Monday 21 August 2006

Gel-filled bras OK on planes, despite security

Don't try to bring a tiny tube of lip-moisturizing gel on board an airliner these days, or wear thin gel inserts to make your shoes more comfortable. And leave your cold and cough gel-caps at home.

But, ladies and cross-dressing gents, no one will check if you wear your gel-filled bras right onto the plane.

Despite the fact that these hugely popular undergarments are owned by millions worldwide and have the capacity to carry enough liquid or gel explosives to make a terrorist smile, the Transportation Security Administration has not included them on the new list of items forbidden from carry-on baggage.

In the travel tips listed on the agency's Web site — www.tsa.gov — mention is made of "gel-filled bras," but mostly in the context of those worn as prosthetics by breast-cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomies.
Such passengers are urged to pack their bras in their checked baggage, but also advised that those with "medical gel" prosthetics will be allowed through security checkpoints.