Airport kerfuffle

[Matchless]

Recently I took half a 1918 Indian Power Plus petrol tank as hand luggage on two flights, first to Singapore and then a week later on to Sydney where I posted it to the ebay buyer in Adelaide, no one every questioned it and both countries are quite strict! previously a good mate brought a 1914 Hedstrom Indian frame with swinging arm attached as luggage from California to Heathrow for me, he made a wooden box with castors and a handle on top, looked like a dog's coffin, I told him to write RIP Fido, best dog ever on it but he declined, he had no trouble, previously he brought me a set of wheel rims for my 1929 Dodge, taped together and wrapped in card they looked and x-rayed like an empty squat oil drum, they did get held up both ends and had to be delivered to my house by taxi at the airlines expense! Many Many years ago I was detained by the Murder squad at Dover as I was importing a bark BMW in the name of Herr Kupper and the computer flagged it up as possibly something to do with the murder of Suzy Lamplugh about 8 years before, apart from that I often have to strip off at airport security due to two titanium shoulders, rod in my right tibia and a screws in my left wrist...........

 

[Matchless]

I used to do a lot of travelling...multiple flights a week!

Only been stopped a couple times...as above stay calm and be polite...how you respond will dictate how they're thinking

Once had a dog make a bee line across the terminal towards me....that was a bit scary. They asked me if I was carrying cash...had about 500 euros on me. Dog was a noob...he'd been finding money all morning apparently

They do have money dogs but try to keep it quite, each dog is a specialist, money, drugs, explosives, etc. The only thing all of the dogs sniff out is another dogs ****!

 

[Morrisman]

I was also travelling to the states from Manchester airport the week after Richard Reid (the shoe bomber) was caught…

Because of the extra security before I checked anything in properly a girl came over and asked if she could have a look in my bags.

She opened the toolbox which had all sorts of plc and vfd programming cables coiled up on the top and gave me a sideways look as she said “erm, I’ve been told to look out for suspicious cables and wires…”

We got chatting about what I was doing and she decided I “looked like I could be trusted” so off I popped through to normal security

Whenever I flew to the US I always had a mixed bag of gadgets and wires, chargers etc, a hard drive, phone, iPad, earphones, all bundled together into a side pocket of my little carry on back pack. In and out every five weeks, for ten years, and nobody in security ever said a word. Even on the X-ray it looked suspicious to me…..

However, a tube of toothpaste inadvertently forgotten and not put in the requisite explosion proof plastic bag, and they were all over me, like a bad rash. I nearly got deported when I said ‘look, I simply forgot to put it in the plastic bag’ with just a slightly annoyed tone.

 

[Greeves246]

Turned up at JFK New York in the early 80s with a microlight aircraft in kit form. Box marked Experimental Aircraft Engine, wheels, fuel tanks, 10 ft long x foot diameter cardboard tube full of aluminium tubing, suitcase of hardware and rigging wire, and a suitcase of Dacron wing covering. They never batted an eyelid or charged excess baggage.

 

[Robotstar5]

Not any more, it's all the same sickly yuck now despite them promising not to mess with and and keep all production here. There are far nicer products available at lower prices, so Cadbury has not and will not be featuring in any shopping I do.

Mrs Robo is a connoisseur when it comes to Cadburys milk chocolate, she soon noticed the difference after the take over and gave up eating it.

 

[DAPPH]

It was New Zealand Marmite too! No culture the Yanks you see.

Vegemite ? a poor mans imitation of Marmite

 

[skotl]

Mate who lives in the Scottish Highlands stays with us when he is going through Edinburgh Airport. Last year he got a 5am taxi to the airport and realised just when he was pulling in that he had his rather large Bowie knife in his carry on!
He didn't have time to get back to mine and didn't want to bin it so turns out he went into the muti-storey car park and hid it behind a pillar.

When he got back that night he was both relieved and surprised to find it was still there.

Lawd knows what would have happened if they had caught him on CCTV stashing a knife...

 

[Turbo]

Had a strange one on the way through security coming home from USA the other day.

My bag was taken aside for inspection. Then they took out 2x gift candles my GF had bought which were in my case for testing. They immediately said one candle tested positive for explosives and did I know anything about this?! So said no, it's just a candle bought and tagged from a large shop.

They took me aside in front of all and full search and went through all belongings whilst an expolsive expert was called to examine the candle! During this time they also scanned my shoes and said we got another hit on them.....

No idea but I kept calm and polite. Then heard them say "another one?" And then "can we get a machine that works?".

And about 20 minutes later they handed the candle back and my stuff all unpacked. I asked can I go then? And they said yes. No explanation or anything offered I presume they realised their test and accusations were incorrect but found the whole thing quite strange altogether!! Anyone else had something like this happen?

The security staff probably lost ancestors in WW2 and when they saw you they recognised you as the bloke that collects and restores German cars and chainsaws.

So what they did to you was revenge for supporting German industry.

 

[ahebron]

A bit like your Cadburys chocolate tastes different to ours I guess.

Only one chocolate worth the name in NZ and it is Whittakers brand.
Cadbury detroyed their brand here first with palmoil and then closing NZ production.
For me it is Vegemite instead of Marmite, especially on a piece of toasted and buttered Vogels.

 

[Tangledfeet]

With an insulin pump adhered to my midriff and and a CGM (Constant Glucose Monitor) on my arm I have to insist on a pat down as I can't go through scanner or x-ray. Also have to insist that the spares of each I carry cannot go through either on the hand baggage scanner. Fortunately the CAA have procedures in place for medical devices and I've only had one eejit make an hash of dealing with me!

