For some 20 years I have been flying to various parts of the world for my fishing. When doing so and taking my own reels with me, I have always carried them, complete with line and spools, in my hand luggage primarily to keep the weight of my hold baggage within the restrictions set by the airlines. This has never been a problem.
This August I travelled to Spain via Bristol Airport on my annual Comizo trip and I was made to strip all the line off my reels before they would allow me through security. Apparently the DfT have introduced new regulations making fishing line a security risk! 5 reels (including 2 big baitbaitrunners) - over 1000m of line, never used, dumped on the floor and binned. As you can guess I was well impressed.
Two points to this post:-
Firstly, as a warning to others who may fall foul of the new regulations
Secondly to see if anyone else has experienced this at either Bristol or other airport
Cheers
Paul