News

Mail contraband home via airport kiosks

December 27, 2010

Travelers stopping at Chicago airports won't have to throw out bottles of expensive perfume or other items usually banned from airplanes. Instead, they can send their contraband home by using Mail Safe Express kiosks located just beyond security checkpoints at O'Hare and Midway, according to a story on suntimes.com.

Many occasional fliers don't know what's not allowed on commercial flights, said Steve Kranyec, president of Houston-based Hold It Right There, which owns the service.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people don't realize they're breaking the rules," he said. "TSA has a very difficult job. This is a way to get through the process with a little less pain."

The service had been available at both Chicago airports on a trial basis from December 2006 through December 2007, when it logged 10,000 transactions at O'Hare and 3,000 at Midway. Mail Safe --which also operates at airports in Tampa, Fla.; Houston and Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; and Burbank, Calif. -- got the permanent spots after being the only company to bid with the city to provide the service.