 

[Maker]

Coming back from Rome, I had a corkscrew in my bag. TSA lady had a look at it, asked "Is it just a normal corkscrew?", then handed it back and said "Don't kill anyone".

 

[Morris]

Couple more I've remembered.
Coming out of Sydney about 2001 for the flight home with my ex, she got to the desk (can't remember what part of departure it was) and a loopy spaniel appeared in front of her, followed by a serious looking guy in a military stylee uniform. Seems she had sweets on her, a no no. The sweets were confiscated. I would have been happier if I had kept the sweets and she had been confiscated.

Back in the early 80's four of us went on a French road trip. One of the party was an Irish girl who, unknown to me (and her husband it seemed) had an Irish passport. Had a great trip and no incidents until we got back to Dover. At this point the customs official looked at four young people in a large V8 Australian car with suspicion. Then he saw the Irish passport (some Irish people were being a bit uppity at this time for those that remember). Cue unloading a huge boot of everything and opening of cases, bags, pockets and car interior. Having found nothing we were put to one side to repack everything, all the while being pointed at by people passing through without incident.

 

[northwest]

Back in the early 80's four of us went on a French road trip. One of the party was an Irish girl who, unknown to me (and her husband it seemed) had an Irish passport. Had a great trip and no incidents until we got back to Dover. At this point the customs official looked at four young people in a large V8 Australian car with suspicion. Then he saw the Irish passport (some Irish people were being a bit uppity at this time for those that remember).

I travelled a LOT in the 70's/80's and one of my companions was an Irish guy with the inevitable Irish Passport, he was also called Gerry Rafferty which didn't help. Every airport, port or border crossing was an endurance test and landing back in England was a sure fire trip into a private room for a while, we missed lots of connections!

I also learned very quickly to get my hair cut and travel with an actual suitcase, not a rucksack, it smoothed things through customs and immigration.

 

[KemppiFrog]

Lots of storys
So one more: Flying from Faro to Athens via Rome, back in the '86. I had lent my car to a GF for a euopean tour before she went on to India. She said the car was clacking on turns, so I packed a driveshaft in my carry on...
X-Ray at Faro asked what was it? Told him and he asked "Do you have an R12 or R5?" I said 'your kit is pretty good, R12'. Yes, he replied, new last week.
So, kick my heels in Rome for a few hours, then back through security.. Bloke ask what is that? I tell him and he says he wants to see it, so I start unpacking my smalls to get at it and he wanders off.
As I reached in to lift it out, I looked round for him. He was off to one side with two security that had automatic weapons trained on me. I VERY carefully lifted out the d/shaft and loosened the wrapping to show them. Tensioned eased a bit and I actually heard them put the safeties back on...

Sort of understandable, as a month before there had been a major shoot out with some Red Brigade nutters, quite a few killed.

 

[Mick Annick]

I have told this here before, but I flew from London to Edinburgh many years ago with my boss for a meeting, all fine, but on the way back security asked me to open my briefcase; after a brief look they pulled my Opinel penknife out of one of the pockets - ‘ what’s this for?’ He asks, ‘sharpening my pencil’ says me (there were a few in there). He then spies my pencil case and opens it, to find a second Opinel, ‘OK, what’s this one for then?’ I just shrugged my shoulders, couldn’t answer that one, but he let me go and keep my knives!

 

[Morrisman]

I once bought a model A Ford car front axle, in Houston. A lady on a hot rod web site brought it to our crew change hotel, where I had to hurriedly rush to Walmart, buy a bunch of packing cardboard, and some cheap bathroom scales, and try to get the axle and hairpins, hubs, king pins and numerous small parts, dividing into two equal weight packages.
It went well, checked in, on the plane with me to Manila.

In Manila I eagerly awaited it on the carousel….where it eventually turned up, laying in various parts, with a bit of the original cardboard still adhered, by a couple of pieces of American TSA customs security tape.

They’d sliced it all open almost as soon as I had dropped it off at check in, to ensure it wasn’t something heinous and dangerous…..

Enough of it survived the trip to be used on this:



Which eventually became this:

 

[ms08]

Not quote so dramatic but went to Dublin a few years back. I love my Bovril so bought a jar while staying in Ireland along with some marmalade and put them in hand luggage to come back - naïve! didn't want to waste a nearly fresh jar of Bovril. I was relieved of both.

 

[Beanwood]

Not quote so dramatic but went to Dublin a few years back. I love my Bovril so bought a jar while staying in Ireland along with some marmalade and put them in hand luggage to come back - naïve! didn't want to waste a nearly fresh jar of Bovril. I was relieved of both.

This is about me level of misdemeanour- mine was trying to take OXO cubes through JFK for some friends who moved there. No way were those dangerous things being allowed into USA!!

 

[bricol]

To be fair to the USA, their rules are pretty clear on what you can and can't take in, and what will happen if you try.

The UK has let me bring back a few edible goodies without question though.

A colleague for some reason tried to bring 2 ltrs of wine back from that well known wine loving nation, Denmark, in hand luggage - was most upset when they wouldn't let him take it on the plane

 

[fizzy]

A mate of mine was a champion powerlifter. Also a dealer in steroids. Back in the 90s he used to travel to Europe to buy them. Then he would come back with a suitcase full of ampules. He always had the correct paperwork so would declare it at customs. Imagine that now. Totally illegal.