Rifle into SA

New Avon Arms
Much easier with rifles and ammo than it is with bows and arrows
My friends had loadsa xxit in heathrow where they had hundreds of pounds of broadheads confiscated.
 
tusker said:
Hi NickJ, Ethiopian were ok. So from the start. They advise to email/call 72 hours before you fly however I never got through and I am not sure emails were even looked at.
Arrive at Heathrow at least 4 hours before your flight. In our case it was clear the staff were not trained regarding firearms but they got there in the end. What really put them in a spin was my bow as they wanted to class it as firearm and insisted on a serial number etc. it was hilarious trying to explain that it wasnt a gun so she asked me "is it a weapon?" I said yes, oh she said then its a firearm. Long story short it was sorted.
Now your rifles travel free as your second piece of baggage that does not exceed 23 kilo,s but they will try and charge you £80 handling fee most of my team paid it but if you argue you can get away with that.
Transfer at Addis Ababa, you will be met by a chap with a card with your name and you will go down to the baggage area and have your rifles checked, no big deal. arrive Windhoak very quick check and on your way.
Returning is great as Windhoak are so efficient and you do have the same check at Addis Ababa.
We are going to Namibia next April and one thing I will do on the return leg is book in the lounge (£30) as it is a long lay over and the cost of stuff in the airport is eye watering.
I hope this helps, please ask if you think I have missed anything.
Tusker
Click to expand...
That’s great thanks.
 
Grannysmith said:
Much easier with rifles and ammo than it is with bows and arrows
My friends had loadsa xxit in heathrow where they had hundreds of pounds of broadheads confiscated.
Click to expand...
Rightly or wrong , I put my broadheads in my checked baggage.
Tusker
 
tusker said:
Transfer at Addis Ababa, you will be met by a chap with a card with your name and you will go down to the baggage area and have your rifles checked,
Click to expand...

When I flew with Ethiopian Airways in 2021, the additional piece of this step is that the firearms checker in the baggage area needs to retain a copy of your FAC. Have they since dropped that step? If not, it pays for you to make copies before you leave home.

tusker said:
Addis Ababa... the cost of stuff in the airport is eye watering
Click to expand...

Yup.



zambezi

Thread 'Travelling to Namibia - Ethiopian Airways: a qualified endorsement'

I have just returned from Namibia: 10 days cull stalking in the Grootfontein area east of Etosha, 11th - 23rd November 2021.

I flew with Ethiopian Airways ex Heathrow via Addis Ababa.

The good part: All planes seemed to be newish Airbus models, flights were fine, food good. In-flight service was mostly excellent. Flight cost is approx 30% lower than Virgin/BA/SALink combos to Windhoek.

Firearm carriage: it worked, but what was assured by the Ethiopian Airways manager in London did not come to pass. Specifically, he stated that once the firearm was checked in at Heathrow, it would...
  • Like
 
That was my write up from earlier this year with BA - agent did a great job of smoothing things JHB end
Ratten

Thread 'Flying with BA to JHB from LHR T5 - how i did it and stayed sane'

Flew to Jo'burg with BA a week ago for some advanced field to fork culinary supply chain management.

I know this process comes up fairly regularly so thought i'd post on a recent experience to keep the knowledge on the forum current.

I like the challenge of doing something and if it should be possible then it should be done. (or give an engineer a problem and they can't help trying to prove they can solve it). At the JHB end I used an agency (Rifle Permits ) to sort my SAPS 520 at the recommendation of my outfitter - he said you can do it yourself, but it's a lot...
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i'd defintiely do it again - knowing what rifle you will be using and all that good confidence boosting stuff is important, especially the first time you go. I'm not good enough to claim i can pick up any weapon and be totally confident in it - i know my capabilities with my weapons.
 
Here is a reply I put on another post about the requirement for export permits. SA still require one unless you have a pre arranged permit:

OK so I have now got into this more and one hand does not know what the other is doing.
1. Border Force are definitely not doing temporary export letters
2. South Africa definitely will not allow firearms in without one.
The reasoning here is some ministers have been talking and come up with a plan that no one seems to know about. Allegedly UK FAC will have some new wording on it to allow firearms to be taken to approved countries. This does not help anyone unless your certificate was issued this week, and probably too early to have it on anyway. South Africa do not care about this and want a letter.
The issue from Border Force is UK residents taking firearms into Zim from South Africa. There is an embargo and the UK want to enforce this. If there is wording on the licence it cannot go into Zim. That's what I have been told today.
So how do we get around this? Well basically you cannot unless you apply to one of the Companies doing pre arranged permits. They will need 21 clear working days before you go and will cost £150 + depending on who you use. Afton, Air2000, Adele, PHASA all do them.
My suspicion with all of this is they do not want us hunting in South Africa and some anti minister has got his claws into something and found a loophole to stop it. Just my opinion.
I will keep looking at it to see where it goes.

Cheers all
Adrian
 
Safari Hunter said:
do not want us hunting in South Africa and some anti minister has got his claws into something and found a loophole to stop it.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right.

If the SA govt and PHASA value foreign business, they will find a way to ease this at the SA end.

Pending any SA governmental permit relaxation, it would be a shrewd move on the part of SA outfitters to cover the cost of the permit. The most cost effective way [for the outfitter] is probably in kind: add to the package head count at no extra cost.
 
zambezi said:
When I flew with Ethiopian Airways in 2021, the additional piece of this step is that the firearms checker in the baggage area needs to retain a copy of your FAC. Have they since dropped that step? If not, it pays for you to make copies before you leave home.



Yup.



zambezi

Thread 'Travelling to Namibia - Ethiopian Airways: a qualified endorsement'

I have just returned from Namibia: 10 days cull stalking in the Grootfontein area east of Etosha, 11th - 23rd November 2021.

I flew with Ethiopian Airways ex Heathrow via Addis Ababa.

The good part: All planes seemed to be newish Airbus models, flights were fine, food good. In-flight service was mostly excellent. Flight cost is approx 30% lower than Virgin/BA/SALink combos to Windhoek.

Firearm carriage: it worked, but what was assured by the Ethiopian Airways manager in London did not come to pass. Specifically, he stated that once the firearm was checked in at Heathrow, it would...
  • Like
Click to expand...
You are correct . I must add that I didnt take a rifle but all the other chaps had a copy of their FAC. and they all took many copies.
Tusker
 
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