[cobra34242]

Has anyone had experience checking handguns on an airplane. I'm traveling from Tampa Fl. to Scranton Pa. Continental, ( first leg out of Tampa layover in Newark NJ) states "handgun must be packed in hard-sided lockable luggage." Is that the manufacturers gun case ? And does that mean I can put the locked case in my soft sided luggage? There is no mention of " SOFT SIDED luggage Return trip on U.S. Airways specifically states, " handgun may be packed in a locked hard-sided case and then packed inside an unlocked SOFT- SIDED luggage. I don't want to get stuck with a suitcase that won't be accepted. Any info is appreciated

 

[xikle]

Has anyone had experience checking handguns on an airplane. I'm traveling from Tampa Fl. to Scranton Pa. Continental, ( first leg out of Tampa layover in Newark NJ) states "handgun must be packed in hard-sided lockable luggage." Is that the manufacturers gun case ? And does that mean I can put the locked case in my soft sided luggage? There is no mention of " SOFT SIDED luggage Return trip on U.S. Airways specifically states, " handgun may be packed in a locked hard-sided case and then packed inside an unlocked SOFT- SIDED luggage. I don't want to get stuck with a suitcase that won't be accepted. Any info is appreciated

As long as the manufacturer's case is lockable and they can't open it enough to get to the gun when it's locked you're fine. Personnaly I went out and bought a small Pelican case because of how they are setup. If you're flying through NJ, I would leave the HP's at home. I'm pretty sure that NJ made them illegal. When I fly the pistol is put in the Pelican case and locked, then that case is put in with my checked baggage which has a TSA approved lock on it. Remember to make sure that you declare the weapon when you get to the checkin counter and ask for a firearms tag. Also you should allow a little extra time when checking in just incase. Something else to do would be to print out the TSA and airline regs and take them with you.

Last time I flew I was able to breeze right through checkin because the ticket agent knew exactly what to do.

 

[ibesarcasm]

Kinda been beat to death.....you can do a search also.........but this is my post from another thread......

ummm... lets see...... the TSA.gov website will give you specifics, but they are a little confusing.....

1. hardcase locked box
2. weapon locked open w/ locking cable used and locked(or bolt/trigger lock).
3. ammo MAY be in the same case, but MUST be in original box, not loose
4. you MUST declare it at check in & be able to open the case for inspection
5. you'll have to be special screened, open the box for inspection, secure it, then you will NOT be allowed to handle it from that point on. You probably be asked to escort it to the x-ray area they use for packages so you may watch it be proccessed and loaded.
6. plan for EXTRA TIME, you may have to wait for a special screener or supervisor to check the weapon.

All in all, not a bad experience, and well worth the extra time waiting.... IMO

 

[miklcolt45]

Delta last week...5 min. add'l time over friend who wasn't checking a bag.

Hardsided case (original gun came in will do), with your lock, not TSA lock. Center of Mass safe attached to spine of suitcase would probably be even better.

I, too, lock my softsided suitcase with TSA-approved lock.

No-no: I have a gun!! (with wild-eyed look)

Yes: I have a firearm to declare.

Print out TSA regs as well as Continentals. If you run into problems, ask for a supervisor.

 

[64zebra]

Has anyone had experience checking handguns on an airplane. I'm traveling from Tampa Fl. to Scranton Pa. Continental, ( first leg out of Tampa layover in Newark NJ) states "handgun must be packed in hard-sided lockable luggage." Is that the manufacturers gun case ? And does that mean I can put the locked case in my soft sided luggage? There is no mention of " SOFT SIDED luggage Return trip on U.S. Airways specifically states, " handgun may be packed in a locked hard-sided case and then packed inside an unlocked SOFT- SIDED luggage. I don't want to get stuck with a suitcase that won't be accepted. Any info is appreciated

I highly recommend doing a search on this forum for firearm airplane
you can peruse through those threads shown and find all the info you need
I also recommend you print the rules/regs from TSA website as well as from the airline's website and keep them in your pocket when you're at the airports

 

[cobra34242]

Thanx for the replies. Still a little gray area on Hollow Points travelling thru N.J.....I'll just pack it all away and let it fly....

