I traveled by plane for the first time in my life 3 months ago. It was 4 trips, which meant 4 hand luggage inspections.
I have a huge problem: I was asked to remove my laptop and tablet from my bag and place them alone on a separate plastic tray. While they pass through the X-ray machine, I pass through the metal detector. However, when I go back and grab my laptop, I get the living s**t zapped out of me.
I did it twice (in 2 different airports with very different security devices) and it happened every time. My brother did it once and it did not happen to him. Likewise for my mother. The sound is so loud, people turn to look at me. And it's so painful to me, I involuntarily jump backwards. The spark is clearly visible but there is no burn mark or anything like that on my hand or my laptop's paint. My laptop has a stretched aluminum case painted in black (more specifically, Lenovo IdeaPad y510p).
Touching the tablet after the laptop has no effect. I never touched it before the laptop because experimenting was the last thing on my mind at the time. My best idea is to wear gloves when handling my laptop, but I fear two things: 1. I'll look suspicious and only end up wasting everyone's time going through checks and what-not. 2. If I don't discharge the laptop, it will discharge on something else, possibly doing damage, or worse, zap me later at a perhaps more inappropriate time.
I touched more metallic objects before my laptop, such as the edge of the thread that moves the bags and my belt.
Could you suggest a solution or a workaround for this issue? Next time I travel, I will have to take 3 laptops with me, 2 of which have metal casings...