Any x-ray/film inspection horror stories from Las Vagas and Grand Junction airports?

[John Kasaian]

I might be flying through these terminals and I'm curious if it is safe to take film along or if I'm better off fed-exing. Thanks!

[Robert A. Zeichner]

As of last April, I had no difficulties at McCarren. Sometimes, when returning from DV, I drop off boxed up exposed film at the FedEx near the airport.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'm in LV at the moment, and I'm flying out Tuesday. I'll let you know.

In the past sometimes the inspectors at LAS have asked to inspect my bag after putting it through the X-ray, but sometimes not. Once I tossed a Ziploc bag of loose change into my tripod case before checking it at LAS--just a few bucks--and it was stolen by baggage handlers.

[RPNugent]

It's been a couple years since I was through Grand Junction, but the folks there were VERY thorough inspecting my gear as carry on. No problems with the film they just wanted to look very carefully at all the other stuff. I'm still not sure if it was boredom and looking for something to do or real concern on their part since it was a very slow time at the airport when I went through. It did take me several minutes longer than normal to get past security as a result.

[Louie Powell]

It's been a couple years since I was through Grand Junction, but the folks there were VERY thorough inspecting my gear as carry on. No problems with the film they just wanted to look very carefully at all the other stuff. I'm still not sure if it was boredom and looking for something to do or real concern on their part since it was a very slow time at the airport when I went through. It did take me several minutes longer than normal to get past security as a result.

The practices involved in inspections are supposed to be uniform across the country (although I would hope that they designed a few inconsistencies into the system just to make sure the bad guys don't figure out how to sneak something nasty past the inspectors).

The standards for X-ray ARE uniform, so I would not be concerned about that.

That said, I would not be surprised to find that there are actually significant differences between what happens in a major airport like McCarran, and small airports. The inspectors at small airports aren't going to be as busy, so they would probably be a bit more thorough, and perhaps a bit more curious about looking at things that they may not have seen before. By contrast, the guys at the bigger airport are more practiced and therefore more efficient, and they've already seen everything there is to see, so nothing will surprise them or excite their curiosity other than the kinds of things they are actually looking for.

I went through the International Fall, MN airport in January 1973. I have two distinct recollections about that trip. The first was standing on the sidewalk waiting for the taxi to the airport - and freezing my nuggies off! There's a reason the weather people always mention International Falls in the winter.

The other was going through the preboarding inspection. This was only a few months after Nixon ordered the airlines to start inspections. The dude insisted on looking between each sheet of paper in the note pad in my briefcase. I don't know what he was looking for. Of greater concern is that he likely didn't know either.

[Matt Blaze]

I've only gone through McCarren a few times in the last year, and I've never been through Grand Junction. So I can't give you much specific useful advice about those particular airports, but I've been flying an average of about once a week for the last ten or fifteen years, so I have more than my share of experience with the TSA and its predecessors.

I always have unprocessed film hand inspected at the airport, and they've always done it without much complaint (in the US, at least). This is actually the one thing about airport security that has remained fairly uniform both before and after September 11th. Sometimes they start out by telling me that that it's safe up to ISO1600, etc, but I always explain that I'm shooting special x-ray sensitive film, and they've never argued. I've never had a problem with them handling or exposing film. If the rest of the airport security experience were as reliably sensible as the way they handle film at checkpoints (in my experience at least), there'd be nothing to complain about.

As for inspection of equipment itself, that's highly random everywhere. Sometimes they look at every lens, most of the time they don't take a second look.

[eddie]

vegas was NO problem!

[Dave Wooten]

Vegas is no problem, there is some signage for film 800 asa and up to be passed around scanner etc.

[mrladewig]

I use to travel 100% as a consultant. My post September 2001 experience was that the TSA security in small airports was much more aggressive and may I say irritating than the security in larger markets. I suppose they just have more time on their hands and feel that they can be especially thorough. But I don't think they would do anything to destroy your film.

I live in Denver, have driven through Grand Junction many times, but never flew through that airport. I suspect that it is more like the typical small town airport. Las Vegas struck me as a major market airport and was no problem. I just thought it odd that there were slot machines in the airport terminals the last time I flew there (1999).

But like Louie mentioned, the X-Ray practices are fairly standard so I don't think you'll have any problem with your film there.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Didn't have any problems at LAS. I put my film through the X-ray as I usually do and went through with no further questions. I consider hand inspections a greater risk to LF film than X-rays, due to the potential for inspectors to open the box.