Copper not allowed on board?

March 13, 2012 10:11 AM

A friend tweeted earlier : Just boarded. Damn it. Security flagged my batik print block (made of copper) ,n KLM verified no go. They told me to collect when in Jkt nxt . My friend was not told why. He assumed it's because of the composition of the block. I asked a pilot friend why so and he has no clue. Anybody know why ? Thanks in advance.
posted by kryptos to Travel & Transportation (13 answers total)

Where was he?
posted by agregoli at 10:17 AM on March 13, 2012

probably because its thick enough to house a bomb and opaque to xrays (?)
posted by sexyrobot at 10:18 AM on March 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Jkt suggests he's in Jakarta.
posted by essexjan at 10:22 AM on March 13, 2012

It's hard to say without knowing more details.

There's a limitation on metal tools to be 7" or less in any dimension. That's a US law, but these things tend to be exported as well. The EU has provisions on excluding "large blunt objects" too (they mention skateboards, for example).

In practice, the security gate people can and will prohibit items even if they're not sure about it, in my experience. You can sometimes talk them into letting an unusual object through, but sometimes they simply deny items, even if there's no clear policy on them.
posted by bonehead at 10:29 AM on March 13, 2012

Perhaps such blocks have been used before to conceal drugs?
posted by hot soup girl at 10:46 AM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's also possible that it was identified (whether erroneously or not) as a cultural artifact and not able to be taken out of the country. See the Prohibited Items List from Customs & Border Patrol.
posted by juniperesque at 11:12 AM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

The word "block" is misleading; it is not a solid hunk of metal. It's more like filigree on a grid. I would say that it conceivably could be categorized as a blunt object.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:16 AM on March 13, 2012

Perhaps it's a matter of restricting the export of "cultural" items? I've known folks, travelling in that part of the world (though not out of Jakarta specifically) who've had to get all manner of paperwork filled out clearly stating that their knockoff carving was not, in fact, a highly-restricted item of cultural significance.
posted by aramaic at 11:20 AM on March 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

This may be a long shot, but copper is frequently an IED component. Google "explosive + copper + plasma"
posted by buggzzee23 at 11:40 AM on March 13, 2012

buggzzee23: "This may be a long shot, but copper is frequently an IED component. Google "explosive + copper + plasma""

I work for a company that builds commutators and slip rings, which are electric motor parts made of copper. For the last few years we have been unable to use Delta Dash or other airline-based expedited services to ship our parts. Apparently if they can't ID it immediately and it's made of copper, it's a no-go. There are no rules against shipping comms and slip rings (they're harmless, unless you wanted to bash someone's head in) but good luck getting one on an airplane.
posted by workerant at 12:15 PM on March 13, 2012

My first thought was that the copper is usually nailed into a wood block. Importing wood without any coating can be a no-no.
posted by dripdripdrop at 12:54 PM on March 13, 2012

Mod note: question is not: how can I complain about TSA? Please stick to the topic and send angry rants about TSA directly to them. Thank you for not poisoning MetaFilter.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:14 PM on March 13, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks all for your most informative and thought-provoking responses.
So, i reckon it is the copper that is the no-no.
posted by kryptos at 12:02 AM on March 14, 2012