Airman 1st Class Jonathan Rasmussen checks the carry-on baggage of a passenger before a departure flight at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Scott Schonauer / S&S)
Airman 1st Class Jonathan Rasmussen checks the carry-on baggage of a passenger before a departure flight at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Scott Schonauer / S&S)
A sign at the passenger services desk at the Ramstein Air Base Air Terminal in Germany warns passengers about the new items that are now prohibited from being in carry-on luggage. In the background, Senior Airman Eugene Floyd works at a computer. (Scott Schonauer / S&S)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Passengers traveling on U.S. military aircraft and chartered flights around the globe can expect the same tougher security measures travelers are enduring at many civilian airports.
The Air Mobility Command — which oversees military airlift operations — has adopted the additional airport and air travel security measures issued by the Department of Homeland Security in response to a thwarted terrorist attack in Britain.
New rules prohibit liquids and gels in carry-on luggage. That means such things as soft drinks, bottled water, toothpaste and suntan lotion must be put in checked baggage.
The restrictions went into effect at Ramstein Air Base’s terminal in Germany last night.
Senior Master Sgt. Brian McDaniel, superintendent of Passenger Services, said most people have taken the changes in stride.
“Our customers — for the most part — have been very understanding,” McDaniel said, adding that most people who fly with the military have been accustomed to security changes since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
No flights at Ramstein were canceled or delayed due to the new restrictions. While passengers at civilian airports reportedly waited hours to reach security checkpoints, there was little or no disruption to services at Ramstein, said 2nd Lt. Cody Honeycutt, terminal operations officer in charge.
On Friday, Air Force transportation specialists searched carry-on baggage before passengers entered waiting areas. The terminal began removing beverages from vending machines in areas beyond security checkpoints in a sign that the new measures could be around for a while.
Passengers are encouraged to arrive early and put liquids and gels in their checked baggage. Signs are posted throughout the Ramstein terminal as a reminder.
Rick Waskom, 59, a military retiree from Fredericksburg, Va., had no problems with the new rules. He flew from RAF Mildenhall in England to Ramstein on Friday after vacationing in Britain with his wife. She would have flown with him but had already purchased a ticket on a commercial airline from London to Washington, D.C.
“That’s just the world today,” he said. “It’s a crazy place. You have to be as flexible as a rubber band, because every day things change.”
Military members making a permanent change of station have been given breaks on travel procedures to accommodate for new baggage restrictions, said Tech. Sgt. Tracey Strouse, noncommissioned officer in charge of the outbound assignments office at RAF Mildenhall, England.
Servicemembers are temporarily allowed to pack their relocation package — containing essential finance and medical records — in their luggage or mail it to themselves, Strouse said. Normally, servicemembers are required to hand-carry the packet to their destination, she said.
Military members will also be allowed to collect reimbursement for any excess baggage they have to check at an airport due to the new restrictions — another temporary exception to policy, she said.
Stripes reporter Ben Murray in the U.K. contributed to this report.