 

[gdm320]

Thanx for the replies. Still a little gray area on Hollow Points travelling thru N.J.....I'll just pack it all away and let it fly....

That's not a bright idea... the last thing you want is to land in New Jersey and be arrested or to have your weapon held for inspection while you fly on to your destination without it.

You should either take a cautious approach and leave the hollow points at home or you should contact the authorities in New Jersey and ask, then make sure you include their response with you when you travel.

No-no: I have a gun!! (with wild-eyed look)

This phrase is often followed, mere seconds later, by: "Don't tase me, dude!"

 

[tns0038]

I was kind of hesitating the first time after 911 myself, but after flying a few times, I’ve found that it’s really pretty easy.

If you’re not leaving NJ in a car, but instead flying on to another destination, you’re never subject to NJ laws; so hallow points are fine.

As others have said:

• Lockable hard case can be stored inside your soft case suitcase. Make sure you have TSA locks on your suitcase, and NON TSA locks on the gun case.
• Make sure your magazines are unloaded, and ALL ammo is stored in its original box.
• Make sure you declare it at check in, where they will give you a red card to fill out. One part goes on the outside of your hard gun case, the other part you hand back to the ticket agent.
• You’ll need to go to the main ticket counter to do such.
• Can’t use curb side check in.
• The ticket agent may ask you to fallow them to the TSA check in where a TSA agent will ask you to open your suitcase so he/she can check the weapon. But this has not happen each time.

One ticket agent got it wrong when she said I was to put the red tag on the outside of my suitcase. I handed her the TSA regulations. So you may want to take a copy of them with you.

TSA: Traveling with Special Items
see here

Other than that have fun on your trip

 

[cobra34242]

Thanx again. Connecting flight out of Newark to Scranton ends the H P issue. I never get to touch the luggage till I get to Scranton Pa.

 

[limatunes]

Thanx again. Connecting flight out of Newark to Scranton ends the H P issue. I never get to touch the luggage till I get to Scranton Pa.

I wouldn't risk it. You can't touch your luggage or your firearm until you reach your destination anyway so consider purchasing your ammo when you get there.

I have traveled with my firearms probably more than a dozen times (sometimes lots of firearms). I make take some FMJs but I never take HPs on the plane.

Remember, you are risking a $1,000 fine for every single HP bullet you have with you in NJ. Even though some have told you not to worry about it that is just too much of a risk. Just imagine if there is a delay and you are left in NJ overnight or even briefly.

There was a story not long ago of a man who was rerouted to NJ (he wasn't even supposed to have a lay over there) because of weather and he had a magazine of hollow points in his luggage. He was fined $10,000.. $1,000 for each bullet.

It's just not worth it. If you must take ammo, take some FMJs, but I'd recommend buying the ammo when you get there and donating it to a friend when you leave or shipping it home. Call it a $20 insurance policy.

This is from my blog (The 10 steps to flying with handguns)..

#
You cannot carry your weapon on the plane, you must check it. (I know this may seem incredibly obvious but some people still ask so I'll just cover that base right off the bat.)
#
2.Go to the TSA website and print off their policy regarding firearms on flights.
#
3.Call the airline, check on their policy for firearms on their flights (all airlines must abide by the TSA policy but they can also extend a stricter policy if they would like and it may keep you from flying or taking your guns with you if you aren't aware of their policy.)
#
4.All firearms must be in a hard-sided, lockable case and they must be empty.
#
5.Ammunition can be taken with you but in a limited amount and it should go in a separate container than your firearms (TSA provides that it can go in the same case as your guns but a lot of times it doesn't fit and again, the airline might have a different policy on ammunition so call the airline).
#
6.Arrange all of your firearms in the case so that they can be easily checked to be sure they are clear without much touching and moving (i.e. locking the slide open and placing it in the case sans the magazine in a way so that a glance in the chamber will indicate that it is, indeed, empty).
#
7.When you check in at the airport declare your firearms. They will want to see them and place a slip of paper in the case with your firearms indicating that they have looked at them and approved them.
#
8.Be courteous to the security personnel and be prepared to unlock and show your guns as you will be required do to so.
#
9.Know the transportation, carry and reciprocity laws of your destination states (including any state that you may have a layover in) you don't want to get your guns taken away because you failed to know the laws of the state you are entering.
#
10.If possible, get a non-stop flight to cut down on the number of unfamiliar hands that will be within access to your firearms.

