The Amazon Kindle and other similar e-readers can be quite convenient for frequent air travelers who want to fly without packing heavy or bulky books. But some European jet-setters are reporting that run-ins with airport X-ray machines are killing their Kindles.

According to the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Kindle owners have said their e-book readers produced blank screens and were nonfunctional after passing through the X-ray machines at European airports.

Amazon has replaced users’ dead Kindles, and the company stresses that airport security scanners aren’t to blame. An Amazon spokesman told the Telegraph, “Many Kindle users travel by air, and their Kindles are screened by airport security every day without issue.”

Some technical experts believe static electricity, which may be created by the X-ray machines’ rubber conveyor belts, might be the cause of some traveling Kindles’ demise. Interestingly, there have been no reports of similar traveling problems with other e-readers, such as the Barnes & Noble Nook, which use the same e-ink technology.

Amazon Kindles ‘damaged by airport scanners’ [Telegraph]

Amazon Kindle May Be Damaged By Airport Scanners [Gizmodo]

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