Cozumel Airport Security WARNING

[Prop Joe]

Yep. Based on my experience a couple of days ago, these cases are not enough for CZM security. They want these batteries inside actual electronic devices if they are going to be carried on the plane, otherwise they will be confiscated.

Super glue head phone wires to the plastic case! Ooorrrrr.... Glue the plastic case to the cheapest radio you can find.
When it doesn't work you could ask what they did to break it. Just tell them it worked fine till they started inspecting it....

 

[jd950]

Sorry to hear of the travel woes as at CZM airport as of late...
Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly.... You checked your bag. and that bag contained batteries?
Batteries must be in carry-on's. You cannot put Batteries in checked bags since 2008:
TSA: Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices

Batteries can be used by very evil people wanting to do harm to us or hide items that want to do us harm.

I am not sure if this is directed at me, but if so...no, the batteries were in carry on bags. The AA and AAA size were in small plastic battery boxes designed to hold 4 or 8 batteries and the others were in small ziplocks or other containers that would prevent any risk of the contacts shorting out. The batteries were noteized because they were being transported improperly I was in compliance with all rules and laws.

If they had taken a handful of AA and AAA duracells it would be no big deal, but the OEM camera battery is a $40.00 battery, and the others were mostly rechargeables and a few computer batteries. Like I said, I am looking at over $100.00 to replace them all.

I know you can't take batteries in checked luggage and that is what makes this all so ridiculous.

By the way, the battery rules are not based on terror threats, it is a fire issue and there is little risk in typical consumer transport of batteries.

 

[tc]

Just find a couple of flashlights that take 4 or 8 of the batteries you need.
Won't work for the camera battery though.....

 

[driftwood]

Sad but true.

It seems like every year the local government keeps coming up with ways to make heading to Cozumel less appealing. They already turned me off of renting cars with their new rule that if you have a minor accident, you'll automatically be put in jail until you whip out the credit card and come to a financial settlement with the local that you may have bumped. They know they have you over a barrel because you're in a foreign country, and there's not much you can do other than pay if you want to be able to go home. What's to keep some scam artist from leaning off a curb and bumping your fender, and then playing hurt so they can get a big payoff? At least in the states you have due process and your day in court when some scam artist tries to sue you.

I love going to Cozumel, and I plan to keep going, but it seems like every year, I have one more thing to worry about when I do.

You'd think the local and Mexican government would be doing everything they can to make visitors feel welcome and at ease under current circumstances. I know that the drug war is far removed from Cozumel, and the swine flu outbreak was as well, but those two issues could be, or could have been, with the flu, enough to keep a lot of people away. Why add more issues for tourists to worry about????

You obviously haven't had a Mexican economics class. When tourist numbers go down, you raise prices, fees, fines, confiscations to make up for the loss on income. Not the economics I learned, but they seem to think it makes sense. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen over many years traveling to Mexico.

 

[DandyDon]

I asked the OP if the batteries where checked.
Batteries are not allowed in checked bags since 2008. If you did check them previously, god bless.
I think if you tried to carry batteries in your checked bag now, this could lead to confiscation.

Read the "protected short circuit" info below:
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...fo/media/airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

Yeah, your link does show that most batteries can be packed in checked bags ok, as long as properly insulated - like in those nifty boxes that separate batteries completely, or original packaging. That's how I do mine after the past Honduras stories.

The ziplock packing is different, as they could move around in a large one, and a small one can break easily. And you had o-ring lube in your carry-on? I don't remove my compass from my reg before packing it carry-on anymore, but I do move the o-ring lube to checked; it's a fluid, similar enough to a liquid.

Yep. Based on my experience a couple of days ago, these cases are not enough for CZM security. They want these batteries inside actual electronic devices if they are going to be carried on the plane, otherwise they will be confiscated.

See that just strikes me as stupid as I'd be more worried about a halogen dive light coming on inside a bag, or a strobe capacitor powering up.

umm, dude, might I suggest you reading your own link ? It kinda looks like batteries ARE allowed in checked bags (as long as they're not uninstalled lithiums)...just sayin'........

