Airline travel with a firearm

[Patrick Wilson]

Has anybody travel on an airline with a firearm?



I know that I will have to declare the firearm to the airline personnel and the firearm must be shipped in the checked luggage…I am wondering …



1. Is the procedure of declaring the firearm and shipping as checked luggage easy to complete? [I will be flying US Air or American]



2. Where I can find more information on an approved TSA hard sided case? [The TSA website is not very helpful]



Thanks

 

[Keith Lewis]

It was easy. Declare the firearm at the ticket counter and you fill out a little card that you attach to the case (I left my case locked, but get the TSA certified locks so they can get into it if they need to without destroying your locks). I left the case in my suitcase (the case was the one that the gun came in from the manufacturer).



You cannot pack ammo in the same bag as the weapon, and can only take 11 pounds of ammo with you. The workaround to that is if you have multiple people with you...they can take as much as they want if they aren't taking a firearm (wierd, I know).



I cannot say this any clearer though...DO NOT HAVE THE GUN LOADED. They don't mess around, you will go to jail!



If you still have questions, let me know (my dad works for TSA in Anchorage, so I can prolly get the answer for you pretty quick).

 

[Patrick Wilson]

Thanks Daeron!



I do not have the original manufacturer's case; the rifle is my brother-in-laws old .22-cal.



I have a “Kolpin” generic hard sided case (from Walmart, I think). The case is hard sided and has two places for locks. I am wondering where I can any information to see if the case is “TSA approved”.

 

[Nick Smith]

You best bet is to call the airline you are traveling on and confirm what you have to do. Also here is what US Airways has to say: http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/baggage/specialitems.aspx#firearms

and here is way American says: http://www.aa.com/aa/pubcontent/en_US/travelInformation/baggage/firearms.jsp



I cant seem to figure out how to link two links in one post so you'll just have to copy and paste.

 

[Wes Davis]

Have you considered just shipping the rifle to your destination?

 

[Patrick Wilson]

The shipping from a VA FFL dealer to a AZ FFL dealer is an option however I am scheduled to fly to AZ next month and the cost of shipping is approximately $100.

 

[Dingo]

You can ship privately if you ship the parts of the gun in separate packages.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

I fly armed 5 days a week. You can NOT fly armed unless you have an original letter from your department that states so as well as other things.



But to belly pack a weapon is not a big deal. Pretty much as noted above. The DO NOT HAVE IT LOADED thing is huge. Anyone can carry a weapon below with no issues. You can not have it as a carry on.

 

[CountyMounty]

I have checked a firearm as baggage several times. Mostly long guns but over the past few years I have checked my handgun a few times as well, most recently just a couple weeks ago when I went to CA. Your Walmart hard case should be fine, any hard plastic or metal case that is designed for firearms is fine. Make sure it is locked and unloaded. I have read about people getting held up for a little bit by security at certain airports, I believe Reagan and JFK. I dont know exactly what the deal is but I saw where several people reported that at JFK they had to be cleared by a Port Authority Police officer in addition to the TSA, doesn't really make sense but that is what they said. Anyway I have done it several times and it only takes an extra couple minutes to do it.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Firedog, that is only true if they are carrying the firearm on their person. The procedures are very specific. Pertains to original letters with original signatures. Proper paper work filled out at the counter etc etc.



Checked weapons do not cause and issue for you to go through security...

 

[CountyMounty]

Well I did read about it when reading up on the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act so maybe that is what it was. I cant find it again now I just remember a few people saying that they would end up having to speak with a port authority officer as well as TSA. I didn't think they were carrying on their person but maybe. I know that is a very involved process and my understanding was you needed letters as you said that specified a real need to carry it. I know we have had officers escort prisoners home via plane and they were not allowed to carry their firearms. I didn't even bother try to see if I could. I just wanted to make sure I could carry it on vacation and I could. I wasn't going to bother with it this last time but I changed my mind the moment I heard about that big mall shooting and the off duty officer that played a big role in that.



Recently a couple officers from my area we escorting a prisoner and they had a tazer with them. The prisoner was very unruly and was tazed several times. They were basically kicked off the plane somewhere in the midwest I believe and had to rent a car and drive back. I wonder if by chance you heard about that it apparently caused quite a commotion on the plane. Anyway it resulted in a big mess, the prisoner sued over being tazed so many times and the departments (a local municipality, and the state DEA) settled out of court so now we have a really rich drug dealer on the streets, actually I think he may have disappeared again, probably back to CA.



Anyway you certainly should know about the firearms deal. I personally have never had any problem with checked firearms.