Airport Security White List

[105012]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Just a quick report on Coolangatta airport (Gold Coast, Australia). They have the CT scanners, I asked for a hand check of some film and received an immediate yes, no questions or hesitations. By the time I got through the process it was all waiting for me in its plastic bag, so no delay either. Top job COO!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Aryel]

San Francisco (SFO), really great! I did not even have to ask. They saw the film and they asked me to pass it over for hand check. They have the new CT scanners. 

Edited March 24, 2024 by Aryel

[bags27]

On 8/3/2023 at 12:47 PM, Guest said:

Air travel is enough of a pita already, and it is poised to become even more so what with ETIAS and EES snooping coming in the next couple of years. So in the unlikely event of me flying again, I will certainly not exacerbate the situation with lead-lined bags and special treatment due to my film supplies. Why make everything even more uncomfortable/dangerous when taking one's digital camera gets around all that so easily? My motto: The less contact one has with uniformed, arms-toting, low-iq thugs, the more enjoyable the trip.

This is harsh. I don't at all agree with the sentiments, but I do agree with the decision: I've bought a digital camera for international travel.

[Chuck Albertson]

The DoT has granted several UK airports (including Heathrow and Gatwick) additional time to install CT scanners; they were facing a June 1 deadline to finish installation. Heathrow and Gatwick say they need a few extra months, Manchester Airports (Manchester, East Midlands, London Stansted) get another year. London City is already finished.

https://apnews.com/article/britain-heathrow-gatwick-liquid-restrictions-fd4b981ebfc1db170ab7ea32842cc3b1

[Aryel]

9 hours ago, Chuck Albertson said:

The DoT has granted several UK airports (including Heathrow and Gatwick) additional time to install CT scanners; they were facing a June 1 deadline to finish installation. Heathrow and Gatwick say they need a few extra months, Manchester Airports (Manchester, East Midlands, London Stansted) get another year. London City is already finished.

https://apnews.com/article/britain-heathrow-gatwick-liquid-restrictions-fd4b981ebfc1db170ab7ea32842cc3b1

Will be flying from Heathrow soon. Anyone know if they grant manual scan?

[andybarton]

Heathrow don't have anything about hand checking on their website, but if you ask nicely, they may well do so. Instant film can't go through any x-ray machine and that is becoming popular again, so it will be a common request.

This is a helpful resource

https://thedarkroom.com/bringing-film-airport-security-x-rays-film/

[Chuck Albertson]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

3 hours ago, Aryel said:

Will be flying from Heathrow soon. Anyone know if they grant manual scan?

In my recent experience (and from what I've heard from others), security at Heathrow and London City have been made aware of the fact that CT scanners will fry film, and will do a manual check of film at those scanners. At the old Rapiscan machines, it's hit and miss as to whether they'll do that - but I rarely bother to ask for it.

You might also look for updates in the Airport Security Blacklist thread in this subforum.

Edited April 5, 2024 by Chuck Albertson

[Aryel]

Thanks a lot @Chuck Albertson! 
As long as they do manual check for the ct scanners it is ok for me. 

Thanks a lot!

[Aryel]

 

13 hours ago, andybarton said:

Heathrow don't have anything about hand checking on their website, but if you ask nicely, they may well do so. Instant film can't go through any x-ray machine and that is becoming popular again, so it will be a common request.

This is a helpful resource

https://thedarkroom.com/bringing-film-airport-security-x-rays-film/

Thanks, that’s a good read with delta 3200 and sfx200 examples. I always prepare exactly as they describe and so far so good. Touch wood. 
 

[andybarton]

When I used film, I had a roll of Delta 3200 purely for hand checking purposes. It must have been checked a couple of dozen times.

London City is the only London Airport that’s completed the CT installation. At Heathrow, it’s pot luck as to which type of scanner you will face.

I will be passing through T3 next month and will see if I can tell how far they’ve got with the change. The government have given airports another 12 months to get the CTs installed. 

[Aryel]

I just flew back from Heathrow Terminal 2. I went through a line with the old scanners. I had lot of films with me and they asked me to separate anything at or above iso 800 for hand check. The rest went through the scanner. 

All good 👍🏻 

Edited May 1, 2024 by Aryel
Forgot to say that the staff were really friendly.

