Airport Security: you can't be too careful about pesto...
The rule against carrying larger liquids through a security checkpoint is nearing its 11th birthday (thanks, underwear bomber!) and to many travelers, it remains both bizarre and annoying. It is even harder to reconcile as the number of exceptions, mostly for medical reasons, grows.
The risk of carrying these larger containers through the checkpoint is mitigated thanks to the use of newer scanner systems that can verify the contents. So, why not use these scanners for everything? Like many things it is all about money. New scanners are expensive and adjusting the passenger flow through security lines to handle screening all the bottles would slow things down or require increased staffing. That all adds up to reasons or excuses to skip the idea, unless you happen to be in Genoa, Italy.
The local airport authority teamed up with a local charity, Flying Angels, and the security crew to allow containers of pesto up to 500g through the checkpoint, subject to additional screening and payment of a fee. The fee is treated as a donation to Flying Angels and earns the passenger a sticker for their pesto container. At the security checkpoint the stickered tub is scanned in the specialized machine and, because it is a condiment and not a security risk, allowed on to the plane.
This is great, of course, for the passengers bringing home a souvenir and willing to pay the extra euro to do so. But if it can be done here and at an almost reasonable price that furthers the view that the issue is more about money than anything else. And now more than a decade on the fact that airports and governments have chosen to not invest some of the billions paid by passengers in security screening fees in things like this to cure pain points is most unfortunate.
https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2017/07/02/airport-security-theatre-a-play-in-two-parts/
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There will be no end to the horror.
