Any recent experience at EUROPEAN airports?

[Peter Rip]

Most of the threads here on airport security for photographers concentrate on the USA.

Anyone have recent experiences in Athens, Rome, or Frankfurt? I have been lucky to not have serious issues in the US major metros and am wondering if these cities/countries are More or Less of a hassle for LF photographers?

[Colin Carron]

I went through Athens airport a couple of weeks ago. No problems. I followed my normal practice of putting LF camera and tripod in cases and film in hand luggage. This included loaded grafmatics and boxes of sheet film. I can't compare to US experience as I am Europe based. I have also passed through Zurich, Venice, London (Heathrow and Stansted) recently without problems.

[Dietrich Speer]

I passed through Detroit, Amsterdam and Salzburg a month ago and found the European airports to be more relaxed than the American ones. I am sure that my Rollei MF equipment, including large lenses, must have looked rather strange on the checkpoint monitors. Yet, I didn;t have to open the backpack once.

Have fun in Europe!

[Dave Moeller]

I just got back from a trip yesterday. As Dietrich said, the European airports seem a bit more relaxed. I had good experiences in Paris and Milan when leaving my Bronica MF gear and film in my carry-on luggage. My shoes...that's another story.