Topic: PSA: New luggage scanners positively destroy film

[Francois]

I just read this and thought it needs to be shared.
For all of us traveling with unprocessed film, be sure to read this

https://www.diyphotography.net/new-airport-hand-luggage-scanners-will-destroy-your-unprocessed-film/

[Kai-san]

Well, that's it! From now on I'll do my holiday traveling by train even if it'll take a lot longer. On the train there's no luggage weight limit, and when you buy a ticket they recommend that you are on the platform two minutes before departure. If you fly abroad the airline recommend that you show up two HOURS in advance! 

[Bryan]

Save old containers of fast films, over 400 ISO, so you can show them the need for a hand inspection. 

[Francois]

I always read that the best thing to do is just put them in a clear Ziploc bag.

I'm coming to the point where I believe it's safer to send the film through UPS, DHL, Fedex or something similar than flying with it.

[Late Developer]

Living on a small island off the continental European mainland offers very few options when it comes to long distance foreign travel, aside from flying. I don't know whether there are any of these machines in the UK or EU but I've sort of come to the conclusion that as I may never get to go back to most of the places I'll visit from this point forwards and I'm not going to risk film being fogged, it's digital all the way for me when travelling abroad.

I have asked for hand checks in the UK on a number of occasions but, almost always, it's a flat "no" and I've taken my chances. No more.  It seems pretty clear that there's little, if any, consideration for film users in these types of scenarios so I'll live with "the other medium".

[Francois]

In a sense I don't blame you for travelling with a digital camera.
But what I find a bit more sad is that we've come to a point where security is so important.
I remember going to France when I was a kid back in the mid 80's. We were running late for the flight, so the staff looked at me and mom and had us bypass the whole boarding procedure to hop on the flight transporter as fast as possible. And the worst thing that happened was turbulence, bad food and a bad movie.