What equipment have you struggled to get through airport security....

Canon brook

Canon brook

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Peter
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Just checked in at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster and had the small flat spanner and Allen key confiscated from a manfrotto tripod set.... the staff asked if I usually take this... it's been most places including the states...Just prompted me to ask what items other members have struggled or had problems with...?
 
Worst experience was when we had a couple of packs of ready to roll icing packed amongst the electronics - caused a lot of excitement at heathrow....
 
Carbohydrate sports drink powder looks suspiciously like cocaine. One of my friends was stopped when the security staff saw it on the x-ray machine. They were fine with it once they realised what it was.
 
A bag of maize flour which I flew from Manchester to Glasgow with as hand luggage. They took it away and swabbed it and had a dog sniff it. Eventually got it back though and was allowed to fly it home.

Oops - that's not really equipment per say
 
Tried bringing home some traveltine tile samples from Spain once! Thought it was cocaine blocks in luggage! My Spanish is not good! Also had a hammer and chisel taken off me at Cardiff ! I was taking it for work in Glasgow
 
Those little, individually wrapped toothpicks that appear on airline meal trays. Given to me on one flight and confiscated before boarding the next one.
 
My wife was once taken away for an interview because she had an unopened Jordans Nut Bar in her handbag. It seems that these can detect as cocaine also.

The thing was that she was being interviewed so long and no one was telling me anything that my flight was getting the last call message. I was trying to decide if a week in Spain by myself was worth the arguments when I got back or not when she appeared. We made the flight.
 
Csaba said:
Australian border control took a beef sandwich off me. They were fine as I had written that I had food on the immigration form. I get the impression that I would have faced a fairly large fine if i had failed to acknowledge this.
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what made you think it was acceptable to bring this into the country!
surely some common sense must kick in!
 
My boots in my suitcase when I went to New Zealand. Picked up on X-Ray and had to show there was nothing in the tread. When asked if I used them for hiking I replied " Do I look like I do a lot of walking". One glance was enough to prove my innocence.
 
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JackBarley said:
My boots in my suitcase when I went to New Zealand. Picked up on X-Ray and had to show there was nothing in the tread. When asked if I used them for hiking I replied "Do I look like I do a lot of walking". One glance was enough to prove my innocence.
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To be honest you LOOK like you might get carried around in a handbag ... but perhaps that isn't you in your avatar pic!
 
I always have a little Swiss Army knife on my key ring. Had 2 confiscated because I've forgotten to take them off before flying. Not forgotten for a couple of years now - but we fly next Tuesday... :p
 
Nod said:
I always have a little Swiss Army knife on my key ring. Had 2 confiscated because I've forgotten to take them off before flying. Not forgotten for a couple of years now - but we fly next Tuesday... :p
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Realised mine was in my camera bag arriving in New York and tbh would have happily thrown it in a bin but there werent any... got through ok on that one ... they didn't spot the lethal weapon 10 mm spanner either...
 
keeweeman said:
i made the schoolboy error of leaving the little screwdriver in my lee filters case that i had put into my wife's hand luggage bag, it obviously got flagged up but amazingly the guy let me keep it, didn't make the same mistake on the return flight thats for sure!
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They let me off on that too the spanner and Allen key where obviously more dangerous...[emoji106]
 
A friend's father, who was 80 years old at the time and travelling with 10 members of his family, was stopped from boarding a flight from LAX to Mexico City due to his metal hip replacement. He took his trousers off and showed them the scars, to no effect. He had to get a doctor's letter and flew three days later.

I had a little issue in Berlin security on Sunday. Somehow a coin got stuck in the lining of my trousers. No idea how and can't get it out. They let me through eventually.
 
emptied a massive set of poker chips into a carrier bag (inside my case) for a wedding in scotland... dam little buggers have metal cores and them.

worth the hassle :) good trip
 
My biggest issue with airport security has been
a) them dropping the camera bag off the belt..
b) holding the tray at 30º after they've emptied a bag so you watch an L lens roll to edge of tray and nearly bounce out
c) because you've got to take so much off for security ending up with wallet & keys in one tray, camera in another, and they hand you one as send the camera kit back through the scanner following testing the explosives test, but you can't go back over there with that tray, yeah thanks for that "security" you've just sent £6000 over there, and my car keys and wallet over here and I really don't want to let either out my sight. Now ensure just coat/shoes/belt end up in second tray, can buy them in duty free.
 
