Bottles of whiskey, perfume, water, wine, soft drink cans, hair gel, shampoo, deodorant, and fruit "smoothies" were just some of the items surrendered by people travelling from Dublin airport yesterday when new EU aviation security regulations came into effect.
Some 60,000 people were expected to travel through the airport yesterday, but there were few reports of delays at security gates.
Under the new rules only containers of 100mls or less of liquids, gels, pastes, lotions and cosmetics can be brought through the passenger security screening points at all EU airports.
Most passengers appeared to have either planned ahead with their packing or to have become resigned to sacrificing those items which broke the new rules.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) said it had enrolled the help of an extra 25 staff to act as customer service agents during the day.
It was also in the process of hiring 40 temporary staff on initial three-month contracts to deal with the fallout from the new regulations and to cover the busy Christmas period.
It plans to donate to charity any confiscated items which are fully intact.
Passengers at the airport were given a number of opportunities between entering the terminal building and arriving at security scanners to hand over forbidden items.
Liquid items which are allowed on board had to be placed in plastic resealable see-through bags for inspection by security staff. While many of the products surrendered in advance of reaching the security scanners were smaller items such as bottles of water or hair gel - which sometimes only just exceeded the 100ml limit - some individuals appeared willing to take their chances with larger items.
Among the items confiscated from hand luggage scanned through security machines and shown to reporters by the DAA were litre bottles of whiskey and standard-sized bottles of wines.
Declan McCarthy, head of passenger services with the DAA, said yesterday afternoon that he had not encountered any aggression from passengers.
He said the vast majority of those asked to surrender goods did so with good humour.
"The only things that seem to have been catching people were their sense of what 100ml is, and I suppose other people thought booze was okay to bring on.
"But I have to say the reaction has been extraordinarily good."
One passenger travelling through Dublin airport to Heathrow yesterday was comedian and broadcaster Dara O'Briain. He said he was well accustomed to the demands of security restrictions as he travelled between Britain and Ireland frequently. "I come over here without any toothpaste or gel, and then have to fly them over into England. People can rest assured that my creams have been secured."
Steve and Barbara Prebble, who live in the US but who were travelling to Luton with their nine-month-old son Ian, tried to minimise any delays by feeding him before boarding. This meant they did not have to bring a full bottle of liquid on board. "The reality is that the less you bring, the less aggravating it is," Mr Prebble said.
Transparent bags will be available free at the airport for a limited time. After that passengers must purchase them at retail outlets.
SECURITY: the new rules
Under new aviation security regulations which took effect across the EU yesterday, only containers of 100mls or less of liquids, gels, pastes, lotions and cosmetics can be brought through the passenger security screening points at airports.
These items must be presented at the passenger security screening point in a transparent re-sealable bag of no more than one litre capacity, 20cm x 20cm.
The new rules apply to a range of liquid products such as water and other beverages, aerosol cans and toiletries such as toothpaste, shaving cream, hair gel, lip-gloss and creams.
Two exceptions to the rules are baby food needed during the flight and medicines needed during the flight. Exempt items must also be placed in a separate transparent re-sealable bag and presented separately at the passenger security screening area.
There is a limit of one transparent plastic bag per person.The transparent plastic bag must be re-sealable.
When passing through the passenger security point, passengers are required to place the transparent bag separately in the tray for X-ray screening.
Coats, jackets and large electrical appliances such as laptops must also be placed in the tray provided for security screening.
The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) recommends that passengers pre-pack liquids covered by the regulations into resealable transparent bags to minimise delays.Customers can also contact a freephone advice line on 1800 250 180.
Source: DAA website.