Pay special attention to #3. I have flown on some flights that have not allowed any ammunition. As mentioned in #3, just because TSA allows for ammunition to be brought along does NOT mean that the airline has the same opinion. Call the airline and check on THEIR policy as well as it very well may be stricter than TSA.

I would also like to add that security is not allowed to touch your firearms. They can ask you to lift them up to inspect them but they are not to actually touch them themselves.

Also, be prepared for the person who is checking you in to not have a CLUE on what they are doing. I've had to walk more than one check-in person through the process.

NOTHING should be on the outside of your luggage indicating that there are firearms within. If anyone tells you otherwise, that's when you pull out your TSA papers.

Also, don't walk up to the counter and say, "I've got a gun." Faces get very scared, very quickly. A more gentile approach is to say, "I need to declare a firearm." You don't get so many freaked out faces.

Enjoy your flight.

 

[gdm320]

I would also like to add that security is not allowed to touch your firearms. They can ask you to lift them up to inspect them but they are not to actually touch them themselves.

Limatunes,
This was my big question. So, to clarify, neither the TSA security personnel nor the airline representative checking you in at the counter should make any attempt to touch my weapons when I check them in? I can, when asked, pick them up and demonstrate they are secure and unloaded to meet their qualifications?

 

[GunnyBunny]

Here's the official info about Jersey and hollow points.......

New Jersey State Police - Transportation and Use of Hollow Point Ammunition by Sportsmen

Personally, I'd travel with something like PowerBall ammo, if you must travel with ammo. I agree with the others, buy your ammo there.

 

[limatunes]

Limatunes,
This was my big question. So, to clarify, neither the TSA security personnel nor the airline representative checking you in at the counter should make any attempt to touch my weapons when I check them in?

No, they should not. And the person at the check-in counter shouldn't even ask. They will have you fill out the little tag thingy, they will put your baggage number on it and you will take the whole show over to TSA. The checkin people shouldn't have to see anything.

I can, when asked, pick them up and demonstrate they are secure and unloaded to meet their qualifications?

Yes, but wait until you are asked and if you aren't asked just leave them be.

The closest they will get is they take those little swab things and swab the inside of your case and around your guns and put that in their sniffer machine. I actually had one agent run the swab over the slides of a few of my firearms but that was it. He never moved to pick it up and they shouldn't. I have had agents who ever even came close to them even with the swabs.

 

[limatunes]

Here's the official info about Jersey and hollow points.......

New Jersey State Police - Transportation and Use of Hollow Point Ammunition by Sportsmen

Personally, I'd travel with something like PowerBall ammo, if you must travel with ammo. I agree with the others, buy your ammo there.

Thanks for posting that.

 

[tns0038]

I have this letter in PDF form and don't know how to post it here.

U. S. Department of Justice
Office of Legislative Affairs
Office of the Assistant Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530
February 18, 2005

The Honorable Don Young
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Young:
Thank you for your letter, dated June 18, 2003, to Admiral James M. Loy, then- Administrator of the Transportation Security aministration (TSA), concerning the applicability of 18 U.S.C. section 926A to persons at airports in New York State who are taking flights to destinations outside of New York. Because section 926A is a provision of the Gun Control Act (GCA), which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) enforces, TSA forwarded your letter to the Department of Justice for response. We apologize for the delay in responding.