Jonnybrad2001 said:
My biggest issue with airport security has been
a) them dropping the camera bag off the belt..
b) holding the tray at 30º after they've emptied a bag so you watch an L lens roll to edge of tray and nearly bounce out
c) because you've got to take so much off for security ending up with wallet & keys in one tray, camera in another, and they hand you one as send the camera kit back through the scanner following testing the explosives test, but you can't go back over there with that tray, yeah thanks for that "security" you've just sent £6000 over there, and my car keys and wallet over here and I really don't want to let either out my sight. Now ensure just coat/shoes/belt end up in second tray, can buy them in duty free.
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Good to see some of us taking our camera stuff abroad ... but had a chuckle at some of the other comments.......[emoji106]
 
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How about a case like this at the height of a security alert in UK airports. The 5 things that look like artillery fuzes are in fact noise dosimeters that I had been using airside at the airport that day and was flying to the next airport. About a grand per badge so not going in the hold.
 
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After suffering with a bad back a week or so before my trip to Australia, I was stopped after the dog sniffed my hand luggage. It was then I realised that my pain killers were opium based :rolleyes:

That took a little bit of explaining, especially as we were away for almost 3 weeks so I had a full pack of 56 tablets..... My Mrs was really worried... Oh, and on the same trip I had to remove the lens from my DSLR body so they could see that there was nothing in it :confused:
 
Jelster said:
After suffering with a bad back a week or so before my trip to Australia, I was stopped after the dog sniffed my hand luggage. It was then I realised that my pain killers were opium based :rolleyes:

That took a little bit of explaining, especially as we were away for almost 3 weeks so I had a full pack of 56 tablets..... My Mrs was really worried... Oh, and on the same trip I had to remove the lens from my DSLR body so they could see that there was nothing in it :confused:
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Go on tell us.... are you Lance Armstrong really...[emoji106]
 
Zero problems with photography gear but I did have some fun and games when I brought 3 golf balls back from Ireland! To be fair the security guys realised their overreaction and we had a good laugh about it - but I was a little worried for a few minutes.
 
No problems with equipment but my youngest is disabled and they insisted on me taking him out of his special needs buggy, it was swabbed, his shoes were and the toys that hang on the buggy too - all while I'm trying to hold him and keep him calm!
Can't say I was very impressed
 
Absolutely none with camera stuff but always make sure my knife is in my case, after losing my wee pen knife!
 
Jonnybrad2001 said:
c) because you've got to take so much off for security ending up with wallet & keys in one tray, camera in another, and they hand you one as send the camera kit back through the scanner following testing the explosives test, but you can't go back over there with that tray, yeah thanks for that "security" you've just sent £6000 over there, and my car keys and wallet over here and I really don't want to let either out my sight. Now ensure just coat/shoes/belt end up in second tray, can buy them in duty free.
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And you got to do all that whilst holding onto your trousers.
 
Radio kits, when refereeing, but the could be used as comes between 2 photographers.

Stored in a pelicase, which looked like a pistol case.

It was all wires and batteries. Like checkout fella came running after me with some airport officials.

Also a respirator when in the army, would not fit in bag, so put it in hand luggage. They had a mega s***ty on, yet couldn't tell me why it wasn't allowed. Surely it's safety equipment? muppets
 
just come back from a family holiday to Egypt, obviously security is a bit more stringent coming back into the UK now. i did notice a guy in front of me with quite a lot of camera equip having a bit of a hard time at some security checks(which there are numerous) the big thing at the moment seems to be large batteries and powerbanks
 
Italian security queried a compact tripod once on the basis that it might be used as a blunt object. The tall guys in military uniforms and dark glasses let me through in the end after questioning.
 
Not a plane but I was walking through security to get into Stonehenge for summer solstice and I had my 800mm long Manfrotto tripod bag over my shoulder and one said to another! Wonder what's in the bag....... could be a gun..... I shouted.... yeah it could be..... guess what happened next?
 
Mark twiglet said:
Not a plane but I was walking through security to get into Stonehenge for summer solstice and I had my 800mm long Manfrotto tripod bag over my shoulder and one said to another! Wonder what's in the bag....... could be a gun..... I shouted.... yeah it could be..... guess what happened next?
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What?
 
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