needohs

Families are being delayed at security and some items are being confiscated

Parents have warned holidaymakers about a viral toy as it is causing chaos at airport security this summer. Stress relief toys called NeeDohs and squishy shaped dumplings are popular among children, but they are causing problems at airport security.

The squishy toys contain liquid which parents say is being detected on scanners at airport security and have caused travellers delays as they wait to get their bags checked. Emma Barnes was travelling to Barcelona from Birmingham airport on May 29 with her ten-year-old twins when their cases were pulled aside by security.

The part-time teacher, from Chester in Cheshire said: “I didn’t know it was a thing until it happened to us. We had five or six squishies in total spread across random pockets in our bags. I didn’t think twice, I thought it was just a squishy toy the kids had and especially on a short hall flight when they don’t have a television, they need something.

“It caused us so much stress. It is stressful anyway at airport security and when the first case got pulled and I thought ‘oh no what is it’.”

Emma explained security officials went through their bags until they found one of her children’s NeeDoh squishies. She said: “The first case got pulled and they took the squishy out and said we can’t tell what the component is inside of it and they had to drug test it.

“My daughter then said to me ‘I put two in the other cases as well’. The queue behind us was getting massive and I was dying inside. The security was really nice, they scanned and swabbed them and gave them back to us.

“I wanted to help warn other parents travelling this summer as everyone’s kids have squishy toys. We could see the airport staff thinking ‘this is going to be a bad summer ahead’.”

Emma said next time she will treat the squishies. Other parents said online “my son’s got taken off him” and that “Play-Doh has the same issue”.

Leanne, from Derbyshire, had a similar experience at East Midlands airport earlier this year. Her seven-year-old daughter put a NeeDoh in a bag without telling her mum. “Thankfully we were allowed to keep it,” she said. “I have heard that some airports dispose of them.

“My little girl is in the special educational needs (SEN) pathway so they help her regulate emotions when she’s stressed, so she was so worried it would be taken from her. The security lady said they flag up all the time. It was not a nice experience but I do understand why it happened when we knew what our daughter had done.

“It has never been flagged until now. It is becoming a bigger and bigger thing – the scanners aren’t liking them at all.”

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “Things like squishy toys contain liquid – this includes NeeDohs which use malt syrup. Smaller versions of the toy are under 100mls but larger versions are not. The problem is that as they don’t have measurements printed on them security staff have to estimate their size.

“Our advice is that all but very small squishy toys should be placed in hold baggage.”

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson added: “These items are not a security prohibited item, but as with any item carried as cabin baggage, they are required to clear security screening”.

Gatwick Airport said the toys are not prohibited but like all items, are subject to security screening. Government officials have also issued concerns about the toys, including Aberdeen City Council in Scotland who put out a warning on July 13 about potentially dangerous versions of the popular squishy toys, with more than 1,000 being seized from local shops in a month.

Hillingdon Council trading standards officers seized 500,000 squishy dumpling toys in two months at Heathrow airport which were coming into the UK to potentially be sold. Officials fear businesses are selling dangerous counterfeit versions and urge people to check where they are buying the toys from.

Hillingdon Council said: “Heathrow Airport is a gateway for goods entering the UK, and we’re proud to play a leading role in protecting consumers. As part of this work, our Trading Standards officers have been carrying out targeted checks on “squishy” toys at Heathrow. In the past two months, the council has seized 500,000 squishy toys. Many are similar in design and lack proper labelling and traceability information.

“The main issue is the absence of clear details of a responsible UK-based business and the correct UKCA or CE safety markings, making it hard to verify compliance and take action.”

I was warned in the waiting room of Pasadena’s WeFly: “This is not an arcade,” said flight trainer Corry Joyce. No, what WeFly offers is a professional-grade simulator, one that is traditionally used to train pilots. I am not a pilot, or a pilot-to-be, but I wanted a sense of how planes work, and maybe a chance to fly over my hometown. Only once I strapped into my seat, I found myself to be incredibly nervous. There was no danger here. Joyce, thankfully, would intervene at any mistake, and would helpfully remind me that, unlike real planes, “This one has a pause button.”

And yet to set foot in a WeFly cockpit is to be alternately in awe and overwhelmed. I was in a near 1:1 replica of the insides of a Boeing 737 Max. Buttons, knobs, switches and flashing lights surrounded me. And to fly a plane, I would have to let go of everything I knew about driving a car. Turning in the air, for instance, is much different than turning on a runway. And do I watch the screen, or look out the windshield? Often the former, even though I enjoyed buzzing Long Beach’s Queen Mary, flying under the Golden Gate Bridge and circling Chicago’s Wrigley Field. When it came time to land however, my palms got a little sweaty. Navigating height, winds and the steadiness of my plane was a challenge, one akin to handing a grade-schooler a calculus book, summarized Joyce. Let’s just say I needed his co-piloting skills. And I’m not great at math.

Typically, WeFly’s clientele, says Joyce, are a mix of aviation aficionados or non-commercial pilots. The space also gets a fair share of those with a fear of flight, arriving at WeFly with the hopes to conquer it. “They want a sense of control,” Joyce tells me. But WeFly is also ideal for anyone who is amazed by air flight, or those who may someday dream of being a pilot. Though it uses “Microsoft Flight Simulator,” it is no game. Sessions for 30 minutes start at $129, and WeFly’s trainers will tailor it toward one’s experience. I made sure, for instance, that crashing was turned off. But I forgot, however, to turn with the brakes when it came time to land. Yet the plane was intact, and, as Joyce reminded me, “At least you’re on airport property.”