Airport Scanners

[ImLostAgain]

Just got back from Tenerife (lovely thanks) and was sitting in the airport,bored. Got to wondering why on flying out I could pass through the scanner still wearing a stainless steel watch without it beeping but was asked to remove it at Tenerife airport?
Told you I was bored.

[boxtops]

Different rules at different places, we find. Why did OH have to take off his flipflops on one return flight?

Can't say we've ever had time to sit and be bored at the airport, by the time we've taken off clothes, repacked laptop in bag, had coffee, been to loo, they're calling our flight....

[Old_Jim]

I once tried it at Gatwick and set off the alarm. Nobody took any notice. I must look harmless.

[boxtops]

I got stopped because I was wearing a metal headband to hold my hair back - I forgot I'd even got it on.

[ImLostAgain]

Ah Old_Jim, is that a good or bad thing.
Different rules,...hmm, but the machines don't know the rules surely!!

[Prudie]

You are supposed to take watches, keys etc off, presumably they didn't notice on the way out. I find the scanners a bit random, I set it off 9/10. I think it's my bra.

[ImLostAgain]

Oh dear Prudie!! Then what happened?

[Sqad]

\\\\. I think it's my bra.\\\

Well that would certainly set me off.......

[andres]

When flying out to Portugal in March nothing happened. Going to Spain a few months later the beeps went off and I was asked to remove my shoes. Apparently there was a metal support in the soles . When I asked why the beeps had not gone off when I wore the same shoes on a previous flight ,I was told that the levels on the scanner are altered every so often. !

[ImLostAgain]

That makes sense.

[grasscarp]

Have set it off with underwired bra and nail in boot repair. Husband has set it off with don't know what and nobody took any notice. All a bit random.

[andres]

Thankyou, ImLostAgain. Glad my answer helped.

[Prudie]

What always happens, I get touched up by some grisly looking female :-)

[boxtops]

Hahaha prudie, I've seen her too!

[heathfield]

In the early days of scanners, a colleage and I passed through one at Tokyo Airport. We hadn't seen one before but we passed through without incident. It was only afterward that I realised he had carried an aluminium case containing his electronic engineer's tools through the scanner without setting off any alarm. We discussed this, and concluded that the system wasn't working. Instead, we had noticed that a beady-eyed security official was intensely watching everyone passing through the scanner. Presumably, if he noted anyone appearing to be the slightest bit nervous, then they would have been stopped and searched.
Recently, I've had the eyelets on my shoes set off the beeps. The security guy agreed that the sensitivity of the scanner had been set a bit high, and actually apologised.