In your letter you explained that local police officers in New York have threatened several individuals at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Albany International Airport with arrest
for firearms possession based on strict State laws, and that in at least one case the firearms were confiscated. You explained that: (1) the people carrying the firearms were not prohibited from
possessing firearms under Federal law, (2) the people had apparently traveled directly, without any interruption in the transportation, to the airports from other States where they legally could possess firearms, (3) their firearms and ammunition were secured in accordance with all applicable regulations for airline travel, and (4) they were flying to other States or countries where they could legally possess firearms.

You then asked if TSA agrees that section 926A enables these travelers to possess the firearms legally in the New York airports and if so, if TSA would inform local police and prosecutors about this provision of the GCA. We appreciate your bringing this issue to our attention. The Department of Justice agrees that the provisions of section 926A apply to the situation set forth above assuming: (1) the person is traveling from somewhere he lawfully may possess and carry a firearm; (2) en route to the airport the firearm is unloaded and not accessible from the passenger compartment of his car; (3) the person transports the firearm directly from his
The Honorable Don Young

Page Two
vehicle to the airline check-in desk without any interuption in the transportation; and (4) while carrying the firearm to the check-in desk it is unloaded and in a locked container. This interpretation reflects the apparent congressional intent in enacting this provision, while allowing State and local law enforcement to continue to enforce their firearms laws aggressively to promote public safety. We will inform the applicable law enforcement authorities of our
interpretation of section 926A.

We trust this information responds to your inquiry. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Sincerely,
William E. Moschella
Assistant Attorney General

 

[HKinNY]

I can, when asked, pick them up and demonstrate they are secure and unloaded to meet their qualifications?

I have taken my Glock 26 twice out of JKF airport. Yep,NYC. You are required to open the case to show the Port Authority Police that is unloaded. So, I feed a cable lock thru the mag well and out the ejection port. Open the case, they look down,close it up and go to go.

Last week the TSA people asked to open the suitcase because they saw a shadow from I beleive my shoes. Open suitcase checked the clothes and closed it up. I relocked it . On my way.

 

[GHFLRLTD]

Taking Your Pistole For A Plane Ride

Having traveled a number of times, here's how I go at it:

1. Review TSA: Traveling with Special Items to understand TSA policies and procedures. Have a copy with you when you reach the airport.
2. Put the unloaded weapon(s) in a lockable hard-sided case with locks only you have the keys/combination to open. TSA locks are not allowed.
3. Steps that will make it easier to show that the weapon is unloaded - especially when x-rayed.
   • If the weapon is a:
     • semi-automatic
       • lock the slide open
       • put a cable tie through the barrel and out the breach to show that the chamber is empty
     • revolver, flip the cylinder out
   • Do not put the magazines in this locked case with the gun(s):
     • it invites questions about them being loaded
     • if the gun case is "liberated" from the checked bag by a Criminal Entrepreneur, the lack of magazines frustrates the "Liberator", since the weapon is now initially a single shot one
4. Check the airline(s) you are flying on:
   • To determine if the ammo
     • MUST be in boxes (plastic reload boxes work)
     • can fly in loaded magazines
   • If loaded magazines are permitted, make sure the pouches fully cover the magazines
   • The round(s) from the chamber(s)/cylinder(s) must be in a box, not loose
5. Secure and protect magazines (separately from the weapon) and ammunition boxes from possible damage.
6. Put the lockable hard-sided case with the weapon and the ammo/magazines into a cheap, non-descript bag - with clear labeling outside and inside - for checking in.
   • If possible, develop a way to attach - in a lockable way - the hard-sided case to the piece of luggage it has been placed into.
   • The labeling should be limited to:
     • Your Name
     • Your Cell Phone - if you have one, or your home phone if you do not
     • Your personal email address - if you have one
     • NO ADDRESSES, JOB TITLES, ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE INDICATED
7. Other stuff - like shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste, etc, could be in this checked bag also.
8. Have the rules for the airline in hand when you check this non-descript bag at the airport.
9. Make sure you have the keys/combinations to the lockable hard-sided case with you and you alone (Per Federal Regulations 49CFR § 1540.111 Carriage of weapons, explosives, and incendiaries by individuals - Electronic Code of Federal Regulations:) at all times. You will have to open the lockable hard-side case:
   • to demonstrate to the airline that the weapon(s) are not loaded at check in (a signed form/tag indicating that will go in with the weapon(s))
   • if the TSA wants to see
10. Have the serial number(s) and descriptions of your weapons on you, so if they "disappear" you can report the loss/theft immediately to the:
    • airline
    • FAA Regional Office
    • ATF Regional Office