Yeah, precisely, as I have been doing.

for what it's worth, last Aug 2010, I successfully carried some spare batteries (C's and AA's) in one of those little clear plastic battery boxes in my CHECKED luggage without issues inbound or outbound from Cozumel....maybe I was just lucky......maybe facts-on-the-ground have changed in Cozumel since then ? Given what I'm reading here now, if I were to return to Coz (debatable) I'd probably do what I did last time instead of doing the carry-on thing.

Yep. Make it harder for them to steal anyway. Some airlines may say otherwise but they're not going to pay for those lost from carry-on thieves, and the locals may post other rules, but they don't obey them either - so I will go with what works.

 

[ggunn]

heck, a few years ago, security was upset thinking I'd left batteries IN Cozumel......my dive lights were empty and they weren't satisfied until I showed them baggies with all my 'removed' batteries stowed separately from my lights...

Please understand that I am not calling you a liar or anything, but yours is the first and only story even remotely like it I have ever heard, and I cannot for the life of me figure out what they could have possibly done to you if you hadn't been able to produce your used up batteries. Is it possible you misunderstood them? Tons of batteries get used and disposed of everywhere, all the time, including on Cozumel, by locals and visitors alike. Why in the world would an airport official demand that you take all your batteries home with you, especially since they are actively REMOVING them from the possession of travelers leaving the country? It makes no sense to me.

If it really did happen as you say, then I can only think that it was a case where an official did not understand his job. I seriously doubt that it will ever happen again.

 

[Sue Sue]

A few weeks ago, our extra 4 C cell batteries, which we had in a special plastic travel container in our carry on, were questioned at the INCOMING security. The guy stopped the conveyer, holding up the entire line, which of course did not make those waiting very happy to say the least. He opened the carryon and took out the batteries and asked why we had them and what we were going to use them for. We then got the green light , but had to stop to get our backpack searched. And while I am griping....upon our exit, we find almost the entire list of prohibited carry on items changed from our April trip as well as the crazy search methods very similar to what has been mentioned. Although, on the plus side, there was no inspection at the gate right before walking out to the plane.

 

[budaman]

Hi Sue! Connie said she bumped into you when ya'll were returning. When I went out the Sunday before, they were stopping about every 4th person going to the gate. I timed it right & was waved through.

Entering, got the green light, but had to stop & have my backpack checked like you. They didn't even question the two bikes I brought in. Had the seats, pedals, fenders & two u-locks & cables in my carry-on & nothing was said....just the little backpack I had my IPad & mask in.

Mike

 

[Mossman]

A few weeks ago, our extra 4 C cell batteries, which we had in a special plastic travel container in our carry on, were questioned at the INCOMING security. The guy stopped the conveyer, holding up the entire line, which of course did not make those waiting very happy to say the least. He opened the carryon and took out the batteries and asked why we had them and what we were going to use them for.

Most likely because they're not really incoming "security", they're customs officers and their main job, besides excluding illegals guns and drugs, is to properly assess and tax goods brought into the country in order to earn revenue for the coffers of the Mexican government. Here's the list of what you can bring in without having to pay duty:

Pasajeros - Which items may be included in my personal luggage exempt from duty?

There is no specified number of batteries that can be imported exempt from duty, therefore they fall under the catchall #1: "Goods for personal use, such as clothing, footwear and personal toiletries and beauty products, as long as they are appropriate for the duration of the trip, including wedding party items. Baby travel accesories, such as strollers and baby-walkers."

Since your batteries were "extra", he was probably questioning whether the extra batteries were truly appropriate for the duration of your trip, or whether you were bringing them in as a gift to someone, for sale, etc., in which case he could not only nail you with a duty assessment but also a fine for failing to properly declare them.

Also, just like in the U.S., smart customs officers will occasionally ask weird questions mainly designed to fluster the would-be smuggler into getting nervous enough to show it, at which point they search everything.

 

[1KWIK_69]

They didn't even question the two bikes I brought in. Had the seats, pedals, fenders & two u-locks & cables in my carry-on & nothing was said. Mike

I've been bouncing around the idea of how to get a bicycle to CZM! I'd love to have my mountain bike there!

The bicycle carry case dimensions I've seen are over sized for a checked bag, even though they would be less than 50lbs. I also read somewhere that bicycles are for some reason not allowed in luggage. I have no idea what that's all about.

What kind of bikes did you bring? Were they the little folding ones or something?