Despite restrictions, guns still allowed in checked bags

.dfw.com ^

[NittanyLion]

Until Wednesday, passengers were randomly selected to have their checked bags searched for possible explosives at the ticket counter. But now, all luggage will be screened by an X-ray machine, checked mechanically for explosive residue or manually opened by a TSA employee who will search the suitcase outside the passenger's view.

A news report here in Philadelphia claimed the X-ray search of one passenger's one bag took 10 minutes, and revealed nothing. I sure hope there's a steep learning curve, and 10 minutes quickly becomes two.

Regardless, this is yet another reason to drive wherever possible. What a pain in the ***.

[Just another Joe]

I'll be flying on the 5th.
I'll try to keep a record and let everyone know how it goes.

[xsrdx]

>BANG

[xsrdx]

National in DC has screened all checked bags for explosives since mid October - hasn't been a problem, except you have to allow an extra few minutes to check in.

It takes them about 30sec to screen each bag unless they have an issue with the contents. Training and time will speed up the process for airports that just started.

Banning guns, knives etc. in CHECKED BAGGAGE would cut air travel in half overnight, the industry would not support it.

[NittanyLion]

I'll be flying on the 5th. I'll try to keep a record and let everyone know how it goes.

Good luck. Will you be waiting in long lines to check your baggage or stuffing everything in a carry on and hoping it doesn't get searched (as you'll never fit it all back in)?

[xsrdx]

Training and time experience

[discostu]

But was it a serial 10 minutes or a parallel 10 minutes? Were any other bags processed through that machine in the 10 minutes? That's what counts.

[Just another Joe]

I'll be waiting in lines to check some baggage. I can't go on business for a week and fit everything I need in a carry on.

[NittanyLion]

But was it a serial 10 minutes or a parallel 10 minutes? Were any other bags processed through that machine in the 10 minutes? That's what counts.

According to the news station, it took 10 minutes to process one bag - no others were scanned in that time. I'm sure there are multiple scanners operating, though. I haven't seen the setup yet, as I avoid checking luggage at all costs.

Of course, this is all subject to a media report. I can't verify one way or the other.

[Intimidator]

I don't have a problem with guns in the cargo area. If I go hunt Moose in Maine and have to fly I have to take my rifle with me somehow.

[discostu]

Yeah this is a good example of why we should never trust the media, too many unanswered questions. How long was processing before? What part of process were they measuring (counter clerk to on the plane, or just the x-ray)? Were other bags in process down the same path during this 10 minute period? Seems suspiciously like reports that this Christmas was the worst in 30 years, when in fact it simply had the lowest GROWTH in 30 years (but still growth, not decline).

[VRWCmember]

If I go hunt Moose in Maine and have to fly I have to take my rifle with me somehow.

A Møøse once bit my sister...

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Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

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We apologise for the fault in the replies. Those responsible have been sacked.

[HiJinx]

Some airlines also ask for proof that the gun is unloaded.

Remember, the last line of an article is one of the most important...

Does anyone remember the DFW incident shortly after 9/11? A traveler was checking a rifle, and the ticket counter clerk asked if it was unloaded. The traveler replied, "He!! yes, it's unloaded, see...?" And he confidently pulled the trigger, sending a round across the lobby, through a planter, and through the plate glass window into the parking lot outside.

Oops!

[ladtx]

I have absolutely no problem with someone transporting a weapon in checked baggage. However, it is the height of stupidity to do it. Mainly because it's a good way to lose your weapon. After traveling over the holidays and seeing the way one bag arrived in the baggage claim area with one corner ripped open, it's too easy to come up light on the other end. My wife has a friend who had some expensive perfume in checked baggage and when she got home the bags and clothing were all in one piece but the perfume was gone. Word to the wise, don't put anything in checked baggage you can't afford to lose.

[society-by-contract]

Firearms have never been permitted inside the passenger cabin, except when carried by law enforcement officers.

Prior to 1948 to law or administrative (fiat) regulation existed prohibiting passengers from carrying firearms on airplanes. Of course even today wealthy folks who own or lease planes can bring firerarms into the cabin.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Theft is a particular concern with the new TSA policy that checked bags should be left unlocked. There will probably be a new market for suitcases with internal plates and cables that secure a gun case to the suitcase frame.

Keep in mind that there is $2500 insurance per bag. On a recent trip where I declared a handgun in a checked bag, I had pre-prepared a receipt for the gun, which the ticket agent signed, indicating that they required me to keep the suitcase unlocked.

We also left our bags locked anyway.

[jriemer]

"Keep in mind that there is $2500 insurance per bag. On a recent trip where I declared a handgun in a checked bag, I had pre-prepared a receipt for the gun, which the ticket agent signed, indicating that they required me to keep the suitcase unlocked."

Lost luggage insurance varies widely by desitantion. On all domestic flights, the luggage insurance is $2500USD per bag. On overseas flights, US airlines are only liable for $9.07 per pound up to a maximum $640USD per bag.

If you are re-imbursed by the airline for a lost bag on an overseas flight, that baggage insurance payout really doesn't cover the cost of replacing lost clothing and other essential items while on a business trip or vacation. Most likely, you will have to purchase new stuff in-country on your own dime, thus gaining more respect and admiration for your favorite airline.

jriemer

[etcetera]

On Christmas Day 2002, I transported a S&W Model 66 .357 through Hawaii airports legally, with ammunition packed separately (all in locked, checked baggage and declared).

The airline counter clerk filled out the requisite forms which I had to place inside the ammo luggage, and the bags were tested by TSA personnel for explosive residue (duh!).

There are no new rules for taking firearms through airports.

[July 4th]

A relative sent three rifles through a couple of months ago. No problem, he said. Extremely easy to do. But he also said that three other people in line were checking rifles as well. (Deer hunting season in WI). I don't see airlines banning this practice. The feds would have to do it, and the airlines would be pissed.