Matthias Bruggman writes that El Al banned him from boarding a flight with his Canon EOS 1Ds and Apple iBook. This really has gone too far.

A comment on the original post over at Gizmodo quotes Matt as saying he was told by the El Al security personnel that “the 1Ds and the iBook are too complex to be taken apart.” Hold on a minute. Forget complex, no way am I letting any airport security person take apart any piece of sensitive electronics. Apart from invalidating the warranty (I doubt Canon would accept one of those obnoxious paper slips left inside the camera telling them that the camera had been opened for a security inspection, and how they could make it easier for the security people to open in the future), I doubt any of them are equipped with the necessary tools, the appropriate anti-static work environment or, for that matter, the necessary skill, to take apart any complex modern electronic device and put it back together again.

Oh, but I forgot, they all have the magic disclaimer that states that they are not liable for damage resulting from “this necessary security precaution.” Or in other words, they can break whatever they want and there’s nothing you can do about it. Have a nice trip.