Airport metal detectors/residues

[DPG]

I recenty had an issue in SYD T1 where i walked through the machine once and it went off, but knowing I had already taken everything metalic off, i headed back and just walked back through, a little slower, and hey presto, it didn't go off!

I don't know what set it off the first time, maybe I walked through it too quickly... Well that is what I thought at the time.

D P G

 

[Mal]

I recenty had an issue in SYD T1 where i walked through the machine once and it went off, but knowing I had already taken everything metalic off

I've found the T1 machine (leading from domestic transfer to b*s) to be touchy at times - sometimes triggering on things that the other machines in SIN/HKG etc have not tripped on.

Weird. Then again, the same pants and shoes and belt will go off one day, but not the next time. Maybe they are bored and want the shoe dances to happen!

 

[justme]

Here's the one that I can't figure out - I have a pair of boots that set off the alarms at domestic gates in SYD but not international. I would have thought it more important to be the other way around.

Off topic a little....I still find it ironic that at ADL (old airport anyway) they show a number of items that you can't take on board a flight that includes hair clips, and my favourite - a pair of shoe laces. I mean - are they serious???? If so, there are serious discrepancies in their standards on what you can carry in luggage vs what you can wear.

 

[serfty]

Packing tape too; just like shoe laces they can be used "To tie up people"; although today I travelled in laced shoes... :? .

 

[svstrider]

same thing in PNG

In Jan 02, went through the metal detectors at Livingstone Airport in Zambia (LVI). They went off and stood there for a second and noticed no security guards around.

In 2003 I caught a plane out of Port Moresby. Every time anyone walked thru the detector it alarmed. The guard at the desk just hollered "It's buggered" and waved us on. He did not bother getting up EVER.

A good back door to Oz if OBL is a member of this discussion.

 

[NM]

I recenty had an issue in SYD T1 where i walked through the machine once and it went off, but knowing I had already taken everything metalic off, i headed back and just walked back through, a little slower, and hey presto, it didn't go off!

The speed you walk through does have an effect. Part of the detection process involves an induction coil. Basically, the gate is a large coil and as metal travels through the coil it will incude a current through the coil. The faster the travel, the larger the current. The whole process is a bit more complex than just an induction coil, but that part is affected by speed.

 

[oz_mark]

I recenty had an issue in SYD T1 where i walked through the machine once and it went off, but knowing I had already taken everything metalic off, i headed back and just walked back through, a little slower, and hey presto, it didn't go off!

I don't know what set it off the first time, maybe I walked through it too quickly... Well that is what I thought at the time.

D P G

Interesting. I recently went through and set it off, and was told it was because I had walked too slowly through it.

I also go for the smart casual dress, don;t want to look like a slob, but don;t want to be wearing things that set off these detectors. I have a pair of shoes that generally are ok, but sometimes sets them off.

 

[cabbage74]

Re: same thing in PNG

In Jan 02, went through the metal detectors at Livingstone Airport in Zambia (LVI). They went off and stood there for a second and noticed no security guards around.

In 2003 I caught a plane out of Port Moresby. Every time anyone walked thru the detector it alarmed. The guard at the desk just hollered "It's buggered" and waved us on. He did not bother getting up EVER.

A good back door to Oz if OBL is a member of this discussion.

I don't think OBL is going to come to Australia anytime soon. He is building a career with his fathers construction business. I saw him working hard last week in Muscat. OBL at Work But he's still trying to hide.

Mal.

 

[coco50]

Metal Detectors

I have never had trouble travelling mainly through SYD T2. I always try to do the right thing like emptying change etc. However, after I broke my leg :cry: last year and had a metal plate and 6 screws inserted, I lit up the unit at BNE near QP. I have a letter from my doctor but I am concerned about the reaction I might get when I leave HNL to fly to OGG in July this year. Any tips on metal detection in US?

 

[NM]

Re: Metal Detectors

I have never had trouble travelling mainly through SYD T2. I always try to do the right thing like emptying change etc. However, after I broke my leg :cry: last year and had a metal plate and 6 screws inserted, I lit up the unit at BNE near QP. I have a letter from my doctor but I am concerned about the reaction I might get when I leave HNL to fly to OGG in July this year. Any tips on metal detection in US?

Letter or not, if you set off the detector you will experience the TSA special treatment :shock: . Expect to be wanded all over, and expect they will home in on the screws. Be prepared to roll up the trousers and show the scar or at least have a hand pat-down in the area they detect the "problem". You will also have to remove your shoes (they will be sent back through the x-ray) and undo your belt etc while the run the wand over you.

In many cases in the LOTFAP, triggering the metal detector also entitles you to a complementary hand baggage search.

 

[Maca44]

Re: Metal Detectors

I have never had trouble travelling mainly through SYD T2. I always try to do the right thing like emptying change etc. However, after I broke my leg :cry: last year and had a metal plate and 6 screws inserted, I lit up the unit at BNE near QP. I have a letter from my doctor but I am concerned about the reaction I might get when I leave HNL to fly to OGG in July this year. Any tips on metal detection in US?

Welcome to secondary screening for the rest of your life (if screws remain in place). Don't try and fight it, just accept the fact of what is going to occur each time and add a little bit more time to pass through security. I wouldn't worry about carrying a letter from your doctor as they are useless and not accepted because they can be forged.