Could I legally transport a pistol in CHECKED airline baggage?
I'd be on a non-stop flight from Detroit to Ft. Lauderdale. I'd have a valid carry permit. Could I put my pistol, spare ammo and magazines, and holster in a suitcase which I'd check in? Also, would I be allowed to remove the gun and holster from the bag once I arrived at the FLL airport, or would I have to wait until I got off the property? I've been led to believe that Florida does honor Michigan carry permits. Is this valid, or BS?
Hunting - 8 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You must have the weapon locked in a lock box. I just asked at the airport about this last month. You would need to check with the authority's in Florida if your carry permit is even recognized there as most permits are are only good in the state issued.
2 :
Yes, read up on your airlines guidelines for transporting firearms. The gun must be unloaded (including the magazines), and the ammo must be in its original box (although I've regularly done so with plastic snap lid boxes, the regulations do not expressly allow this). The case must be locked with a TSA approved lock, Your ticket will usually be stamped with a "FFFFFF" along the top. I don't know about Ft. Lauderdale, but DTW has no restrictions against carrying firearms in the unsecured areas of the airport. In either case, I'd wait until I was off airport property. edit: yes, Your Michigan CPL is valid in most states, including Florida.
3 :
There are some specific details and procedures on exactly how to do this. For example: You cannot have the magazines loaded. The guys I know who wanted to carry as soon as they arrived at their destination usually used a bathroom that was outside of the security perimeter to arm up and kept it concealed. (Florida does recognize the MI resident permit. http://handgunlaw.us/states/michigan.pdf, but you probably knew that already)
4 :
Yes if its dissasembled and locked up.
5 :
People fly with firearms in checked luggage all day long. There are rules. The firearm must be unloaded - I normally put a ty-wrap through the magazine well and out the slide ejection port - this way no idiot has to cycle my gun. 2. All ammo must be in original boxes. Loaded mags are a no-no - and plastic MTM cases are not legal eiether. 3. You can only have 50lbs of ammo per person. 11lbs of ammo per person when on military flights. 4. The fiearm must be in a hard case. You want to pull all the accessories from the hard case, install the ty-wrap or remove the bolt, and put the ammo in a different suitcase. Use TSA locks to lock it. The reason you pull all the accessories - laser, light, empty mags etc etc - the guy or gal who closes the case might not want to touch your stuff. So now you have a magazine rubbing against the barrel or stock of your gun for 1500 miles - it will be a scuff mark that won't buff out. Once you are at your destination airport - you can lock n' load once you are off the airport property. Wait until you are in the cab, the rental parking lot, or car. If you strap-up in the airport men's room - you can be arrested for having a pistol on airport property........ you might beat the rap, but, probably never see your gun again.
6 :
I fly into Panama City with my pistol all the time. You have to check the pistol separately in a locked hard case, and you have to arrive at the airport in Detroit with the case unlocked so that you and the TSA inspector can go over the contents. Then you lock it up and check it as a bag (and if you're checking more bags it will cost you per bag, of course, even though it's tiny). You can carry the ammo in the same package, I'm told, but I never pushed it. Ammo is cheap and plentiful in Florida. At your destination, the pistol will be separated from the rest of the bags and you'll have to claim it in person. This is usually done at the "lost bag" office. You may be able to strap up in the airport, but that's another area I have never bothered to push. I don't think it's necessary to be armed 100% of the time. Especially in Florida. It's the south, relax.
7 :
Airline Transportation of Firearms Airline Transportation of Firearms To answer questions new airline security procedures have raised for NRA members transporting firearms in their checked baggage, NRA-ILA staff contacted the Office of Security Regulation and Policy at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). You can transport a firearm in your checked baggage subject to state and local restrictions, but you should first check with your airline or travel agent to see if firearms are permitted in checked baggage on the airline you are flying. Ask about limitations or fees that may apply at this time. NRA-ILA is working toward achieving uniformity and fairness in the rules and regulations that law-abiding gun owners face in their travels. While surely few NRA members could forget this, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants to remind all travelers that attempting to bring firearms onto a plane in carry-on luggage is a serious federal violation. This is a “strict liability†offense, and TSA says violators can be, and have been, convicted regardless of criminal intent, or even if they simply forgot they possessed a firearm. TSA is obliged to enforce all the existing laws within its jurisdiction and will do so vigorously. Firearms carried as checked baggage must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container and declared to the airline at check-in. Only the passenger may have the key or combination. Small arms ammunition must be placed in an appropriate container: "securely packed in fiber, wood, or metal boxes, or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. " Under TSA regulations, ammunition may be packed in the same locked container as the unloaded firearm, but airline rules may differ. Some airlines, as private businesses, have imposed additional restrictions or requirements, such as limiting the number of guns that can be transported in a single case, or providing different standards under which gun cases may or may not be exempt from excess baggage limitations. Especially for international flights, many airlines follow industry guidelines that limit ammunition to 11 lbs. per passenger. Again, NRA-ILA is working to secure fair and uniform rules. Following Congress's mandate that all checked baggage must be screened for explosives, many travelers have become concerned by announcements that passengers should leave bags unlocked to allow hand inspection. This suggestion, the TSA made clear, does not apply to baggage containing firearms. All gun containers must still be locked after they are declared at the ticket counter. Checked bags—including those containing firearms—will then be screened for explosives by various means. Depending on the airport, methods may include high-tech "sniffers" that analyze chemical vapors, X-ray machines, trained bomb detection dogs or a combination of these systems. Not all of these methods can differentiate explosives from the gunpowder residues on a fired gun or in loaded ammunition. If the screening detects explosive materials other than those associated with ammunition, or if screeners can't determine the exact nature of the alarm, and if all means available (such as X-rays) cannot rule out the possible presence of explosives, TSA screeners, working with airline representatives, will make every effort to contact the passenger so that the passenger can supply the key or combination to open the case, eliminating the need to break locks. Cases will not be labeled as containing firearms. That practice was outlawed almost 10 years ago. Federal law now states: "No common or contract carrier shall require or cause any label, tag, or other written notice to be placed on the outside of any package, luggage, or other container that such package, luggage, or other container contains a firearm." [18 USC Sec. 922(e)] TSA will warn any airline that is marking cases that it is in violation of the law. As always, since some airline counter clerks may have little training or experience in these procedures, gun owners should contact the airline in advance, obtain a written copy of the airline policy from a reservation clerk or the airline's website, and bring it to the airport in order to answer any questions that arise at check-in. For further information, see: www.tsa.gov. Below are links to information from specific airlines. Alaska Airlines American Airlines Continental Airlines Delta Airlines First Air Midwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Southwest Airlines United Airlines U.S. Airways For more information about transporting firearms see the NRA-ILA Guide to the Interstate Transportation of Firearms
8 :
Harrisons Ghost gave good info Fl has decided that the sterile area (the area that you are prohibited from being armed) extends to the passenger area of the airport including the areas beyond the check points You can't get to you bags anyway in Orlando until you are almost out the door to the parking area Wait till you are in your car till you holster up You are heading to the liberal anti gun section of our state
