The airport - the natural predator of a bicycle

I heard about cyclists who printed the sport luggage rules on paper and showed it to the check-in staff to make sure that everybody knows it. I think it's not a bad idea that can save a lot of time and nerves for endless discussion. Even a printed confirmation for the reservation of the bike sounds reasonable. But before entering the check-in area you have to pack your bike. Check out the rules of the airline how to pack it (plastic bag, cardboard box...). Packing the bike takes approximately 15 minutes if you do it for the first time. Be at the airport 2h before departure. That's a good calculation - if hopefully everything goes fine :-). After your bike is checked in, you have to carry it to the bulky luggage counter. Every airport uses different technologies for a security check of your bike. The most relaxed way is a big scanner where you can lay your bike flat on the baggage ribbon. Some airports use smaller scanner witch are a bit lower and narrow. The trick is, to take 1 or 2 plastic boxes (they use to have them beside the scanner) to lay your bicycle diagonally on the ribbon. Most security staff like this trick. If there is no scanner or the scanner is really too small they have to scan the bike manually. That means you have to open the bag or the box to give the security staff a possibility to take some micro material from your bike. The verifying of the micro material takes about 5 minutes. If everything is fine they will let you go. If you have some trouble during the check-in process of your bike be strong and be open for cooperation. Don't dispute anybody's regulations from the airport, you will loose. They might fool you and cancel your bike transport.