Fame and fortune can get you pretty far, but they can't always get you through airport security.

Celebrities are notorious for living above the law — underage drinking, illicit drug use and a rock star disrespect for authority seem to come part and parcel with life in the spotlight.

But there's one place where the rich and famous have to check their egos (as well as their shoes, belts, mobile phones and eyebrow tweezers) at the door — and that's at the airport.

Those hapless agents who continually remind us to ditch our liquids and take our laptops out of their bags have had the privilege of nabbing a slew of celebs on their way from ticketing to the first class lounge. And thanks to the high security we so often complain about, several of the glitterati set have been denied a jet set escape just prior to take off. Other celebs just seem to lose their cool in transit — waiting rooms can bring out the worst in people! Let's see who has been sent from check-in to the chokey.

Grounded due to diva-tude

Nikki Blonsky (who gained fame as the plus-sized chanteuse in the remake of Hairspray) and her father were arrested recently for getting into a throw-down with America’s Next Top Model contestant Bianca Golden at Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos. Apparently the Blonsky camp had staked out several seats in the waiting room with their luggage and the Goldens had nowhere to sit (don't ya hate it when people do that?). Hollywood solution to such a problem? Start ripping out each other's hair extensions. The entire fiasco led to arrests once the celebutards returned stateside. So much for the Caribbean's carefree effect!

No diva discussion would be complete without mentioning her highness Naomi Campbell. Naomi is notorious for slapping her servants, tossing around her mobile and, in general, displaying her anger management issues in public, but her August arrest in London's Heathrow Airport reminded the temperamental supermodel that no one is above airport security. After being informed that her luggage was delayed, Ms Campbell threw a tanty in the British Air first class lounge that led to a spit fight with airline staff, a raucous with security and eventually her arrest. If that's how things end up in first class, I might just stick to coach ...

And the generally peaceful yet peppy exercise guru Richard Simmons let his camp cat out of the carry-on in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Arizona, USA in 2004 when he slapped another passenger in the face for making snide comments about him. Now remember — if you don't have something nice to say about someone, you better pray they aren't sitting in your row.

Sex, drugs and rock and roll

The average traveller kills time at the airport over a drink or a snack. Snoop Dogg, on the other hand, tends to chill with the fuzz pre-flight. The rapper has become notorious at terminals worldwide for his propensity for arrest — Snoop boasts not one, not two, but three airport arrests in recent years. Calvin Broadus (AKA Snoop) has been arrested for drug possession, weapon possession, or some combination of the two at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, and London's Heathrow. So I wouldn't be holding my breath until Doggs fly.

Heathrow sent yet another celeb to the slammer — rock widow Courtney Love was arrested upon the arrival of her Virgin Atlantic flight from Los Angeles for being 'verbally abusive' to cabin crew. Court really ought to think twice before snapping at the trolley dollies — she found herself in a similar situation after harassing Qantas crew on a flight to Australia in 1995. Her poor manners resulted in a month's probation; remember that the next time you skip a 'please' or 'thank you' in flight.

Rock stars behaving badly at 30,000 feet is nothing new. Beatles bopper Sir Paul McCartney was jailed for 10 days in 1980 after a customs agent at Tokyo's Narita Airport seized 7.7 ounces of marijuana from his luggage. Here's hoping Japanese prisons feature sushi trains; McCartney munchies must've been at an all time high.

And way back in 1969 Jimi Hendrix got a slap on the wrist, courtesy of Pearson International Airport security staff in Toronto after a bag of heroin and hash 'turned up' in his toke. I mean 'tote'.

More ganga grievances

Some celebs fare better than others at the gate — after security discovered 15.2 grams of pot in Whitney Houston's carry-on luggage, they let her and hubby Bobby Brown board their flight from Kona, Hawaii to San Francisco; they must've known the quality of the in-flight movies. And while Whitney got off nearly scotch free, her legendary cousin Dionne Warwick paid the price. The songstress had five grams of weed hidden in her lippy container and Miami Airport staff decided that in-flight cotton mouth just wouldn't do — when you keep it in the family, eventually someone gets grounded (insert Schapelle Corby joke here — I wouldn't dare, as sis Mercedes has some smokin' lawyers on her side).

Speaking of 'whose bag is it, anyway?' — in 1987 Jerry Hall was arrested at Grantley Adams Airport in Barbados after 20 pounds of marijuana was found in her luggage. Hall denied the nearly ten kilos of grass were hers ... and she was acquitted of all charges (perhaps Corby's lawyers still have something to learn?).

Before you make it to the mile high club ...

A politico recently became known for his toe-tapping beats — beat, rather. US Senator Larry Craig got nabbed by police in a sting operation carried out at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport in Minnesota, USA. The disgraced senator was allegedly propositioning sex from an undercover male officer in the airport's public lavatory. Despite pleading guilty to the charges and resigning from office, Craig maintains his public john cruising is just what any straight, ultra-conservative Republican Christian would do when his flight is delayed. Here and I thought they spent their time in the airport chapel communing with recently retrenched Catholic priests ... how naive.

Dalliances in the desert

A disproportionate number of A-listers have gotten stung at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona; rapper DMX (AKA Earl Simmons) was arrested at check-in for outstanding warrants (rather than fastidiously packing his own luggage and ensuring he didn't have any liquids on his person, X had been driving on a suspended license and attempting to buy drugs off an undercover cop). From outstanding warrants to outstanding outbursts — in 1998 Axl Rose of Guns 'N Roses threatened to punch a Sky Harbor female security agent's 'lights out' after she asked to search his bag ... perhaps he was just embarrassed to have her rifle through his undies; regardless he was booked for disturbing the peace.

Think long and hard about packing those little blue pills

In 2006 right wing American talk radio 'personality' (ahem) Rush Limbaugh was detained at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, USA, after a bottle of Viagra (prescribed to someone else) was found in his luggage. His private jet had just returned him from a holiday in the Dominican Republic, where he claimed to have "had a great time. Wish I could tell you about it!" I'm quite glad he didn't, actually (have you seen the state of him?).

People in glass Opera Houses shouldn't throw stones

A handful of Hollywood has been nabbed right here at Kingsford Smith — Brandon Smith (famous for ... well, not for anything, really, though he has been linked to several of the less angelic ladies of the City of Angels) got done for having too much money, a problem I often face. Though not to the tune of over $10,000 in cash, which just isn't cricket with customs Down Under. And more recently, Rocky Balboa (otherwise known as Sylvester Stallone) got himself worked up into a roid rage after illegal body building drugs were found in his entourage's bags. Perhaps protein shakes just aren't enough for pensioners these days.

And the list goes on ...

Whether packing heat (Christian Slater and Harry Connick Jr, both at JFK, and even Jerry Lewis in Las Vegas ), stashing hash or simply checking in smashed (though we forgive Jonathan Rhys Meyers — he was at Dublin Airport, after all), it appears that celebrities might be used to an upgrade, but aren't immune to incarceration. It's nice to know there's one place where we're all equal; now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the first class lounge for a champers and a massage. Enjoy your stale crackers.

What do you think about jet set jailbirds and celebrity justice at check-in?

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