What Happens When a Phone Passes Through an Airport X-Ray Scanner? The Shocking Footage Revealed!

Ever wondered what your luggage actually sees as it hurtles through that mysterious airport scanner? No? Just me? Well, one curious traveler finally gave in to that nagging little question—and decided to record their phone’s journey through the X-ray machine. Spoiler: it’s not quite the secret rave party you’d imagine, but the glow show inside those high-tech gizmos is unexpectedly mesmerizing. We all know the drill—put your stuff in the tray, watch the colourful X-ray images pop up, and pray you didn’t sneak any forbidden snacks. But what happens inside the machine’s belly? Until now, it’s been a black box of airport magic. Thanks to a brave Reddit user who got the official nod from security, we finally get a peek at the surreal light display and eerie flickers that our belongings experience on their conveyor belt voyage. So, next time you’re waiting in line, ask yourself: what bizarre visual symphony is your suitcase enjoying without you? Intrigued? LEARN MORE

An inquisitive traveller gave into their intrusive thoughts and recorded footage of their phone passing through an airport scanner.

What goes on inside the high-tech machinery once you’ve put your tray on the conveyor belt has largely remained a mystery – until now.

The X-ray imaging software is used by airports across the world, as it allows security staff to inspect the contents of people’s luggage without having to even touch their bags.

Unless they find something they shouldn’t, that is – then they really get handsy with your case.

Of course, we’ve all seen the colourful images depicting the holiday essentials we’ve stuffed inside our hand luggage flash up on the screens which are dotted around the security area. But what we haven’t seen is the inside of the airport scanners, or what our belongings endure as they travel along the conveyor belt.

Thankfully though, a Reddit user has now done us all a favour and filmed the process via their mobile phone.

Our belongings head off on a brief journey off their own through the scanners when we reach airport security (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The flyer, who hails from the US, explained that they had asked a member of security staff for permission to do so before pressing record.

After they got the green light, the social media user shoved their phone in a tray and clicked record.

In the 33-second clip, we first get to see the airport ceiling – ah, what a beautiful sight – before the Redditor’s belongings then start to pass through the airport scanner.

The next few seconds of footage are largely uneventful, as everything just goes dark.

But then, a vivid light display which could rival the Blackpool Illuminations starts to unfold.

White dots ripple across the screen, accompanied by occasional flashes of red.

It all goes dark again, and before you know it, the luggage screening process is over and the tray pops out the other side.

Although it might not have been exciting as some people were expecting, the footage at least satisfied the curiosity of a host of people online.

One person commented on the clip: “This is interesting! Thanks for this. And why didn’t I think of this?!”

Another joked: “I always thought there was a TSA agent in there going through your stuff real quick to find something to steal.”

A third said: “I was expecting a jump-scare in the dark…”

A fourth wrote: “That was pretty cool.”

And a fifth chimed in saying: “I am furious that it never occurred to me to do that…thank you!”

Others questioned whether a ride through the airport scanner would damage the Reddit user’s phone or camera, to which they responded: “My camera still works fine. Maybe it would be bad if you did it over and over, but I’m not sure.”

Alas, there’s now no need for anyone to try it again.

The inside of the X-ray scanner somewhat resembled a starry night, with a flash of red also making an appearance every now and again (Reddit)

According to Professor Nick Bowring, who has researched airport X-ray imaging software and body scanners in the UK, airport scanners are very ‘sophisticated’ these days.

“They illuminate the bags from various angles with various energies of X-rays,” he previously told the BBC. “All the different materials are represented with different pseudo colours.

“Metal, for example, tends to come out blue; organic material tends to come out orange; lighter metals tend to come out green.

“That can be interpreted automatically by fairly advanced software which says this bag has maybe an undue amount of metal or organic material.”

Professor Bowring says those manning the machines are typically looking for colour codes and ‘unusual shapes’ when someone’s luggage is passing through.