The Nashville airport has been putting out this message for a little while: Have your boarding pass and ID ready and “carry your film with you.”
What is the most appropriate way to carry film through the airport? Will security check to see that film is sealed, and if so should I have it somewhere convenient to reach? Or does this mean it just needs to be in my carry-on luggage? I like to be organized when I go to the airport, so if anyone knows the best way to comply, I will appreciate your input.
Depends how much film you’ve got, I guess… (Nice to know I’m not the only one pedantically clining to 35mm!).
I carry it in my camera bag, and no-one has ever commented on it being a problem- but then I typically fly between States in Australia, or else Trans-Tasman, so I don’t think they’re quite as paranoid about security as they are in the US…
True story, last time I flew to NZ I was wearing my steel-capped workboots. I dumped all my crap into the tray to X-ray it, but forgot to take my boots off. Metal Detector goes off, and the Security Guy waves the Magic Wand over me, before realising I’m simply wearing steelcaps, and waves me through.
Of course, coming into Australia, they make me take them off and X-ray them, yet they don’t ask me to take off my polarfleece Jacket Of Many Pockets And Zips. Weird…
Security is a joke really. Did you know they make pilots go through the screening and confiscate any nail files or clippers or whatever, then the pilot gets in to the cockpit where there is a very capable looking axe strapped to the wall? Meanwhile the baggage handlers are allowed to wander back and forth to and from airside with access to everyone’s bags, and the aircraft. There is very little about the whole process that makes much sense.
With regard to photographic file “they” claim the low level x-rays will not harm film.
In fact some claim that it makes the film more sensitive to low level light conditions.
QUESTION: Does anything the bureaucrac does make any sense? :rolleyes:
I usually have quite a bit of film with me when I travel. For a while I was using lead pouches that are made specifically for this purpose, but got tired of shlepping around all that extra weight. Now I just carry the film with me, in a plastic bag, in my carry-on backpack, and hand the bag to the security person while the backpack goes through xray. Only once has a security person opened up every single film canister to make sure there was film inside.
At many airports the baggage scanners have been beefed up in recent years. That is, they emit more radiation now which is harmful to photographic film. It used to be that they recommended putting your film in your carry-on because that machine had a lower-level radiation dosing than the machine used for checked-baggage scans. That is no longer the case; the carry-on scans are at least as equally powerful as the checked bag scans. So, in order to insure maximum protection, you should have your film hand-checked; don’t put it thru any scan.
Two other things to make note of: First, higher speed film is more susceptive to radiation fogging than lower speed film. Second, the doses are accumulativee. That is each pass thru a scanner adds to the radiation absorbed by the film; it’s the total absorbtion that you need to worry about.
And actually Northwest Airlines contradicts me a little bit. It’s been a while since I looked at their recommendations and requirements. NWA now says this:
So this is just a recommendation by the airport to avoid ruining my film. Cool. I thought security specifically wanted to hand-check my film for some reason.
Oh. No, they don’t want to look at your film. It’s to protect it. I should also note that the radiation affects only unprocessed film. Developed negatives (or positives in the case of slides) are not affected.
I have a steel-toed boots story too. I forgot I was wearing them, and walked through the detector. Of course, it went off. I just asked the guy if I could take off my boots and walk through again but he refused, he insisted on making me stand there with his wand, waving me down and feeling me up. :wally
No, they don’t. A quick check at www.tsa.gov provides a listing of items permitted and prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage. Nail clippers and nail files are on the permitted list for both kinds of luggage.