We had a remarkably similar experience. We flew from Milan Malpensa on August 12th and Malpensa was a zoo. It took an hour and a half just to check in (Continental), I think mainly due to a lack of staff at the check-in counter. Then another 50 minutes to clear security as part of a massive crowd that wound all the way back to the stairs from the upper level. Like us, some people had seen the reports on TV and showed up with a clear plastic bag as their carry-on, containing only passport, wallet and a book. Others showed up with full carry-on gear, but no liquids or gels. There didn’t seem to be any consistent set of rules about what you could carry on, apart from the ban on liquids/gels (by the way the SEA Web site for Malpensa had absolutely nothing to say about the new security restrictions). Despite arriving at Malpensa 3 hours in advance only 2 of our 4 pieces of luggage made it with us to Newark. And those two didn’t make it onto our connecting flight. When we reached our destination I promptly filed a report with Continental on our missing baggage. The two bags that made it with us to Newark arrived the following day, but the two pieces that had remained behind in Milano weren’t sent until August 14th and arrived on the 15th! I think that the new restrictions on carry-on luggage caught the airlines unprepared, and maybe they don’t actually have enough storage space in the hold if everyone checks everything.
Newark was at least as chaotic as Malpensa, especially the second pass through security on the way to our connecting flight. I noticed that while most Europeans seemed aware of the liquids/gels ban, most of the Americans were not and there were howls of protest about hand cream, lip balm etc. that were confiscated. Everyone had to take of their shoes. It was very slow because the same guy that was monitoring the X-ray scanner was also searching carry-on bags. Despite a layover of 2 hours 10 minutes and clearing passport control remarkably quickly in Newark, we almost didn’t make our connecting flight.
In contrast, our return flights from the US on August 19th were remarkably smooth. We arrived 3 hours in advance, again, but it wasn’t necessary at all. No need to pass through security again before getting our connecting flight back to Italia. No problem having cell phones in carry-on luggage.
What does it all mean? (1) As usual in Italia, there are no consistent rules, i.e. one set of rules that applies to everybody. (2) The security restrictions seem to primarily reflect a concern with flights to the US, not nearly so much going the other way. (3) Flying in general and particularly to the US, which has become a progressively more miserable experience over the past 5 years, will soon become unbearable. I predict a total ban on carry-on luggage in the mear future.
We had a remarkably similar experience. We flew from Milan Malpensa on August 12th and Malpensa was a zoo. It took an hour and a half just to check in (Continental), I think mainly due to a lack of staff at the check-in counter. Then another 50 minutes to clear security as part of a massive crowd that wound all the way back to the stairs from the upper level. Like us, some people had seen the reports on TV and showed up with a clear plastic bag as their carry-on, containing only passport, wallet and a book. Others showed up with full carry-on gear, but no liquids or gels. There didn’t seem to be any consistent set of rules about what you could carry on, apart from the ban on liquids/gels (by the way the SEA Web site for Malpensa had absolutely nothing to say about the new security restrictions). Despite arriving at Malpensa 3 hours in advance only 2 of our 4 pieces of luggage made it with us to Newark. And those two didn’t make it onto our connecting flight. When we reached our destination I promptly filed a report with Continental on our missing baggage. The two bags that made it with us to Newark arrived the following day, but the two pieces that had remained behind in Milano weren’t sent until August 14th and arrived on the 15th! I think that the new restrictions on carry-on luggage caught the airlines unprepared, and maybe they don’t actually have enough storage space in the hold if everyone checks everything.
Newark was at least as chaotic as Malpensa, especially the second pass through security on the way to our connecting flight. I noticed that while most Europeans seemed aware of the liquids/gels ban, most of the Americans were not and there were howls of protest about hand cream, lip balm etc. that were confiscated. Everyone had to take of their shoes. It was very slow because the same guy that was monitoring the X-ray scanner was also searching carry-on bags. Despite a layover of 2 hours 10 minutes and clearing passport control remarkably quickly in Newark, we almost didn’t make our connecting flight.
In contrast, our return flights from the US on August 19th were remarkably smooth. We arrived 3 hours in advance, again, but it wasn’t necessary at all. No need to pass through security again before getting our connecting flight back to Italia. No problem having cell phones in carry-on luggage.
What does it all mean? (1) As usual in Italia, there are no consistent rules, i.e. one set of rules that applies to everybody. (2) The security restrictions seem to primarily reflect a concern with flights to the US, not nearly so much going the other way. (3) Flying in general and particularly to the US, which has become a progressively more miserable experience over the past 5 years, will soon become unbearable. I predict a total ban on carry-on luggage in the mear future.