Any Post-Christmas Airport Hassles?

[FlyingPhotog]

Anyone encounter any real hassle traveling with gear after Christmas?

Where and to what extent?

[macroshot]

Finally home again - I sure don't enjoy 5.5 hour flights!!! Glad it was a direct.

The good folks at the TSA pulled my Think Tank Airport International aside after scanning it earlier this afternoon. They just pulled the first layer, but somewhat randomly, and swabbed my 70-200, 16-35, 1D3 and the 5D2 w/ attached 50. They then rescanned the remaining gear in the bag and ran the aforementioned lenses and bodies through the scanner again in the buckets.

Otherwise they were very cool about it, made sure I could observe the gear being removed and let me repack it for carry on. This was in San Juan, PR earlier today.

The flight home was kind of strange though: no beverage service within the final 2.5 hours and everyone in their seats for the remaining 1 hour of the flight (including no ipods, dvd players, pc's, etc. and no pillows. blankets, or personal items in the seat areas and the cabin lights were on quite a bit for that final hour as well.

Otherwise no major delays, just a little extra time and added examination of everything electronic during the screening. I had my tripod and ballhead in the checked luggage and it doesn't appear as though they went through that bag. I kind of figured I'd see my bag ransacked.

[FlyingPhotog]

So yours was a flight originating outside the US (yet still from a US Territory.)

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[macroshot]

Yup. I was curious why the swabbing of the 70-200, 16-35, and 50 (plus the bodies) yet they left the 300 f/4 and 135 alone as well as the 1.4x TC and tubes. But like i said, they were really cool about it - the guy wouldn't even open the bag until he made sure I was there to observe the process.

[FlyingPhotog]

It's really odd that over the last 18 years that I've been traveling any significant gear with me, only one airport has EVER removed any item from my bag for any kind of swabbing or secondary x-ray.

Believe it or not, it was in tiny, little Florence, South Carolina.

[IVIax]

Never had my gear swabbed or x-rayed again, but last few times I've traveled I had to take the lens/camera/flash/tripod/etc. out of the camera bag and place it into the bins. Not a huge deal, but a little bit annoying.

I asked if this was new, and they said no...

[Tdragone]

The only time I've had lenses removed and swabbed was on my way to andf rom Toronto.. From San Diego. Both times!
Never any other times in San Diego; or at any other airports. go figure..