My first trip

We are just back in Hurgarda after a week on the Blue Melody for my first sea dives. (Up to now I have been in the cold of NDAC !) so I have started to go through my shots and I am pleased with how they seem to be coming out.

After taking a course with Adam I went on to get a housing for my Olympus EM5II and some second hand strobes.

The only excitement was me being a whatsit and not clipping the rig on for a dive at the Brothers and of course of it went. Only to be saved with seconds to spare by our intrepid guide. I have nigtmares now recalling is slowly sinking. ( after that I upped bouyancy slightly and used bolt snaps to weigh it down at the start of a dive and remove them as we go deeper)

Anyway here is one shot whilst the boat wi fi is still working.

More thoughts when I get back

TC

For working on the images on board I have brought the ipad pro and lightroom mobile, which works well , in my very amateur opinion. I have a wireless drive to backup the files on to (Gnarbox) and upload them via the gnarbox wi fi to the tablet. All with the aim of doing it properly when we get back.

Vis has been pretty poor so many of the longer shots of the wreks work out best in b/w to cut through the haze.

Mainly I have been using the Oly 8mm fisheye with the Inon port or the 8-16 with a zen port.

TC

Oh and on the way back had my finger reel and battery sets confiscated at Hurghada !

TC

I had my apeks finger spool and dsmb confiscated coming back through Areciffe airport security Lanzarote also which batteries were confiscated on you return from Egypt as I’m there next month

We invest our hard earned money’s into our hobby not to get it taken away unnecessary.

I was fuming when my gear was confiscated our sport is expensive just diving let alone underwater photography as well

I just over the bridge in South Wales and also visit ndac but dive mainly Pembrokeshire coast

Dale

Oh and on the way back had my finger reel and battery sets confiscated at Hurghada !

 

TC

The dsmb and spool were on carry on they were fine going out of the uk Gatwick but not returning from Lanzarote and were confiscated by security after checking my main luggage in . As I’m aware you are allowed to take rechargeable battery within certain limits on carry on but not in the checked in cases. I am going to Egypt next month and will be taking my photography equipment

Battery For weefine 2300 focus light ,three battery’s for my Sony rx100 and also 8 eneloop pro for my strobes

I think some security at airports abroad are going a bit over the top I want to avoid any equipment being confiscated again for no reason

The rules according to Thompson who we flew with (confirmed post confiscation) is batteries suitably separated to be in carry on. Two sets allowed (so you can use one and charge one).

It seems that they just make it up at the egypt end and have what they want. Next time I will put it all on the hold baggage as I have never had hold baggage held back.

Evidently, speaking to the airline, you can get photographic stuff checked in advance - presumably for a fee. I might investigate that as well next time.

This link might take you to the photos I have chosen to print in my first attempt at a Blurb book

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0qqygx85np61du/RedSea2019-1.pdf?dl=0

TC

You cannot carry allen keys in hand luggage in egypt or anything you can use as a weapon

Why would you carry a reel in hand luggage???

In terms of what you can take in carry on and what you cannot check in look into the travel section in short Li-Ion (camera batteries and video lights battery) must be carry on

NiMH can go in the hold

Reels, reef hooks, allen keys etc should go in the hold

Camera equipment lenses etc can go in both

You cannot carry allen keys in hand luggage in egypt or anything you can use as a weapon

 

Why would you carry a reel in hand luggage???

 

In terms of what you can take in carry on and what you cannot check in look into the travel section in short Li-Ion (camera batteries and video lights battery) must be carry on

 

NiMH can go in the hold

 

Reels, reef hooks, allen keys etc should go in the hold

 

Camera equipment lenses etc can go in both

Excellent thanks for the information - different to what we were told but that seems to be par for the course.

Although I very much doubt that they can tell the difference between a Lion and NiMh battery by scanning I will pay for the extra baggage allowance and follow your guidance.

TC

Great Ray shot!

Nice shots Trevor!

I also had a run in at Hurghada airport on exit last year.

Essentially, I had (correctly) put all my Li ION batteries in my carry on. At the first security check point, I was told that this was incorrect and that they should be in my hold luggage. As it happened, I had downloaded both the IATA and Thompson's guidelines, which of course contradicted this.

What I should have done was simply moved the batteries as they wanted me too. However I am an idiot, so showed them the guidelines, which made them all very angry

Very quickly, all sorts of very official folks showed up who accepted that I was correct about the batteries, but then stated that my housing (also in my carry on) was a weapon!

We were joined by the airport's ground manager and Thompson's representative, who tried to reason with the official folks. After an hour and a half's wrangling, they signed a guarantee that I would not attempt to attack anyone with my housing (or at least that they would be responsible for me if I did) and I was allowed on board with all my gear.

I love Egypt, the Red Sea, the diving and the photography that is on offer there. However, my own experience and those of others reported here and elsewhere (and I know that this can happen anywhere) have made me more wary. I know lots of folks have incident free travel, and I always have had in the past, but the randomness of the airport security in Hurghada specifically has now made me think twice about visiting.

Exitiing from Red sea spare batts ALWAYS in checked luggage...

The problem here is that carrying Li-Ion batteries in hold luggage is not allowed by the airline and IATA.

TUI's own advice states this specifically:

https://tui-briefs-app.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/attached_file/91815/TUI_Airlines_Items_Allowed_on_Plane.pdf (pages 10 and 11)

So the above advice is both incorrect and (from a fire safety standpoint) potentially dangerous.

In the issues that I mentioned above, I showed the security staff the guidelines and they rapidly backtracked. It then degenerated into a hurt ego situation with the security guys. They were refusing to let me fly because they claimed that my housing could be used as a weapon Both the airport manager and TUI's manager agreed with me that the security team were wrong.

I should point out that I remained as polite and courteous as possible throughout.

I think the point here is not whether the rules are right or wrong, but it seems that they change, so you never know whether you are going to make it through with your belongings.

I have reached out to TUI's press office seeking clarification, and will let everyone know how they respond.

Forget IATA. At security check the officer is the boss. And in Egypt they do what they want. If you take them in carry on luggage you will loose them...

Adam has certainly done the right thing and the airline who ultimately would suffer if there is a fire in the hold should make sure the rules are respected otherwise an insurance claim would be void.

Adam what batteries were those? I use NiMh for strobes that have no restrictions and the only LiIon when I take stills are the camera ones

My video batteries though are large and they could be mistaken for detonating devices

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