Veteran Travelers Find It Hard to Carry On

On her flight from New York's La Guardia to Minneapolis Monday morning, flight attendant Rene Foss noticed little change in the number of carry-ons. Which is a bad thing, from her perspective. "The carry-on baggage issue, aside from anything that happened last week, is so problematic. Any reduction in carry-on luggage is great. And I think my colleagues would agree."

Foss, author of Around the World in a Bad Mood, was clutching a Starbucks coffee and a carry-on with her makeup and toiletries stowed inside as she prepared to board a flight to Portland, Ore. Flight crews are exempt from the new TSA restrictions. "If you're on a five-day trip, you can't keep throwing out toothpaste at every stop. I think the TSA took pity on us," Foss says.

"It's not a 'right' to fly and carry whatever you like," notes David Gregory, a Dallas-based travel coordinator and former airline employee, in one of nearly 200 posts in response to a recent item on USA TODAY.com's Today in the Sky blog about the threat to the carry-on culture.

"Just think how wonderfully blissful it would be not to have a single carry-on aboard a plane," Gregory adds.

"I say ban all carry-on luggage. It's about time! And if you are so important that you cannot be away from your computer for a day, do us all a favor and stay at your office."

Contributing: Jayne Clark, Barbara DeLollis, Dan Reed and Kitty Bean Yancey What is allowed and what isn't

Rules on what is permitted on and banned from U.S. flights have been revised by the Transportation Security Administration:

Personal items permitted

Baby formula and breast milk if a baby is traveling

Solid lipsticks and Chapsticks

Prescription medicines with a name that matches the

passenger's ticket

Up to 8 oz. of liquid or gel low-

blood sugar treatment

Up to 4 oz. of non-prescription

liquid medications, including cough syrup, eye drops, contact lens solutions and nasal spray

Laptop computers, cell phones, pagers, handheld devices and cameras.

Personal items banned

All creams and lotions, including sunscreens, first-aids creams such as Neosporin, moisturizers, hand lotions.

Baby teethers with gel or liquid

Bug sprays

Bubble bath, including gel or

liquid-filled bath balls or bath oils and moisturizers

Children's toys with gel inside

Gel candles

Gel deodorants

Gel cap pills

Gel shoe inserts

Hair styling gels

Hair sprays of all kinds

Hair straighteners or detanglers

Lip gels, glosses or liquids,

including Carmex

Liquid foundations

Liquid sanitizers

Liquid soaps

Lighters

Makeup remover or face cleanser

Mascara

Mouthwash

Nail polish and removers

Perfumes or colognes

Shaving creams

Spray deodorants

Toothpaste

Food and drinks banned

All beverages

Gel-based sports supplements

Jellos

Puddings

Yogurts or gel-like substances

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