does anybody carry handgun to U.S. through airport?

When in Rome......It's best to be a Roman !!

Safeguardguy:

James - You have to admit that being able to flash that US passport simplifies CCWing related matters for you at the airports, borders and while actually "carrying" in the US.

When you are CCWing in the US you are carrying a firearm in your OWN country.......us run of the mill Cannuck NIAs when CCWing in the US are carrying firearms in a FOREIGN country. I'm no lawyer but depending on the circumstances that could be a BIG difference.

In my very limited experience dealing with this topic I detect that some Federal and State officials and LEOs apparently interpret "The People" in the Second Amendment to mean the "American People".
 
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Questar said:
Firearms can easily be transported when flying, but they must be unloaded and locked in your locked checked baggage. Have flown all over Canada and US with firearms and in many cases it's faster going through check-in than for normal passengers. In Toronto, when flying Air Canada with firearms you check-in at their special services counter (and usually avoid most of the lineups). Sign the statement form that the firearms are locked and unloaded... you're good to go. Just keep in mind that ammunition must be separate from the firearm... and airlines like to put a big sticker on the outside of your luggage announcing "AMMUNITION" so I usually don't take ammo. There is no requirement to put a sticker on outside of luggage for just the firearm... in fact in the US they passed a Federal law prohibiting the airlines from putting the "Red Tag" on luggage containing firearms... go figure, they had too many firearms being stolen from the luggage :). Now they put the red tag inside the luggage or simply don't bother with the tag.

Mark
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Strangeday said:
Mark is bang on with this!
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Not completely. On domestic flights Air Canada charges a special 'handling fee' of $50.00 per firearm (each way if a return trip)....
 
Here's the reply I got from NWA regarding transport of firearms from my destination in Winnipeg to Tucson, AZ.

I hope this shows up properly. It's an exerpt from an email and I have not tried posting a text file as of yet.

Untitled1.jpg


If you are flying with KLM, it's tough #### for you as handguns are not accepted on board. NWA does, as checked baggage.
 
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I've flown all over the US and frankly all over the world with firearms, what this tells me is that each airline and each country is different. The only similarity is that you can take a max. of 5kg of ammo, and the guns must be unloaded and locked inside a hard-sided suitcase or flight case.

Other than that it varies enormously. Where it gets dicey is when one country insists on a label, and in the other country that's illegal. It totally screws up the system. For example in the US you legally cannot identify a firearm in luggage, but in some European countries it must be identified, so if you fly from the US to those countries what happens is that it causes a complete foul up in their system. Customs is supposed to intercept all the marked suitcases and then you go to Customs to pick them up - but they can't know if the suitcase isn't marked!

Or vice versa, I had a US Customs guy go ape#### because British Airways put a honking sticker on my suitcase that said: "UNLOADED FIREARMS" on it.

Canada is the easiest to deal with I have done actually, at least Calgary, Pearson is a bit trickier. All they want to see is your PAL and registration certificate and ATT, they never seem to want to see the guns.

In European countries there is usually some specialist who you have to sit around waiting for before you can either check in or go through customs on the way out. In the UK that means you have to wait for armed police to show up which always winds up the other passengers.

My best advice is to learn to be very patient. The other thing I have learnt is to NEVER let your luggage containing firearms go through automatically on a connecting flight, always pick it up and check it in again, so plan your connecting flights accordingly. I've done this twice and not re-checked the bags and in both cases it was a total and utter nightmare. US Customs held my bag and I didn't see it until days later. I've also done it in the other direction and I had US Customs pull me off the plane to question me about it. This was after making it painfully clear to all concerned that I had firearms in my luggage.
 
I was in a store the other day and they were selling TSA approved combination locks. I assume that the TSA has a universal key to unlock them when they want, without the owner pressent. Anyone familiar with these locks?
 
the wrench said:
... I assume that the TSA has a universal key to unlock them when they want, without the owner pressent.
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Why would you assume that? Why would they want to unlock your gun? That defeats the purpose of a lock.

I would think that being TSA approved just means it meets the minimum requirements for a lock. ie. its bigger than a dime in size and can't be broken open easily.

That's interesting to know about the connecting flights.


Fudd
 
the wrench said:
I was in a store the other day and they were selling TSA approved combination locks. I assume that the TSA has a universal key to unlock them when they want, without the owner pressent. Anyone familiar with these locks?
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You just hit the nail on the head. That is exactly what they are...

They are simple little locks made for your luggage to prevent you from having to buy a new lock everytime Customs cuts yours off to inspect inside your bag. They ARE NOT meant for firearms storage, as was pointed out it defeats the purpose. I wouldn't bother with the TSA locks. Zip ties are just as effective and dirt cheap...
 
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