"Jack VK2CJC" wrote ...
If these are commercial flights, are they going through
any kind of imaging screening equipment? What kind?

Excellent point Richard.

In recent years all luggage is x-rayed. My wife is a radiographer and
always takes an interest in the machinery. She has never seen this
particular type of imaging before. It shows different types of metal as
different colours.
Despite the commonly used name, its not really x-ray, indicated by the
lack of concern of leaked radiation ) Its definitely magnetic.

Could this be the battery killer?

So are they just discharged? Can you recharge them?
Or are they destroyed? Were the radios affected?

If you can see the scanning equipment, can you at least
get a manufacturer name from it? And maybe a model
number? With that, you could do some internet research
to discover what method it uses and if there are any other
reports of bad interactions with batteries, etc.

Richard KE7GKP