Transporting Ammo on a Plane

sandersj89

Well-Known Member
Flying with BA next week with rifle and ammo. They say that ammo has to be in a secure case packed inside hold luggage. They say that secure means locked.

Would something like this be OK or any other suggestions?

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Thanks

Jerry
 
tartinjock said:
I would contact BA themselfs on this, even send an email with the pic if needed, just to clarify.

I have spoken to them and they just stipulate a lockable container, that was the first thing that sprung to mind.

When pressed they just re read the script.... :rolleyes:
 
I personally have always carried my ammo in their original cartons in my hold luggage, (four times a year since 2000).Which is 'lockable' ie locked and strapped.
I have only once, last November, had a problem, when it showed up on the X ray machine I had to remove it and hand it to the pilot to be carried! there were fourteen others on the same flight using the same method and I was the only one pulled.
I went by the same carrier three weeks later and nothing was said.
I have seen Cash boxes used to carry ammo, some sealed and sent separate to hold luggage, in other words handed in to customs with the rifle and I have seen some in cash boxes being tried to hand over to customs with the rifle and seen them be told to put it in their suitcases as hold luggage!!
I would suggest you put it in the cash box and put it in your Hold Luggage, you will normally be asked how much ammo you have and as long as it is below 2kg, I think, you are OK. I always take three packs and have always been well below the entitlement.
 
Unless the regulations have changed it states that all ammo must be packed seperatly from the firearm (in your main baggage) and unless over 5kilo in weight it is perfectly ok in makers boxes. It is is over 5kilo it has to be in a locked metal box.

I have flown with Firearms many times, and you will find that very few working at the airport know the proper procedures :eek:

1. You should inform the airline you are travelling with that you are carrying sporting rifle and ammo. Make sure the airline carries firearms, Ryan Air has stopped, so to AA.

2. Make sure the gun is in a locked hardcase bolt removed, and that you have your British FA Permit, and your European Firearms Permit if you are hunting in Europe.

3. Make sure you allow at least 3 hours check in. On arrival Airport security should take you to customs, where the gun case is Xrayed, then onto a private customs room, where the case will be unlocked and they will check the rifle details against your FA cert. All well the security guy takes your FA and puts it on the flight.

4. Coming back into the UK, you will need to go to oversize baggage, security should meet you there and take you to customs to check the same guns are coming back in.

Thats briefly what should happen, but airlines and the people that work for them, well lets just say they are not all conversant with the handling of Sporting weapons. ;)

Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the excellent info guys.

I hope my trip will go smoothly and it is only interal to the UK so that should make things a little easier.

I think I may try and pick up a small peli case such as this one:

http://www.waterproof-cases.co.uk/peli_1150_case-p-23_38.html

Should be enough to hold 60 rounds well padded. If they cant deliver in time then the cash box with foam added will have to do.

BA are categoric it has to be packed inside the hold luggage and looked again.

I like the tip re putting mobile phone on the luggage labels, very good tip. The hard case for the rifle has two build in combinations locks plus 2 external padlocks, I have also added a trigger lock to the rifle to make sure it is safe.

Just got to sort insurance out now!

Jerry
 
I am only taking 60 rounds, that should be enough to see me through.

Interesting point re metal vs plastic. I will see if I can get guidance from BA....
 
Hi sandersj89

The guys have covered most of the points, but on my last trip to SA I flew with Swiss air and the ammo in a cash box was fine, it was at Joburg and the connecting flight to Durban with BA that things got a bit sticky,
I was fortunate that I previously booked the meet and greet service for £70 that PHASA provide and they sorted it all out for me, They do the lot and it saves time and they put BA in order, they don’t P*** about straight to the top and every thing was fine.

Have a good trip

Smithy
 
Hi sandersj89

The guys have covered most of the points, but on my last trip to SA I flew with Swiss air and the ammo in a cash box was fine, it was at Joburg and the connecting flight to Durban with BA that things got a bit sticky,
I was fortunate that I previously booked the meet and greet service for £70 that PHASA provide and they sorted it all out for me, They do the lot and it saves time and they put BA in order, they don’t P*** about straight to the top and every thing was fine.

