)
e) Chemical and Toxic Substances
Any chemical or toxic substances which poses a risk to the health of passengers
and crew or the security/safety of aircraft or property, including:
Acids and alkalis, e.g., spillable “wet” batteries
Corrosive or bleaching substances, e.g., mercury, chlorine
Disabling or incapacitating sprays, e.g., mace, pepper spray, tear gas
Radioactive material, e.g., medicinal or commercial isotopes
Poisons
Infectious or biological hazardous material, e.g., infected blood,
bacteria and viruses
Material capable of spontaneous ignition or combustion
Fire extinguishers
The following articles shall not be placed in hold baggage:
Explosives, including detonators, fuses, grenades, mines and explosives
Gases: propane, butane
Flammable liquids, including gasoline, methanol
Flammable solids and reactive substances, including magnesium,
firelighters, fireworks, flares
Oxidizers and organic peroxides, including bleach, car body repair kits
Toxic or infectious substances, including rat poison, infected blood
Radioactive material, including medicinal or commercial isotopes
Corrosives, including mercury, vehicle batteries
Vehicle fuel system components which have contained fuel
(1) by means of the Regulatory Committee created by
Regulation 2320/2002
