Packing sensitive electronics for flight

3/2/2015 10:11:22 AM

In most cases I’d expect that packing the items as a unit in checked luggage in a manner that you’d use if mailing it and placing it at the core of the checked luggage with other soft contents around it as padding would be substantially more than adequate.

While baggage handling staff on occasion (at least) throw bags and while they may fall several metres off a conveyor [I have taken photos of both these things happening] it is not too hard to design a packing system that survives this. If you can pack it so that it seems likely to survive the most violent handling that you can possible conceive the bag experiencing then it may survive :-).

Carrying the equipment is fine if you are willing and able to “ride shotgun” on it at all times.
If it’s placed in an overhead locker it must survive any possible action by other passengers.
We’ve all seen:

  • Oops! Sorry! I didn’t realise that was hooked onto my bag …

  • If I shove hard enough I’m sure that my bag will go into this locker

  • If I slam the locker door harder it will surely latch.

and

  • Well who would have thought the locker would burst open like that during takeoff and rain bags!!!?
    (I’ve seen it happen.)

Carry on: If you have to take it out for security inspection it needs to survive handling by security staff and just possibly interaction with other passengers at the far end of the XRay machine.

Worst case – if you are standing with arms extended being frisked for the 3rd time and the console is being pushed aside at XRay exit by other passengers it must not be able to be damaged. A ride in your checked bag allows you to be master of the situation.

6/9/2015 5:00:04 PM

I once travelled with two consoles in my hand luggage while moving between countries. The most sensitive piece of the assembly are in my opinion the controllers. Anyhow if you can, take both console and controllers in your hand luggage, and leave the games in your checked piece. Should you be forced to check everything in, you can wrap each item individually in one or more items of clothing for extra padding.

When you get to security checks with your console-packed carry-on, you will have to remove the consoles before putting the bag through the x-ray machine. Very much like in the case of laptops, large pieces of electronics can hide items placed behind/before them, or render them confusing on the scan image. The consoles will of course have to be scanned themselves.

3/2/2015 3:01:09 AM

Video game consoles are actually not very sensitive. Game discs or cartridges even less so.

If you want to be safe, I’d do similar to what you said: carry on the two consoles (but not the cords, controllers, etc.) and the tablet. Everything else can be checked without much concern.

Security will likely require the consoles and tablet to be removed from the bags and placed in separate bins for x-ray screening.

What you’re talking about here is entirely routine, so don’t worry about it too much.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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