Other things to consider:

1. Check Handgunlaw.us and/or Pack-N-Go Carry Concealed Trip Planner to determine:
   • If you can possess the weapon at all your stops
   • Where and how you can carry at all your stops
   • What are the deadly force rules in each state you are visiting
2. Have a copy of the Don Young Transportation Letter on hand - http://www.anjrpc.org/DefendingYourRights/us letter.pdf. This covers changing modes of travel - car to plane to car - in a single journey.

 

[Squawker]

I've flown with handguns at least a dozen times in the 3.5 years that I've had the permit, and I've never had any difficulty. The process is quick and easy as long as you follow the advice that you've been given here. I fly out of Las Vegas, and mostly have flown to and from Richmond VA, and occasionally BWI. One small bit of advice, logical really, but since I did it wrong my first time. Place your hard sided pistol case on the top of your luggage. I made the mistake of putting it at the bottom first time, and I had to dig through my underwear to pull the case out,

Airports may vary a little from one to the other. I have never had to go to a TSA table. I check the bag, declare my UNLOADED firearms, I fill out the card, attach it to my pistol case or just put it inside, lock the case and the luggage, and off it goes. I see it again at my destination. I will never take a flight with a New York or New Jersey connection. If I were to get stuck overnight in NYC, I could end up with severe legal problems, possibly jail time, just because my destination airport was closed, or mechanical problems ground the plane. I don't tend to travel to NY or NJ, so I would only run into problems with connections.

My procedure for travel is the pull the magazines and remove the chambered round. I pull the slide back and lock it open. I then put the magazines and loose rounds into a container- last month I used a sealed envelope. Generally, and as they say, YMMV, the concern is loose rounds rolling around in the luggage. I had no problem either way. Of course, so of the counter agents are, shall we say,less than thorough. At least twice,the agent didn't even look at the guns, and one didn't have me take out the case.

Relax follow the advice, and enjoy your trip. Be sure to get to the airport earlier than you normally would just in case the process takes longer than expected. The vast majority of the time it will be smooth sailing. But you can always run into a moron. Do print out both the airlines and the TSA regs on flying with hand guns, to be able to show the agent if there is a problem. But most will have handled it before, probably several times. Just look at the demand for Florida and Utah CCW permits, to allow carry in over 30 states. A lot of people travel with their weapon(s).

Have a great trip!!!!!

 

[cobra34242]

WELLLLLLL !!! I followed everyones advice. Locked the Glock 27 in its own case. Carried NO ammo. Had copies of Continentals rules and regs. Had copies of U.S. Airs rules and reg. (return trip). Had copies of TSA rules and regs. Placed all the paperwork on top of locked box in the suitcase. Went up to the counter and made the declaration. The agent looked at the Glock with the secondary lock thru the breach. I signed and dated the tag. I was escorted to a secure area where another agent took the bag and did whatever. 5 seconds later he said OK, everythings's fine GOOD TO GO. Got on the plane, layover one hour at Newark.....Flew to Scranton Pa.............THEY LOST THE F------ luggage!!! Sooo, here I am in 35 degree weather with 85 degree clothes, waiting to hear from this dumb airline. So much for doing the right thing! Thanx for listening.

 

[cobra34242]

Aaannnddddd!!! The airline finally delivered my luggage, with everything intact...............missing for 28 hrs. Gotta love it !