Transporting pistol on airlines

[FJR86]

I am planning a trip to Florida a couple months from now and know that Fl has reciprocity with PA, so I was hoping to carry while I was down there. We are however taking an airplane. What kind of forms and other things should I look into so I can transport the firearm? Are there any airlines that prohibit firearms?

I did do a little research and found outt hat Fl permits license holders to carry other concealed weapons such as knives, which may be an option.
http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/new...led_carry.html

[knight0334]

Just pick an airline.. They all abide by TSA regulations.

Get an approved case and lock, put your unloaded gun in it, put the ammo in its original box (no loaded mags), lock it all up, declare it at the baggage/ticket counter, wait for TSA inspection, check in luggage, go to your terminal.

[scott125]

Assume you're fly Useless Air out of PHL. Here is the info from their website.

Firearms
US Airways will allow passengers to transport firearms in accordance with Federal Law. The following conditions must be met:

•Items of shooting equipment will be accepted as checked baggage only.
•A passenger who presents baggage containing a firearm must declare and demonstrate that the weapon is unloaded.
•Firearms must be packed in a manufacturer’s hard–sided container specifically designed for the firearm, a locked hard–sided gun case, or a locked hard–sided piece of luggage. Handguns packed in a hard–sided gun case may be packed inside a soft–sided piece of luggage. A Conditional Acceptance Tag must be used in this case.
•Baggage containing firearms must be locked at all times and the key or lock combination retained by the passenger.
•A Firearm Unloaded Declaration form (available only at the airport) must be signed and placed inside the bag or gun case.
•Ammunition must be packed in the original manufacturing package or metal/wood box, with a maximum of 11 pounds/5 kg per passenger.
•There is no limit to the number of items contained in rifle, shotgun or pistol case, up to 50 lbs./23 kg, 62 inches/157 cm in maximum.
•A passenger who presents a firearm to be checked to an international destination must be in possession of all required import documentation for their international destination city and any international transit points. It is the responsibility of the passenger to acquire the required documentation from the applicable government entity prior to travel (usually a consulate or embassy). Firearms will not be accepted for transport if international import requirements have not been met.

[PHLJJS]

Check out your airlines website for their specific rules as some don't accept guns for transport. USA3000 Airlines out of Philly is one that doesn't. Also TSA.gov should have info as well. Basically, the unloaded gun must be in a locking hard-sided case, placed in your checked luggage. Ammo shouldn't be loaded in any magazines and should be in the original cardboard boxes if possible.
When you get to the airport, go to the airline check in counter to check in and tell them you need to declare a firearm in your checked luggage. They will give you a form, ask to visually inspect the gun to ensure it is unloaded and you have it packed correctly. You then place a declaration form in the case with the gun and place it your checked bag, which then gets sent to get screened by security. You then go through security, get on the plane and are hopefully reunited with your luggage and gun in baggage claim in Florida.
I had no problem taking my Glock to AZ a couple years ago on Delta. The procedures do vary somewhat from airport to airport and airline to airline, but are essentially just as I described.

[Sebastian]

Some advise. I've done this a few times.

Make a list of every gun, magazine, and ammunition you take with you and make sure that everything agrees on both ends before you go through the security checkpoint.

I once forgot a loaded magazine in my carry on that I had slipped into my bag when we got back to the hotel. I remembered the gun and the magazine that normally goes in that, but forgot the repack the spare. Went through security at the airport and the TSA caught it. Held me up for an hour while they asked me questions and processed the incident. They said they generally won't prosecute on the first mistake, but that if I got caught with contraband again they'd prosecute for the first and for the second. They brought in the local PD, who actually were pretty cool and let me mail the magazine back to myself (though not the ammo, since you can't do that through mail).

So to make a long story short, make sure you document everything you take, and make sure you back it back again on the other side so you don't make the same mistake I did.

[gbrown221]

Airtran is also more stringent then TSA regs. Airtran requires ammo in seperate checked bag from the firearm. Airtran for that reason has lost all of my business when I visit my brother in Alabama. I have flown with Delta checking my weapon on a variety of trips to many different states with no problems.

[lprgcFrank]

Stay Away from USA3000 airline - they do not allow firearms to be checked.

[rmodel65]

i flew out of philly on my way back to GA wore my M&P on septa to the airport and to the counter removed the mag and locked it up in accordance to the regs and declared it no problems

[FJR86]

We have 1 lay over and I am kind of worried that my luggage will get lost. Has anyone had any bad experieinces with losing anything with airlines?

[JonEMTP]

FJR - I flew Southwest PHL to Orlando over Labor Day Weekend. No issues except they managed to dent my gun case inside my duffel bag on the return trip. I filed a claim with the luggage office... never heard anything, and never bothered folowing up - case still works, just has a dent in one side. Funny part was explaining that I wanted a priviate place to open and inspect my case so as to not cause a panic... they let me open it in the left luggage room so I could make sure nothing was damaged.


Anyway - Checkin on Southwest at PHL was a BREEZE - I declared at the counter, agent taped a form on the outside of the case, inside my duffel bag, and it went on the belt with every other bag - that was it. I re-armed in the rental car (because I don't know FL laws for carry in Airport, outside Sterile area).

Coming home was a little more obnoxicious - I declared at the counter again, they wanted the form INSIDE the case this time, then I had to walk with a Southwest employee carrying my bag to the TSA's special screening area across the way (50 yards or so). TSA asked me for my keys to open my duffel, they wanded the inside of my bag, and then re-locked my bag. Other than the cosmetic damage to the gun case somewhere between there and Philly Baggage claim, no problems.



FYI - I used a larger, multi-gun case for my Ruger LCP, XD-9, and the magazines and ammo for both. This case was locked with a decent padlock, and then my duffel bag was locked with a TSA-compliant lock. Legally, we can lock the outer bag with ANY lock, but I figured that a non-standard lock would raise suspicion.

If you have any more questions, I'd be glad to help.