I just got back from a longer trip to trip to japan with about 150 rolls of film (35mm and 120, a mix of Portra160, Portra400, Portra800, Provia100F, Tri-X and TMX) although I used baggage storage at certain points to travel lighter (and have less stress with airport checks). here the results:
Berlin Airport BER (international departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
The staff was nice but arguing that the film is safe up to 800 ISO, and that the radiation up in the air would be higher than in their scanner (which from what I've read in some NASA studies from film in outer space is not true at all), but when kindly asked again they checked with the Airport police and agreed to hand inspect the films.
They wiped all the boxes with the explosive detector collectors and didn't open sealed boxes.
Munich Airport (transit):
The airport is organised that I didn't have to go through security again.
Tokyo Haneda Airport (domestic departures):
CT Scanner
I showed them a AI translation of my worry of X-Ray damage and a request for hand inspection and they didn't hesitate a second and checked every single package very thoroughly by hand. Strange enough, no explosive detection swipes, and they kept sealed packages closed.
Naha Airport (domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Osaka Kansai Airport (domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Naha Airport (again, domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Tokyo Haneda Airport (international departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo before (like everywhere in Japan).
Frankfurt Airport (transit):
CT Scanner.
The staff was nice, but argued that the film is safe.
I mentioned that the CT scanners are more risky and they were ok with a hand inspection after some chatting. everybody was nice and relaxed and was telling stories that they used to have a lot of film when they were young.
One of the security persons was mentioning that it is safe up to 400 ISO, the other was claiming a minute later that they were instructed that film is safe up to 3600 ISO (no typo). They mentioned that there's another security line where they still have the conventional X-Ray machines.
They wiped all the boxes with the explosive detector collectors and insisted in opening all sealed boxes (but not the foil wrapping of the unexposed 120 film).
All in all it was a very good experience with the airport staff, but always quite a bit of a worry before hand how people would react.
I had some important films developed in Tokyo at National Photo because I didn't want to risk anything in case I got denied a hand inspection.
I had some films in the camera bag that I forgot to take out, and some film in the camera going through the CT, so I'll report back how they fared when i got them developed and scanned (will take a while with 140 exposed films.
So, here are the results. APX 400 - bulk loaded into plastic cartridge - went once through old x-ray machine and then through who-knows-what in checked luggage (Argentina to France).
I don't see anything beyond the usual light leaks at the beginning of the roll...do you informed eyes catch anything else? Is there a chance that I'll notice something once I get into the darkroom and enlarge?
View attachment 375759
This story indicates that the CT scanners are coming to YVR - Vancouver International Airport. I posted in the comments there about the concerns of film users.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canadian-airport-ct-scanners-1.7327189
It certainly looks like I got lucky. I've printed a couple of those images and I didn't find any issues whatsoeverSometimes you just get lucky. I am sure many of us has accidentally packed a loaded camera or a film in checked baggage and got away with it. I know I have. The worst example I ever had was when I mixed up two 135 cassettes of Kodak Ultramax. One was fresh, and one was about 6 years expired and had been through two airport checked bag CT scanners (it was given to me by someone else after all this). I accidentally loaded the old one for photographing a walk in hills/countryside on a very foggy day. The photos were usable but did show signs of fog...possibly from both age and the CT scans.
It's not like CT scans are instant death for film. I am sure that back in film's heyday many people packed their annual roll of Kodak Gold in their checked bag, not realising it might be a problem. But they do substantially increase the risk.
I just got back from a longer trip to trip to japan with about 150 rolls of film (35mm and 120, a mix of Portra160, Portra400, Portra800, Provia100F, Tri-X and TMX) although I used baggage storage at certain points to travel lighter (and have less stress with airport checks). here the results:
Berlin Airport BER (international departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
The staff was nice but arguing that the film is safe up to 800 ISO, and that the radiation up in the air would be higher than in their scanner (which from what I've read in some NASA studies from film in outer space is not true at all), but when kindly asked again they checked with the Airport police and agreed to hand inspect the films.
They wiped all the boxes with the explosive detector collectors and didn't open sealed boxes.
Munich Airport (transit):
The airport is organised that I didn't have to go through security again.
Tokyo Haneda Airport (domestic departures):
CT Scanner
I showed them a AI translation of my worry of X-Ray damage and a request for hand inspection and they didn't hesitate a second and checked every single package very thoroughly by hand. Strange enough, no explosive detection swipes, and they kept sealed packages closed.
Naha Airport (domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Osaka Kansai Airport (domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Naha Airport (again, domestic departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo.
Tokyo Haneda Airport (international departures):
Conventional X-Ray machine.
Same as in Tokyo before (like everywhere in Japan).
Frankfurt Airport (transit):
CT Scanner.
The staff was nice, but argued that the film is safe.
I mentioned that the CT scanners are more risky and they were ok with a hand inspection after some chatting. everybody was nice and relaxed and was telling stories that they used to have a lot of film when they were young.
One of the security persons was mentioning that it is safe up to 400 ISO, the other was claiming a minute later that they were instructed that film is safe up to 3600 ISO (no typo). They mentioned that there's another security line where they still have the conventional X-Ray machines.
They wiped all the boxes with the explosive detector collectors and insisted in opening all sealed boxes (but not the foil wrapping of the unexposed 120 film).
All in all it was a very good experience with the airport staff, but always quite a bit of a worry before hand how people would react.
I had some important films developed in Tokyo at National Photo because I didn't want to risk anything in case I got denied a hand inspection.
I had some films in the camera bag that I forgot to take out, and some film in the camera going through the CT, so I'll report back how they fared when i got them developed and scanned (will take a while with 140 exposed films.
I've never had difficulty getting a hand check at any US airport--and that includes JFK where security is a bit of a mob scene. I've had issues outside the US, and for that reason I always go with a workaround.
One is to never make connections outside the US. My experience is that that if you are making a connection and your inbound flight is from a different country, they will make you go back through security, and you're captive so you're stuck with whatever the policy or security person says.
My last international trip I flew out with my film, but boxed it up and shipped it back via DHL with a "Do Not Xray" label on the box. I read that most shippers randomly Xray some packages. It was obvious my package had been manually opened and inspected (presumably because it said no-xray) so I'm guessing it wasn't x-rayed, and the film, even the Delta 3200 and Portra 800 (way underexposed) had zero issues.
"One is to never make connections outside the US." For most travellers that's pretty unrealistic...London, Reyjkavik, Amsterdam, Frankfurt are big hubs for transfer to other cities...& connections are common.
Then your alternative is to not bring the film to the airport. Buy it in the destination country, and ship it back. Maybe I’ve had bad luck, maybe things are changing, but I’ve never successfully got film hand checked outside the USA.
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