Have a good trip

Smithy
 
Never had a problem with my homeloads being refused. I have always had them in a plastic box.

In fact out of the 6 safaris to Africa, 2 x to America and 3x to Finland only once have I been asked about the ammo.

However BA lost my guns at Johanesburg airport, although I got them back, and twice have screwed up on arrival back at Heathrow, they misplaced the guncase :eek: once on an African flight and once from Finland. The last time I threatened to call 999 and report them stolen at the airport. Funny thing that galvansied the BA staff into action and they produced the rifle in 5 minutes ot there abouts. This was after a nearly 90 minute wait.

As PeteE has mentioned, be prepared for people at the airport who dont know their job.
 
Hi PeteE
Hope you are well

The BA team in Joburg for the domestic connection were separate outfit running under the BA flag.
The PHASA guy said they are licensed company who work for BA and use there planes and facilities etc but not full BA staff.
They were not clear on whether they could take my rifle onwards and so the debate began.
So the PHASA guy went back to the international airport and got the things sorted from there.
Because you need to walk the 500 yards from the international airport to the domestic connection in Joburg

Smithy
 
The only time I had trouble with ammo was at Heathrow.
During the conflab between BA Security/BA Police and the airline staff, the mention of Steel boxes came up and it was decided that it was not a good idea to have ammo in steel boxes as if there was a fire it could explode.
I mentioned that in my opinion if there was a fire in the hold the last thing I would worry about was 60 rounds exploding!! that was when they decided to wrap the cardboard boxes in polythene and seal them, then they could not decide what to do with them then.
In the end a member of the air crew, the one that had an interest in the bullets during the conflab, she asked why some had 'silver pointy ends' and some 'blunt ends' she thought the 'silver pointy ones' would make good jewelry!! decided to ask the pilot if he would carry them in the cockpit, which he did without batting an eyelid!!
So the bottom line is as someone has already said, be prepared for individual interpretations of the rules and hope you get someone with a bit of common sense.
 
This business of ammo in a steel box is a stupid rule. Not only are they just as safe if not more so in your main bag, also who's to know that the ammo is in there. If some unscrupulous idiot decided to steal the ammo, it is easily identified in a steel box, rather than in a main bag. Plus in a steel box if it did explode, you have a bomb, nice pieces of metal flying around.
 
Packing Ammo

Last year I booked with BA to travel from Heathrow to Port Elizabeth with a stopping off at Johannesburg, I carried the ammo in a cash box the same as in the first photo no problem, It became interesting when I found out 2 days before I was due to leave that BA don’t have a licence carry firearms on internal flights in South Africa. so deep sh1t from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, I had told BA when I made the booking that I would be carrying sporting Rifle with ammo, panic set in I tried to sort it with BA UK with no luck in the end I phoned the BA desk at Johannesburg, they said it’s not a problem when I arrive at Johannesburg after clearing customs go to the BA desk to check in for Port Elizabeth, and I was then taken to South African Airways desk to check the gun in and pay them I think it was 30 Rand, I check to make sure that the gun would be travelling with me on the BA flight YES, So what’s it all about then? It would appear that the gun must be taken to the plan by SA Airways staff and not BA staff, all bull sh1t but keeps them with some
more Rand in their pocket

Simon
 
Bolt in or Out

This will be interesting, Bolt left in the Gun or packed with Ammo, what do you do with your bolt, I have always left the bolt in the Gun and I have never been asked by any Airline where it is, Someone told me I should remove it and pack it in my luggage that was to go in the hold on the plane, It makes sense that if the gun was lost or stolen bolt at least it could not be used,

I have travelled with the Airlines that do lose luggage and if I take the bolt out of the gun that means they need to get 2 bags to me at the other end

As long as the Gun arrives cloths and ammo can be replaced fairly quickly (normally)

Simon
 
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