Yes. Exactly. The general rule is to check in whatever item you cannot risk being confiscated by airport security officers.

@JoErNanO some items cannot be checked in e.g. power banks.

Security officials are given some discretion to stop suspicious people and items everywhere, and they have no incentive to be lenient. This is hardly a phenomenon limited to DXB, whose operations I would place against any in that part of the world.

"Looks like a good reason to think twice before booking a flight via Dubai next time." So the possibility of losing a cheap pair of scissors will make you spend potentially hundreds of dollars to avoid an airport. Strange sense of value.

There are probably millions of similar stories all over the world, so this is definitely not specific to Dubai airport security. They all try hard to have sensible rules (because they're still here to make sure people can travel with the least possible friction), but there's always the edge case that different people will have a different appreciation on.

@Greendrake I'll be surprised if other major airports in the world, including the US, do not contain similar fluffy rules somewhere in the small print. Nobody wants to have to let something clearly dangerous pass because of a technicality.

@xLeitix all over the world the airport security officer is judge jury and executioner.

@uɐɪ No, it is the possibility of losing just anything that the security deems dangerous. They can just confiscate my laptop pretty much the same way with no recourse whatsoever.

@xLeitix You're missing the point: rules do not matter here as DXB has confirmed. They basically can confiscate anything regardless of any rules.

@Greendrake And I maintain that other airports will have regulations in place that could, in theory, be similarly abused. Note that they didn't confiscate your laptop, they confiscated a cheap item that was right at the border of being outright against regulations. Was it an overreaction? Maybe. Was it a blatant overreach that created a substantial loss to you? No.

@xLeitix what matters in this incident is the blatant absence of any review/appeal process. The airport has confirmed that the security staff have broad discretion. You can only hope that sensible loss will not be caused the next time - you have absolutely no recourse should discretion be abused at higher magnitudes

@Greendrake There is almost never any kind of review or appeal process at airport security, customs or immigration. The incident you describe, while unfortunate, is very minor and absolutely typical of air travel.

@Greendrake "some items cannot be checked in e.g. power banks." True, which is why the more detailed rule is to check in or leave at home anything that you cannot risk being confiscated.

@DavidRicherby your "leave at home" approach will potentially lead to more/bigger abuses (e.g. confiscating valuable items just for personal gain). Rules exist so that everyone can know what to expect, so the DXB's "irrespective of any standard rule" approach has to be publicly protested against.

TL;DR: "GFY" +1

@Greendrake You seem to believe that security systems can operate by well-defined, publicly accessible rules. That simply isn't the case. If you have a specific list of forbidden items and security has no leeway to act on anything else, that creates loopholes that people exploit. The rules say I can't bring a baseball bat on the plane? Fine, I'll bring a cricket bat. Not allowed any kind of sports bat? OK, I'll bring a generic piece of wood.

Real life is not a computer system. It cannot be specified by fully deterministic, fully precise rules. Operators always have leeway, because they have to.

@David Richerby > And some operators will abuse their leeway, because they're human.

@Greendrake They won't be confiscated for personal gain. Airports have strict rules what can and cannot happen to the confiscated items. The officers cannot kee those items precisely to avoid steeling something just because they would happen to want it.

@VladimirF corruption is never supposed to happen but does. If passengers do not oppose unreasonable confiscations like this, it won't take long to see them sheared like sheep.

@Greendrake If they're corrupt, then all the bets are off and any rules are basically irrelevant. The rules say they can't take your scissors? Tough, the corrupt officer takes them. The rules say you can appeal? Great, but the corrupt appeals person rejects your appeal.