248
votes
Accepted
Asking same flight customers if they would agree to put my knife in their checked luggage
Sorry, it's a valid idea but it's not going to happen
It's tricky to find passengers who will be on your flight before you pass through security. You would have to catch them at check in, before they ...
- 108k
163
votes
Asking same flight customers if they would agree to put my knife in their checked luggage
Sensible people will call security on you and you're probably going to get arrested.
You may find a "mark" but you'd be placing a naive and people-pleasing person in a very bad and nerve-wracking ...
- 1,401
132
votes
Accepted
Can I safely eat whatever goes through the x-ray machine?
Is it safe to eat food, drink beverages, use medicine, or apply cosmetics if any of these products have gone through a cabinet x-ray system?
There are no known adverse effects from eating food, ...
- 2,208
107
votes
Accepted
I was allowed to enter the airport terminal by showing a boarding pass for a future flight. Should I be concerned about "security"?
You didn't skip any security controls. Your luggage was checked and you went through a metal scanner. Finally, you were not allowed on board without a proper ticket. The rest is just to prevent people ...
- 82.6k
104
votes
How can I convince airport screeners to stop asking why I prefer pat-downs?
You can't convince them.
You will always get questions about why you don't want to go through body scanner. A colleague of mine, which always refuses body scanner, always gets multiple questions ...
- 3,588
94
votes
Asking same flight customers if they would agree to put my knife in their checked luggage
Even ignoring the practicalities, it's a terrible idea.
Without being too paranoid, I don't know what you have done with that knife.
I don't want my finger prints on it, I don't want whatever ...
- 1,693
89
votes
Can I safely eat whatever goes through the x-ray machine?
There is
radiation that can only heat,
radiation that can additionally ionize,
and radiation that can actually make stuff radioactive.
XRays are the second kind, ionizing radiation, meaning they ...
- 931
78
votes
How do you prevent somebody from stealing your luggage when traveling by air?
In principle, yes, this can happen. In practice, it is very rare. Speaking personally, in years of travelling, I have only ever once had someone try to walk off with my own luggage ... and that was on ...
- 4,109
76
votes
Asking same flight customers if they would agree to put my knife in their checked luggage
Forget the fact that it's a knife for a moment.
Would you accept a deal where you risk arrest just so a stranger can save (say) $30?
If you're like most people, your answer is no. If you're not, ...
- 1,811
76
votes
First aid scissors confiscated by Dubai airport security
Individual countries have their own rules, and while some items are unambiguously permitted or forbidden everywhere, quite a few are in a greyish area which varies from country to country (and then ...
- 84.8k
71
votes
I was allowed to enter the airport terminal by showing a boarding pass for a future flight. Should I be concerned about "security"?
The reason why you have to show your boarding cards at the security check is not because it is insecure to let people without boarding passes in (there is no particular reason to think people without ...
71
votes
Can you take a coffee on a plane if you purchased it before security?
A Frappuccino is considered a liquid. For carry-on luggage, the UK only allows a single small resealable bag of liquids holding containers 100ml or less. Your Frappuccino would not qualify.
You ...
- 86.3k
67
votes
How can I convince airport screeners to stop asking why I prefer pat-downs?
I think the only thing your Grandad is doing wrong is exercising a right that, as the answer that Zach linked makes clear, HMG (Her Majesty's Government) really didn't want anyone to have, but was ...
- 9,982
66
votes
How can I convince airport screeners to stop asking why I prefer pat-downs?
You absolutely cannot convince the screeners as a group. Nothing you say to screener A today will cause word to spread through the screener community so that tomorrow, screener B will not ask you. The ...
- 81.2k
62
votes
Accepted
Carrying 30 ebook readers in hand luggage
First, 30 to 40 ebook readers still in their boxes is going to take quite some space, and weigh a decent amount.
So the first issue is that it’s likely to exceed your carry-on allowance, either in ...
- 84.8k
57
votes
Accepted
Do airport metal scanners occasionally flash a false alarm on purpose?
Sometimes.
At least in the TSA Precheck lanes in the United States, the metal detectors (Precheck lanes use metal detectors, not body scanners) can alarm randomly to alert the screeners to perform a ...
- 86.3k
57
votes
Accepted
Who to complain to about the speed of airport security at Frankfurt?
From the Frankfurt airport website:
The Federal Police will also deal with compliments and complaints concerning aviation security matters.
Airport Security Check +49 (0) 69 690 - ...
- 86.3k
55
votes
Will TSA allow me to carry a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)/sleep apnea device?
I carried my Cpap device to/from USA with no problems. I contacted the airline in advance to enquire as I'd not done this before and - like you - I was unsure of the procedure. Without any hesitation ...
- 3,064
51
votes
Who to complain to about the speed of airport security at Frankfurt?
Let me try to handle your implicit question, which I assume is "what can I do to prevent this next time?".
If you are in a line for security, and think there is a danger of you missing a flight, then ...
- 68k
50
votes
Accepted
Can I bring a wooden dough rolling stick onto the plane(carry-on)?
I asked https://www.facebook.com/AskTSA and they've told me that it is not allowed in carry-on bags.
(12:44:55 PM) Ask TSA: We're glad you asked! Rolling pins must be
packed in checked bags. Safe ...
49
votes
Alcohol duty free refused at Dubai
Once you left the airport, you are generally no longer able to carry your duty free alcohol back through security.
There are situations where you may be allowed transport such liquids through security,...
- 123k
48
votes
How can I convince airport screeners to stop asking why I prefer pat-downs?
I think the easiest would be to say
I am afraid it will give me cancer.
... and stick to it over their arguments.
- 683
47
votes
Accepted
TSA asking to see cell phone
When you are randomly selected for additional screening (which is a core part of TSA PreCheck as well as TSA procedures in general), the additional screening applies to you and all of your possessions....
- 123k
46
votes
Do airport metal scanners occasionally flash a false alarm on purpose?
This is a definite yes. If the metal detector beeps, turn around and you'll see "QUOT" for quota if you've been selected for random screening.
Edit:
I paid particular attention to this on a trip this ...
- 29k
45
votes
Accepted
Can I travel with a suitcase full of condoms?
If you cross the boundary of a customs union (or the border of a country not part of one), then you are supposed to declare any imported goods if their total value exceeds the duty free allowance, ...
- 84.8k
45
votes
Skip Heathrow flight after passing security
Couple things to add to all of the above answers. First, as pointed out in another answer, it's best to book a flight with the departure time around the same time as you friend's departure time (so as ...
- 14.4k
42
votes
Can I safely eat whatever goes through the x-ray machine?
Yes, you can safely eat food that's been through the X-ray machine (assuming, of course, that it was safe to eat before going through the nuker).
There are two main ways in which something not ...
- 675
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible