Join associations, TFWA Asia/Pacific security delegates told

Emily Pacey

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In a lively panel discussion about security restrictions at airports, delegates were urged to join duty-free associations and lobby their governments

The second session of the TFWA Asia/Pacific conference focused on security issues. European Travel Retail Council Frank O’Connell led a panel discussion on the current state of the liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) situation. He was joined by TSA representative Armen Sahagian, Australian Duty Free Association spokesperson Tom Thomas, Shiseido travel-retail director Ariel Gentzburger and Camus International area director southeast Asia.

Statistics on the confiscation of LAGs at European airports were used to illustrate the scale of the security problem. About 2,500 litres of liquids are being confiscated daily at Frankfurt International airport, 1,000 litres a day at Amsterdam Schiphol  and 900 litres per day at Madrid. At Zurich airport, €22,000 of alcohol and fragrances are being confiscated every day.

“If you extrapolate these figures over a year, you can see why confiscations are damaging consumer confidence,” said O’Connell. He described how a unilateral recognition of security of liquid items purchased airside in third countries would safeguard the global duty-free market. “It is critical to get approval and start the process before summer, which is a very challenging target that demands an equal desire on the part of the third countries as of EU member states. The European Commission is ready to engage, but we need others to engage with them.”

O’Connell’s admission that, “there is no simple, single solution to this problem,” initiated a lively session in which moderator Doug Newhouse encouraged delegates to “ask any question, no matter how stupid it might sound. This is a complicated and confusing issue.”

Braun Duty Free agent Klaus Mellin asked the panel if it could explain why “we have a huge problem around the world that is based on a single incident that happened in the UK?” TSA’s Thomas assured Mellin that “liquids explosives are a real threat. Obviously there are trade-offs we have to make, and while we cannot compromise on security, we will not be blind to commercial interests.”

In response to a suggestion that security agents should recognise the manufacturer’s packaging seals as safe, Thomas countered that it is relatively easy to replicate a seal, although he recognised that “we do not currently have the best solution to the LAGs problem, which is why we are here today discussing it. We want to hear your suggestions and creative thinking on ways around this problem.”

He then announced that TSA was assessing the viability of a liquids screening device, although he was not able to go reveal further details.

One delegate described, “the total inflexibility of security officers who confiscate products. What we are seeing is the paranoia of US and Britain and now the whole world is suffering.” He asked, but are the LAG’s rules going to be with us forever?” Dubai Duty Free managing director Colm McLoughlin suggested a name and shame policy for airports who confiscate these items. His suggestion received general agreement from the panel, but BAA business relations director Sarah Branquinho defended airports’ position. “With around 15,000 transactions being made every day, some people are going to slip through the net and end up with their items being confiscated. The goodwill towards retailers and suppliers is there, but we simply lack the resources to find out where confiscated items are originating from. As a result, there are not many facts or figures that we can help retailers and suppliers out with.”

O’Connell summed up the session: “We all have our own personal opinions on this, but as an industry we have put these aside and think differently. If we don’t have proper security then we don’t have a business. There is a real threat out there and as an industry it is essential that we engage with the problem in a pragmatic way that allows us to continue to trade.”