I was in Cozumel in late Aug. No problems with TSA in the US, as I had remembered to deal with all the little things properly (like take the bottle of de-fog out solution out of my wife's prescription mask case in the carry-on). However, when departing Coz, a curious thing happened. We checked our bags, then were handed (by the check-in clerk) a printed list and asked if any of these items were in carry-on luggage. The list included about 15 or so items I had never seen on a TSA list, such as duct tape, hair curlers and batteries. We basically ignored the list as it looked only semi-official--no letterhead or other symbols of authority. We went through baggage security check and the security officer scanned my carry-on bag that contained camera, binoculars, 2 regs, mask, steel signalling devices, 6 dive lights plus a clear plastic cylinder enclosing all the batteries for the dive lights (separate plastic bags of batteries for each light). The officer rightfully wanted to visually check that bag and he did so in a pleasant fashion. He looked at every item, placed it back, said thank you and taught my wife some new Spanish vocabulary (for "battery" and "flashlight"). However, when it was time to board, the check-in clerks "manned" a table at the departure gate and went through every item of hand luggage being carried on by all passengers. When my bag was opened, now for the second time, the batteries were right on top. The clerk took the top off the cylinder, poured out the batteries, and said I couldn't take them aboard. I said nothing at the time. Who wants to make a fuss when boarding? At the plane change in Dallas, I described the situation to the TSA officer who was inspecting my bag. He turned out to be a diver and had been to Cozumel many times. He said I had done nothing wrong and the batteries should not have been taken away. I have written both the TSA and American Airlines (it seemed that the clerks were their personnel) and complained, but nothing has happened. It seems like a scam to me. Duct tape? Hair curlers? The other thing that was odd was that all our bags weighed about 4-5 lbs more than at home or when we checked our bags originally. And, everything was dry with no additional stuff. My LDS believes has seen the scale problem also and believes it is being used as a way to generate revenue. You are at the mercy of the airline/local airport when returning.
