Flights to US from EU - electronic devices
 

Getting ready to head back to US tomorrow from Madrid, and we have a camera whose batteries are dead, and we forgot to bring the charger with us (so not able to charge batteries)

News is showing that TSA is preventing anyone from BOARDING who has an electronics device that won't turn on, but nothing on TSA website that I have seen.

Question: Has anyone flown back from an EU country to the USA in the past few days, and noticed any unusual security screening?

I assume this is only for carry on luggage, but you never know, I guess it's possible they could do a pre-check in screening like they do in some airports?

Would be nice if TSA showed something on their site giving some additional details on this.

The somewhat noticeable change is for cabin baggage/hand-carried cabin items. It's not generally noticeable unless you get stuck with a secondary search of some sort or pay attention to the secondary searches.

Checked baggage is mainly being handled the same as usual.

Most people going to the US aren't having their electronics examined for power/functionality at the continental EU airports where I've seen US departures during the past couple of days.

Flights to US from EU - electronic devices
 

What I did from Sydney to states last week was remove the memory card and carried it one me and packed my camera in luggage.

My thought was I can always replace the camera but can't replace the photos.

Fortunately the camera made it with no issues.

You could ask around the hotel to see if anyone has a charger you could borrow - maybe the front desk has one in lost and found (people leave chargers behind all the time). Or you could try getting a charger / extra battery (the latter being useful in the future perhaps) from an electronics shop.

Since this seems to be a requirement only for international flights to the US, and the TSA doesn't screen those flights, that's probably why it isn't on their website. If you need more info though, try this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...-overseas.html

BruceinCola, welcome to FlyerTalk!

There is an active discussion on this security development in the dedicated forum on practical issues with airline security and I'll move this to that forum.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...-overseas.html

It'll be up to that forum's moderators to decide if they wish to combine the threads; but, in any case, you'll be redirected to the current location for your thread.

Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Many cameras can be charged via the usb. I would find a cable that would let you do that.

FWIW, I didn't see a single instance of it this past weekend at two EU airports or at YYZ. I was carrying 2x cell phones, a Kindle, a laptop, a DSLR, and a tablet, and wasn't asked to turn any of them on, nor was anyone else at the checkpoints that I observed.

YMMV.

Saw some instances of it at CDG and LHR in recent days. Very, very tiny proportion of passengers are being asked to power on electronics on flights to the US, but some were this week too. It's mostly a gate area search, if it hits on US-bound routes from Europe.

Yesterday I flew through Birmingham (UK) to FRA; they were insisting on all electronics being out of bags and separately in a tray. I had a smartphone, a laptop, a Kindle, a camera, and a GPS device. They singled out my Kindle for a swab test, none needed to be turned on. Husband also had devices, he didn't get any secondary at all.

At FRA, they specifically asked for phones and laptops and Ipads to be out; I saw no one being asked to turn them on, and no swabs observed either. The line was exceptionally long, though--nearly missed my flight to the US!

At BRU today, flying to YUL, they were applying the US rules. :mad:

I was randomly selected and they went through all my things, and got me to prove that my electronics turn on.

When I insisted that they change their gloves before pawing through my stuff and frisking me, they said they didn't have any others. Ick! :td:

File a complaint with your operating carrier. Tell them you do not appreciate this asinine harassment, no matter who requested/ordered it. :td:

According to AMS website all electronics must be turned on.

What about external hard drives? Are they being checked? I will have two with me but no laptop, so I will not be able to switch them 'on' should security demand it. My assumption is that there being no batteries will exclude them from an extra search, but if I get an overzealous screener I might have a problem. Your thoughts?

It may say that, but in practice that ("all electronics must be on") statement is not being enforced at AMS.