List of Prohibited Items

Spotted at a small airport in a small town in India, this list of items that are not permitted beyond the security check point is so exhaustive that the list of items that one could carry on a flight would’ve been much shorter. Think I’m exaggerating? Take a closer look! (Click on the image itself to see an expanded view.)

What amused me  most is the sheer redundancy in this list. The list could have easily said ‘no sharp or pointy objects’ but instead the authorities decided to be as clear and thorough as possible. The list specifically calls out scissors, nail cutters, darts, knitting needles and throwing stars just to name a few.

Let’s recap:

• Nail cutters (with the image of a swiss army knife?)
• Knitting needles (could someone have had a bad experience with these? If not how does one remember to include such an item on the list)
• Throwing stars (wouldn’t have known what they were if there wasn’t an image accompanying it)
• Please note that ‘scissors’ and ‘metal scissors with pointers’ are two very distinct items.
• Various kinds of knives have been labelled separately as well: Religious knives, scuba knives, sabres, swords, ‘knives (any length)’ and meat cleavers.
• This is also true for guns: Pellet guns, pistols, revolvers, rifles, shot guns, spear guns, starter pistols, gun lighters, ammunition, automatic weapons, BB guns and compressed air guns.

Section headers would have been a good way to organize this list. I would call the next section – Obsolete Weapons and this would include the billy clubs and bows and arrows.

So, how have these items been organized then, you ask? Don’t be fooled as I was at first; it only seems like it’s in alphabetical order because words beginning with the same letter are chunked together, but clearly it isn’t so.

Moving on … there’s a whole range of sporting goods in the list: Pool cues, ski poles golf clubs, hockey sticks, cricket bats and baseball bats (even though baseball is not played in India).

There are just no loop holes to be found. The authorities have made sure to include ‘replica weapons’ and ‘toy weapons’ to the list as well.

But, why can’t we carry household cutlery? And blackjacks? And why not ‘toy transformer robots [forms]’. Now, it seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it?

Allow me to talk about the items that are disappointing on this list: ‘Martial arts devices.’ I expected a detailed list instead of a collective phrase. This shows a hint of carelessness. Also, the list specifically mentions ‘portable power saws’ but I guess they forgot to mention ‘regular power saws’. Lastly, some images are repeated. Unacceptable.

Clearly, you can see that I’ve spent too much time looking at this chart. The beauty of it, I’ve discovered, is that every time I look at it, I find something new. It’s very entertaining, I’m sure you’ll agree. Aha, that’s it! Maybe it was made this way to keep passengers waiting in queue distracted?