Air passengers have been reminded today that dangerous items must not be carried on aircraft.
As millions of Brits make plans to take flights over Christmas and New Year, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has claimed that the next few weeks will raise a number of specific concerns.
Geoff Leach, head of the Dangerous Goods Office at the CAA, stressed that some items deemed “innocuous” in everyday use can still pose a grave risk to air passengers.
“One issue at this time of year is Christmas crackers which, unopened with their packaging intact, can be taken on board, but not party poppers. They contain more explosive than crackers, which obviously makes them more dangerous, particularly when sold in retail packs,” he said.
Fireworks, flares and toy gun caps appear on the list of items that cannot be taken onboard, along with gas cylinders, tear gas, lighter fuel, paint, firelighters and insecticides.
Leach pointed out that cigarette lighters are allowed ‘on the person’ but stressed that they are not allowed in passenger baggage. One rucksack at Gatwick caught fire this year as a result of a lighter stored inside.
Research from Sainsbury’s Bank indicates that 12 per cent of the UK population are considering spending Christmas abroad this year and eight per cent of these hope to go to Spain.
