London Airport

[Mike Boden]

Just a heads up...I'm currently sitting in London airport on my way to Italy after having gone through airport security, and I was forced to have my film x-rayed. I was able to hand-check the film in Los Angeles, but not here. I tried to put up a fight, but was unsuccessful. Has anybody had a different experience, or is this what's to be expected?

[Mark Mellen]

I have been a couple times to the UK and found the airports all about the same. I was told everything goes through X-ray. So when traveling abroad from the U.S one should expect this....

[Kirk Gittings]

That was my experience a year and a half ago. But I expected it and bought my film in England and had it shipped to my first hotel. On the way back I had it Fedxed home.

[Once]

Just a heads up...I'm currently sitting in London airport on my way to Italy after having gone through airport security, and I was forced to have my film x-rayed. snip

So? What's the big deal?

[domenico Foschi]

I have had HP5+ xrayed 4 times and nothing has happened.
Enjoy the trip

[SAShruby]

I had my film x-rayed through baggage x-rays multiple times, perfectly OK. I stop worrying about x-raying film. Nothing will happen to it.

[Kirk Gittings]

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I had film fried by the xray machines in Chicago two years ago and will never trust them again. This is how I make my living and it is not worth the risk.

Just give up false assumptions about x-rays for good.

[Ash]

I'm surprised anybody even bothers to put up a fight anymore.

Last year, I had a 1930's Zeiss Nettar 515... it was in my hand luggage, in it's soft carry case. Because they couldn't identify it on xray they pulled my whole bag apart in front of the ongoing mass of people, had me identify everything down to a tin of mints.

They took my camera from me, walked 5ft away and with a back to me swabbed it for explosives.

It was then returned to me (as was my now emptied bag and contents) and they left me to re-pack it and move on. The film was x-rayed again on the way bag from France. Shots were absolutely fine.


I often get 'random' searched at airports, and more often than not I have my bag emptied and examined.

Such is the way in the UK.


A few years ago at the height of the airport scares (in a smaller airport outside of London) I had many rolls of 35mm and two cameras in my hand luggage. They didn't even both to empty the bag.

[Once]

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I had film fried by the xray machines in Chicago two years ago and will never trust them again. This is how I make my living and it is not worth the risk.

Hand baggage carry on or checked in baggage?

[Kirk Gittings]

After thoroughly testing the xray machines at airports from Albuquerque to Chicago and Heathrow last year, I got burned on a recent trip to Chicago working on an upcoming exhibit. My 4x5 color neg and b&w readyload film was uniformly fogged adding .20 on average to the base density. This was true on both checked and hand carried baggage with some slight variations in the fog density. These were opened boxes that I had used a couple of days before the trip with no issues.

From my post shortly after it happened.