South African Airways has advised its customers of the additional restrictions for passengers transiting on the way to the United States of America.

The restrictions relate to carriage of Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGS) purchased in duty-free areas of the airports by passengers in transit on flights originating from Johannesburg, Accra and Dakar.

SAA has two daily flights to Washington D.C and to New York. The flight to New York is a non-stop operation, whilst the flight to Washington goes via Accra and Dakar (4 and 3 times a week respectively).

LAGS may not be transported in cabin baggage (accessible property) of any passengers connecting to the USA from Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar. This requirement does however not affect duty-free purchased at the last point of departure (Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar).

SAA’s Security Gate Search Teams will verify any duty-free items purchased at upstream airports and will deny the carriage of such items on the flight, regardless of whether such items are packed in security tamper evidence bags (STEB’s) or not.

Passengers are advised to factor this in when planning to transit/transfer through Johannesburg, Accra, and Dakar to avoid unnecessary discomfort and/or possible loss of their items.