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 ...
- 94.7k
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
134
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, ...
- 2,218
108
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 ...
- 82.1k
105
votes
Accepted
Passing through airport security with autism
I understand that logic doesn't always help in times of stress, but the first thing I want to assure you is that people are not going to run off with your things. This is something we all worry about ...
- 79.8k
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 ...
- 3,548
93
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 ...
- 1,672
89
votes
Accepted
Prohibited item forgotten in hand luggage: what to do with it?
It happened to me once in London Heathrow. In my case I didn't have any emotional attachment to the item and it only cost around £3 to replace, so I threw it away, however I discussed with the ...
- 14.3k
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 ...
- 4,099
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 ...
- 70k
73
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, ...
- 1,782
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 ...
- 86k
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 ...
- 9,420
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 ...
- 79.8k
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 ...
- 70k
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 ...
- 86k
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 - ...
- 86k
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 ...
- 3,044
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 ...
- 64.1k
50
votes
Accepted
Why did airport security swab my hands with wet paper?
Often at security they swab my backpack and some of my possessions with a small piece of damp paper. It is supposed to pick up traces of the materials I've been handling. Then they put it in a machine ...
- 79.8k
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 ...
48
votes
Passing through airport security with autism
Whenever you're planning a journey, consider if you really have to fly. I am Asperger myself, and I avoid flights (although not for the exact same reason as you).
Between The Netherlands and the ...
- 54.9k
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....
- 119k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible