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The best advice for travelers to follow about the new airplane travel rules concerning carry-on luggage on U.S. flights is to rely only on information from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TSA publishes a list of permitted and prohibited carry-on items on its web site at http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/a irtravel/prohibited/permitted- prohibited-items.shtm.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TSA CONFISCATES

Before confiscating a prohibited carry-on item, the agency gives travelers a chance to ship seized items home instead of leaving them at the airport. Most travelers, however, reluctantly leave their cigarette lighters, steak knives, and snow globes behind so they can move on to their gate and make it to their flight on time.

What happens to all the confiscated items? Most of them make their way into unclaimed property warehouses owned by state agencies, who sell them for profit on eBay. According to Dan Schlossberg of ConsumerAffairs.com, Pennsylvania reported profits of $17,000 in one month from the sale of pocket knives, tools, and scissors that Pennsylvania travelers surrendered at airport security checkpoints. One box of Swiss Army knives alone brought the state $595.

If you don't want your toiletries and travel gear to end up on eBay, practice the "when in doubt, leave it out" policy with your carry-on luggage. Play it safe and pack only the items TSA permits.

PERMITTED ITEMS

Current TSA rules permit the following items:

-Travel-size liquid and gel toiletry and cosmetic items (three ounces or less), zipped into a one-quart, clear plastic zip-top bag;
-Prescription liquid medicines, baby formula, breast milk, and diabetic glucose in quantities greater than three ounces, if declared to TSA officers during the security check;
-Canned or jarred foods in containers of three ounces or smaller;
-Beverages purchased within the secured area;
-Eyeglass repair tools, eyelash curlers, and tweezers;
-Knitting needles and crochet hooks;
-Safety razors, including disposable razors;
-One book of safety matches;
-Metal scissors with pointed tips and blades less than four inches long;
-Umbrellas and walking canes;
-Compressed gas cartridges for life vests;
-Tools, screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers seven inches in length or shorter;
-Camera equipment (hand-carry film and request a hand screening to prevent damage to undeveloped film); and
-Laptop computers, mobile phones, PDAs, and pagers.

Other typical travel items like books, magazines, billfolds, packed clothing, and the like are also

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