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Airport Security Blacklist


Ouroboros

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Since there seems to be no standard practice with Airport Security anywhere as far as the right to a hand inspection of film is concerned, it might be useful for members to know where they are likely to experience a refusal.
 If you‘ve experienced a refusal for hand inspection of film, please add the airport to this list.

To start this thread off, I‘ve just had a flat refusal at Edinburgh Airport  by Security who insisted that my films had to be put through the scanner.

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29 minutes ago, andybarton said:

^^ Do these airports REFUSE hand inspection? ^^

yep, they're sometimes are quite curt and grumpy about it and always say the machine is perfectly safe

i should add, this typical exchange is usually without too much insistence on my part

Edited by frame-it
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37 minutes ago, andybarton said:

That's a useful page as it has a list of current CT scanners, the machines likely to be much more dangerous for film:

    Smiths – CTIX
    L3 – Clearscan
    Rapiscan - 920CT / Connect CT
    IDSS - Detect 1000
    Nuctech - Kylin
    Analogic Cobra

Heathrow, mentioned there, has a long history of refusing hand inspections when using the traditional (supposedly film-safe) scanners. Hopefully they'll arrive at a sensible policy in consultation with Ilford for the new generation of scanners. If we're compiling a blacklist, it would be helpful to know if any airports using these CT scanners for carry-on luggage are refusing hand inspections (we must of course assume that any checked luggage might be CT-scanned).

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Berlin: On requesting a hand check, I was referred to a police officer stationed at the machine.

Officer refused handcheck but I also refused the films to go through machine.  After a lengthy and combative discussion, very reluctantly agreed to hand check (but took a photograph of my passport) . 
 

Overall an unpleasant experience 

Edited by grahamc
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It is fairly easy to visually id a CT scanner and it is more relevant to know where those are implemented. -AND if those airports allows hand checks.

On the Largeformat Forum - a user has attached a document showing the most common CT scanners.

For all other instances; Just don't travel with film with a higher sensitivity than 400 ISO and the regular scanners will not do any harm. I have conducted test with up to 6 scans without ill effect.

Further protection can be added with Domke's lead bags or similar, but you will likely be picked out for hand inspection post scanner point, so keep the lead bag outside of your hand luggage (like your Labtop).
And NO; security cannot crank up the radiation to see through the lead bag - it is a myth.

 

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Jorge Chavez int. airport Lima Peru.

I had 4 interior flight in Peru without any incident regarding hand checking my film but for my return flight Lima-Miami-montreal they refused.  When I objected they lend me

The machine company guide citing that it was safe etc...  I must point out that it happen on the national holiday evening so obviously the best personal was at work(sarcasm here).

Even the clerk at the Lan Peru desk was awful.  There was a typo in my 3 month old baby name on the plane ticket and they wanted me to buy a new one.  We had to get in line another time to try a second clerk who settle everything for us.

Otherwise it's a beautiful country and the people are usually nice.  Just beware that it's not most secure place, if you made a journey through Peru without being rob you can go anywhere.

I'm going there again soon so I'll update the info in January.  After the mountains and the jungle it's now coast and desert time.

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6 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

To start this thread off, I‘ve just had a flat refusal at Edinburgh Airport  by Security who insisted that my films had to be put through the scanner.

Been there, experienced that 😞

Last time I took film through LHR, I was stood aside and questioned about concealed ammunition ; turned out to be the brass take up spool inside a 0-series!

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2 hours ago, nitroplait said:

It is fairly easy to visually id a CT scanner and it is more relevant to know where those are implemented. -AND if those airports allows hand checks.

On the Largeformat Forum - a user has attached a document showing the most common CT scanners.

For all other instances; Just don't travel with film with a higher sensitivity than 400 ISO and the regular scanners will not do any harm. I have conducted test with up to 6 scans without ill effect.

Further protection can be added with Domke's lead bags or similar, but you will likely be picked out for hand inspection post scanner point, so keep the lead bag outside of your hand luggage (like your Labtop).
And NO; security cannot crank up the radiation to see through the lead bag - it is a myth.

 

Thanks, but this thread is intended only as a list of airports where requests for hand examination has been refused.  Hopefully it will grow as a useful resource for members.  There is plenty of similar advice to yours elsewhere on the forum for anyone who might need it.

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May I suggest that if people know of an airport that uses the CT scanners, that they could alert us here to them? 
 

Online information seems to be patchy but there are some sites that identify those airports eg https://www.airportsinternational.com/ct-scanners and https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-03-18/tsa-scanners-carry-on-bag but of course these things change constantly so any personal experience would really help.

Edited by stray cat
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Security at Stansaid Airport are first class when in comes to hand checking film. No nasty X-ray at Stansaid.

They carefully, and I mean carefully, pull the film completely out of the cassette and inspect every inch, then, with the greatest of care, rewind the cassette leaving the leader poking out. You’d never know they’d touched it! 🤣

Edited by Steve Ricoh
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  • 4 weeks later...

In my experience it is usually down to the security personael involved as opposed to the specific airport. Some might have got out of the wrong side of bed that morning. Some are very reasonable, others are rule bound. I have found Manchester airport staff excellent and very knowledgable and helpful. I avoid Heathrow. All that said I am not sure that I feel I want to travel by air now and may have to find out what security is like on train journeys in future.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/7/2022 at 9:15 AM, lekitr said:

Jorge Chavez int. airport Lima Peru.

I had 4 interior flight in Peru without any incident regarding hand checking my film but for my return flight Lima-Miami-montreal they refused.  When I objected they lend me

The machine company guide citing that it was safe etc...  I must point out that it happen on the national holiday evening so obviously the best personal was at work(sarcasm here).

Even the clerk at the Lan Peru desk was awful.  There was a typo in my 3 month old baby name on the plane ticket and they wanted me to buy a new one.  We had to get in line another time to try a second clerk who settle everything for us.

Otherwise it's a beautiful country and the people are usually nice.  Just beware that it's not most secure place, if you made a journey through Peru without being rob you can go anywhere.

I'm going there again soon so I'll update the info in January.  After the mountains and the jungle it's now coast and desert time.

Update. This time (12 January 2023) Jorge Chavez int. airport Lima Peru.  I had to ask for a supervising officer but after that everything went smoothly and they hand checked my films (about 45 ).  Now it's darkroom time.  Cheers

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On 12/7/2022 at 10:31 AM, frame-it said:

Noticed since late 2019

tokyo - narita

osaka - kansai

bangkok - suvarnabhumi

seoul - incheon + Gimpo

saigon - tan son nhat

Dubai international [T3]

Manila - Ninoy Aquino International

Taipei - Taoyuan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rotterdam - Tenerife: Rotterdam allows hand inspection, Tenerife was very strict: CT-scanned, film damaged. 

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51 minutes ago, otto.f said:

Tenerife was very strict: CT-scanned, film damaged. 

I think we have a winner for the worst so far. Refusing a hand check with conventional machines that are supposed to be 'film safe' is one thing, but frying your film with one of these is on another level. If they did this to my unexposed film I'd just throw it out and cut my losses, but of course with exposed film on the return trip there's nothing you can do except hope for the best.

Edited by Anbaric
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