[Stuart Richardson]

I can say that I have never really had any problems getting a hand check here in Iceland, or in JFK. Those are the two airports that I am in the most with film. Berlin has in the past been a bit harder, but usually I get one. In JFK one of the guys running the TSA station told me that he used to run a photo lab and was really nice about giving a hand check, but he told me "just get the Domke film guard bags...they go a long way towards protecting the film". I think he also said that if you don't want to bother asking for a hand inspection, using the film guard bags generally gives one of two responses: they just go through without being noticed, or the bag is stopped and hand checked. So either way you kind of get what you wanted. The only difference is the new CT scanners which I guess are too powerful for even the lead lined bags. I have not had any experience with film in those yet.

I would say that if I were going to a major city and wanted to shoot film, I would buy and process the film there. Certainly in NYC, London, Tokyo etc. It gets trickier in places that don't have much film available (sadly, that includes us here in Iceland). I do all my own processing, even up to 8x10 E6 and C41, but if I could find a good lab in the city I was in, I would likely have them process it. Even if it is not in time for the trip, you can often just have them process it and then send you the processed film via FedEx etc. For important work it is worth it. For casual photos probably better just to risk it and/or use digital.

[Andyzhang]

in Vietnam domestic flight,Hanoi to Da Nang, they don't hand check and insist to machine check, sad🥲

[105012]

At Hobart Airport (HBA) my request for a hand check was greeted with a simple “of course, sir”. No questions about ISO of film, etc. Quick and easy, respectful and polite. 

[105012]

At Melbourne airport (MEL) they have the new CT scanners. I requested hand check for the film and was greeted with an immediate assent, no questions. All went smoothly. Well done MEL!

[osoloon]

Sharing my 2024 travel experience: 

(1) Ho Chi Minh City Airport - REFUSED to hand check and insisted it goes through the scanner; 

(2) Singapore - 100% no problem , hand checked with a smile ALWAYS 

(3) Tokyo (Narita) - 100% no problem, even a sign to ask you to take out your film for hand inspection 

(4) Bangkok - No problem, hand checked with a smile 

(5) Penang (Malaysia) - went through twice this year, no problem with hand inspection  

[Hell]

We just did a cruise this month along the Norwegian coast. My first trip abroad with the Leica. I took the film out of the paper boxes and plastic cannisters and put the cartridges in a clear plastic bag. I'm not sure how important this is, but it seemed sensible to make things as easy as possible for the security guys. Is this important or could I have just presented the film in the pretty paper boxes?

Gatwick airport: No problem with hand inspection.

Bergen : No problem

Kirkenes: No problem

Oslo: they did a hand inspection of the film but insisted the camera go through the machine. Unfortunately loaded with ISO 3200! 

The security people were lovely everywhere except Oslo, where the two guys I dealt with were proper misery-guts.

I enjoyed shooting the M6 and I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I wish I'd only taken one lens though, given the hassle and worry of taking around a 90mm and a 35mm. Either would have been fine, but no surprise I mainly used the 35! 

[norbertnl]

Recently, on February 5 to be precise, I had a very positive experience at Manchester Airport, traveling with a Hasselblad 500c/m, two lenses and six rolls of TMax 400 I had brought from Berlin and exposed in Manchester and on a Kinder Scout hike, plus a package of older 4x5 Ilford Ortho Plus I purchased at The Real Camera. On seeing my Hasselblad, security personnel offered me to hand check my film rolls and package, pointing to a new scanning device they had put into operation recently (a kind of scanner that would render it unnecessary to take electronic devices out of sleeves). One security employee probably in his sixties got visibly interested in my Hasselblad and stroke up a short conversation. All in all a very positive experience as I said before. 👌

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[lifeandmylens]

Frankfurt - zero issues with a hand check.  

Boston - Had about 20 rolls.  They swabbed all 20 rolls.  The guy used the same swab for all of them and then admitted he couldn't remember if he put a new swab on before he started. Machine flagged it and said it had to be CT scanned now.  I asked for a supervisor and he said it's policy, but that he would x ray it instead of CT.  Film got x-rayed but all came out fine.

[105012]

Good experience at Haneda (Tokyo) domestic security, it was enough to say “film" and it was whisked away for a hand check.