05/07/2003 - Updated 07:53 AM ET Firm offers air travelers a choice if they pack banned item CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) ? Heather Lowry's search for a business niche ended as she watched air travelers handle predicaments from the sublime to the ridiculous in the post-Sept. 11 world. One particular dilemma intrigued her: passengers who mistakenly packed a banned item of monetary or sentimental value, such as a Swiss army knife or Leatherman tool kit, in their carryon luggage, then forced to find a quick way to deal with their plight. Their choices meant stowing the item in checked baggage, rushing back to the parking lot to leave it in their car, or discarding it. "You wouldn't believe how many people choose to toss it," Lowry said as she walked through the terminal at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport last week. Six months ago, Lowry founded CheckPoint Mailers Inc., a Huntersville, N.C., firm with six employees that installs self-service mailboxes near airport security checkpoints. Airline passengers can use them to ship items banned from planes. So far, Lowry ? a frequent traveler, entrepreneur and industry veteran ? has contracts with the Charlotte airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. She hopes to sign up about 40 airports by the end of the year, starting in Texas, California and New York. Nearly 5 million items were snagged at airport security checkpoints across the country over an eight-month period that ended in February, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration. At Charlotte's airport, Lowry said, the count is about 120 items per day. Raleigh airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin said one of the airport's board members told her he was heartbroken when he was forced to leave behind an item of sentimental value. "We still encourage people to think about what they have in their carryon bags," she said. "The nice thing about this service is that passengers see it at the checkpoints and it is easy to use." While the premise is straightforward, the logistics presented some challenges before Lowry could launch her venture. The biggest problem was finding a company to manufacture drop boxes that met TSA standards. She found a firm to produce the boxes, which are lined with concrete and weigh some 500 pounds. The way CheckPoint Mailers works is simple. For $6, travelers can mail a banned item anywhere in the country by enclosing it in a plastic, resealable bag along with an address label and the payment, which can be cash, check or credit card. The cost to ship something outside the United States is $12. There are some restrictions. For example, items must weigh less than two pounds and fit in a 9-by-6-inch envelope. A list of items that will not be shipped, such as firearms and incendiary objects, is posted on each CheckPoint Mailer box. At the end of each day, a company employee retrieves the items from each of the boxes. The items are individually wrapped and mailed. In exchange for allowing the company to place the boxes at the security checkpoints, the airport gets a 10 percent cut. Last Friday, Lowry opened one of the boxes at the Charlotte airport to inspect some of the items travelers had dropped in the box. They included a stainless-steel scissors set, a pocket knife and a monogrammed money clip that also included a small knife. "This must mean something to the owner," she said, holding up the clip to show the monogram. "The scissors set is probably worth at least $45 to $50." Lowry would be pleased to get five items a day in each of the three boxes at Charlotte's airport. She's hoping for slightly more in Raleigh because more passengers use that airport as a departure point. "Most of the comments I've heard is that it's a great idea," she said. "I guess that puts the pressure on me to make it a success." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************