I'm flying to Heathrow tomorrow, connecting flight there.
how is the security process?
these days when you go through airport security you never know what to expect - shoes on or off? take out laptop or leave in bag is ok - how about your tablet - phone? liquids in separate bag?
I had a pair of nail clippers confiscated not long ago (airport in Vietnam).
I had an awful experience last year - needed to take some film with me, couldn't rely on getting it at my destination as there was a shortage in Japan and what I wanted to take was not guaranteed to be found over there (and trawling round ships would probably have led to divorce). Packed everything in a clear bag as I normally do with film on flights. Emailed them before I went to make things easier and lessen the possibility of destroying £200+ worth of equipment, and their security team said a hand-check will be fine, they won't put it through the scanners.
Got there and asked for my film to be hand-checked. They said no. Told them that I didn't want to risk it going through the scanners, and I'd emailed to check before I came. They asked to see the email, got it up on my phone. "Yeah, we need to see the previous emails in the chain." But it says that a hand-check is fine. "I know, but It's policy madam, I need to know what they said."
Found the email, they checked with supervisors, then told me that "it must have been crossed wires" that it was fine, and anything below 800iso must go through the scanner, including rolls at a lower speed to be shot at 800, or rollfilm that didn't have the ISO printed on. By the time we had this conversation and it had all been separated out, they could have hand-checked the lot. Stressed me out so much that I ended up crying at the Pret counter, which is probably why it didn't surprise MrF when I got diagnosed with autism a year later.
Took six more flights on that trip, including a change at CDG. Absolutely no problems. Except for MrF getting annoyed and asking why I can't just use a normal camera like normal people.
