Is there anything worse than losing our package in the airport before arriving to a completely new country where the weather is totally different from what we are used to? I can't think of a worse situation when we travel...
Ashley, an IndependentTraveler.com staffer, once faced a packing emergency so calamitous that her only solution was to sway a surly airport worker — by sobbing.
Back when the TSA first introduced its 3-1-1 rules for carry-on liquids, Ashley inadvertently tried to bring a large, expensive bottle of shampoo through airport security. When the TSA guard threatened to confiscate the shampoo, Ashley returned to her airline's counter to check her bag. The line was dreadfully long, and she was going to miss her flight.
She begged a nearby airport worker to let her skip to the front of the line, explaining that she had already waited in line earlier; he refused. Finally, Ashley started to cry and the red-faced airport worker begrudgingly allowed her to bypass the line.
She made her flight with minutes to spare — but the airline subsequently lost Ashley's checked bag. Says Ashley, “If I had known how much trouble the whole thing would be, I would have just forfeited the shampoo.”When it comes to packing, a small mistake like putting a prohibited item in your carry-on bag can snowball into a messy chain of events.
