[Anonymous]

[Henkel.Trocken]

Well at least according to the security goons in T1 on a recent trip.

Several weeks ago passing through T1 I put my kindle in a box to be screened separately and my laptop in another. One of the less friendly goons asked if I didn’t know the difference between a kindle and a laptop and told me in no uncertain terms not to pull out the kindle for separate screening.

Fast forward three weeks and again I find myself at T1. I pulled out my laptop but left my kindle in my bag. The goons were in overdrive that morning pulling about 80% of bags for secondary screening all done by one person so the wait at the time I was there was about fifteen minutes, not good enough in a fast track lane.

Almost every bag that was pulled had liquids in it and they were bagged, everything in the bag swabbed and then re-xrayed and the person told exactly why their bag had been pulled.

Finally they got to mine and I went through the same rigmarole, I was puzzled as there was nothing in it that shouldn’t have been. So my explanation was that I should have taken my kindle out for separate screening. I told the (very polite) young lady about my experience three weeks before and she declared her amazement and said that kindles must always be screened separately.

Needless to say I have removed it since but the notice about screening does not say they need to be removed.

Can I ask, what is the experience of others?

[tangey1]

To my mind there is no difference between kindles and Ipads, they are both tablets. I always pull out my ipad, and see everyone doing the same. I’m guessing the guy you unfortunately came across didnt know what he was talking about.

[Bucksnet]

Of course it’s a computer; it doesn’t run on clockwork!

[Henkel.Trocken]

Thank you Bucksnet, I’m aware that it is not clockwork but then neither is my blackberry which has far more power and connectivity potential than the kindle but that doesn’t require separate screening.

[Bunnahabhain]

Latest I noticed at LHR T5 was that iPads etc must have covers, including neoprene, removed before placing in the separate tray.

At some airports the pre-security signs instruct you to place mobile phones in your hand luggage, as opposed to in the tray, although I’ve never seen anyone told to put one back into the bag. This can be tricky where the security agent feeding the x-ray machine also wants to see your boarding pass, which has typically been scanned a few yards back by an automatic gate.

There’s a new term “phablet” emerging to describe phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note range with screen sizes of around 5 to 6 inches. Wonder where they will have to go!

[toonfan62]

The TSA in the US specifically call out Kindles iPads and Tablets as being not needed to pull out of your bag. Haven’t been through Europe in many years but that will change for Oktoberfest!

[MarkCymru]

I had the same experience at T4. And why not just ask the passenger to take out the e-reader and then re-screen the bag? Instead, they unpacked the entire contents of each carry-on and swabbed randomly. It seems to be another Heathrow USP, designed to secure their place as the least-user friendly airport in the world. (i should add that mine was a Kobo — I ditched the Kindle because I just couldn’t face handing over any more money to the tax dodgers at Amazon)

[stevescoots]

I don’t own a kindle but always travel with a fondleslab, laptop and spare battery for laptop. every airport I go to I have always had to remove all 3

[Str8Talking]

It does tend to depend on the people at security, however, as a rule, I believe they ask for all devices with a hard drive to be scanned separately.

[HongKongLady]

Yes security and it’s interpretation often varies but as I live in HK I am used to rules changing for no apparent reason. Not at the airport where they are efficient. But in banks, apartment complexes anywhere with authority so I have a mantra of smiling sweetly singing in my head and thinking ******** idiot.

[JohnHarper]

I’ve never been asked to take my kindle out of my bag anywhere except LHR. I’ve had the swab everything nonsense there too but also been told not to take it out. Now I do and tell the goon that’s how it is if they argue which I find they do from time to time.

At airports where I trust the security far more like MUC, DXB, SIN, HKG and so on they don’t need these things to be scanned separately, I’m not sure whether it’s because they have better quality equipment or the staff are of higher calibre and have higher powered brains than the LHR goons, probably both.

[LuganoPirate]

I never remove my iPad, and 9 times out of 10 it goes through without problem.

It amazes me though, that in the same bag are at least 2 mobile phones, an iPhone and a Samsung, yet I’m never asked to remove them.

By the way, can anyone charge their iPads on board? I plug mine in but it never charges, am I missing something?

PS. Bucksnet, where can I buy a clockwork iPad? Sounds great and especially useful when there’s no power!

[Andrew66]

Hey , it’s all about being able to “see” through devices when x-rayed , as I’m sure you’re aware kindles and iPads are quite thin and even if packed with other things in your bag they can “see” through and make sure nothing untoward is inside the device , as for laptops they are quite thick like so many of the goons you have to come into contact with ( ha- ha) well I found it very funny belittling people you don’t even know !! And they are removed to make it easier to “see” through in the X-ray with nothing else in the background to obscure the view .
From time to time perhaps the DfT will decide to say that all devices have to be scanned separately , you know that time when the suits come round to do their inspections and decide that everyone should do something differently , really though small screen devices like kindles shouldn’t be a problem , but then again some people have difficulty in understanding what 100mls and a liquid is ?
I suppose we could all get angry and upset about it or just react like HongKongLady and take it in your stride .

[Author]

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