Breastmilk Confiscated at Vancouver International Airport
Monday June 9, 2008
Be warned, mothers who are pumping breastmilk and not traveling with your child - your breastmilk may be confiscated at airports in Canada at security checkpoints. In the United States, at airports throughout the country, you are permitted to bring expressed breastmilk on board with you, when traveling with or without your child. This is not guaranteed to you if you are traveling through airports in Canada.
A story in one of Canada's national newspapers told of the recent episode that occurred with a woman who tried to bring over a quart's worth of breastmilk (in sealed plastic bags that could hold more than 3oz). The thing is, it seems that not all of the bags were filled to capacity. In any case, CATSA employees at the airport screening point confiscated the breastmilk.
Breastmilk thrown in the garbage at the airport.
From CATSA's website - "Baby formula and food, juice, water, breast milk and other baby items - These are allowed in your carry-on baggage or personal items. You can take these through the security checkpoints and aboard your plane. However, you must be traveling with a child aged 2 years or under."
A story in one of Canada's national newspapers told of the recent episode that occurred with a woman who tried to bring over a quart's worth of breastmilk (in sealed plastic bags that could hold more than 3oz). The thing is, it seems that not all of the bags were filled to capacity. In any case, CATSA employees at the airport screening point confiscated the breastmilk.
Breastmilk thrown in the garbage at the airport.
From CATSA's website - "Baby formula and food, juice, water, breast milk and other baby items - These are allowed in your carry-on baggage or personal items. You can take these through the security checkpoints and aboard your plane. However, you must be traveling with a child aged 2 years or under."
well it says it right there, you have to be travelling with a child under 2 years of age in order to bring it….was it really necessary to carry it on? how could she feed her child when the child is not even on the flight? you cant trust anybody, just cuz she says its for her child doesnt mean it really is
Well, mothers have to keep pumping to keep breastfeeding established! She was likely away from her child and had to bring the milk home (to freeze most likely) to feed at another time!
I think it’s horrible they dumped it!
If you’ve never nursed/pumped your comments mean little.
It is really appalling that they dumped the breastmilk. I think those agents need some training on sensitivity, and could have at the very least told her of other options.
It’s confusing too because flying out of a US airport you can bring expressed breastmilk without your child with you, but from Canada you can’t.
That is a lot of pumped milk tossed, and the storage bags for it are always too large for the 3oz restriction. It’s awful!
I just got read the riot act at Toronto airport about travelling with expressed milk for my 5 mo old. They said without a child you are not allowed but then said I could if I put the milk in 100ml containers ONLY (not halfway filled larger containers). They proceeded to take away my freezer pack and to berate me for not knowing their rules (which frankly have been bent each of the 2 prior times I travelled home from Canada on business. My question is why does a mother travelling WITH her child need expressed breastmilk? Riddle me that Canada. These rules make little sense and are inconsistently enforced. Canada claims to be harmonized with TSA regulations but on this very important topic decide randomly to enforce restrictive conditions for taking fluids inboard. I wish to ultimately see Canada change this as it basically discourages working mothers who travel to/from Canada frequently from continuing to nurse. Very sad and disrcriminatory.