The kind of publicity that the industry does not need was in abundance for all to see over the weekend as readers of the Sunday Times in the UK and the New York Times complained

bitterly in print about the new security rules.
The letters in both newspapers only underline how quickly passengers and customers are beginning to understand – and resent – some of the more complex issues.
For example, a woman from Scotland writes in the Sunday Times that she is surprised that some non-EU duty free outlets continue to sell to ‘unwary passengers’ who are transiting within the EU, knowing full well that their goods are likely to be confiscated (so are we-Ed). According to her letter, she concludes that duty free is no longer one of the little perks of foreign travel.
Another reader's letter to the New York Times reports problems with US airport security officials with 100ml plastic bottles contained in transparent bags where the containers bear no commercial labels indicating the contents.
The newspaper quotes another reader who says that he has had problems at Nice Airport because the labels on his containers did not clearly identify the product's identity and also because they apparently did not come from a pharmacy.
Are these local interpretations of the regulations they ask intelligently?The answer is simply yes and that these security officials are perfectly within their rights to interpret the ‘rules’ as they see fit. The confiscation of duty free goods at major EU airports from passengers transiting on from non-EU airports also continues at pace and is damaging the industry's image badly.
The recent acceptance of the sealed bag by the European Commission will obviously help some of these individual situations, but the damage to the industry's reputation continues.
As predicted, the likelihood that many passengers will simply say ‘to hell with it’ and will not buy in future is a very real scenario unless mutual recognition of security protocols between the US and EU and the EU and non-EU countries is established quickly – with the latter being the greatest challenge.