advise on bringing a rifle out foreign

daithi55

hi lads im in the middle of maybe organising a hunting trip to czech republic in may
im just wondering if aerlingus allow firearms on there flights
as im lookingg to land in prague from dublin
if not i can fly with luftansa but this means landing in germany first and getting a connecting plane
does anyone no if this causes much hassle ie in needing permission to bring a gun into germany for that short time etc
any info will be much appreciated
also does it take long to get an eu firearms pass

rabbit assassin

just got this off there Aer Lingus site as Im thinking of going to France to shoot wild boar later this year.


> Sport guns and ammunition cartridges will only be carried subject to certain conditions

Ammunition is limited to 5kg per passenger and must be packed in containers of Wood, metal, or fireboard with the contents protected against any movement.
Guns are to be dismantled.
They will only be carried in the baggage hold of the aircraft.
They must be packed separately from other baggage.
They must be available for inspection by security.
Ammunition on its own is limited to 5kg per passenger and must be packed in containers of wood, metal, or fireboard with the contents protected against any movement. It must be available for inspection.
They will be subject to a max baggage allowance of 30k including arms and ammunition.
All government and legal regulations must be complied with.
All documentation and licenses are the passengers responsibility.
Subject to an extra charge for the carriage of sports guns and ammunition.
*Note:
Only the licensed firearm owner may check-in a Sport Gun upon presentation of their valid Firearm License at check-in.
Sports Weapons/Firearms/Ammunition cannot be carried on Aer Lingus regional flights.

meathshooter1

daithi55 wrote: »

also does it take long to get an eu firearms pass

I find if you ring the supers office and tell them your needs they usually in my case do it the same day,you will need a photo as well and photo copy your licences front and back helps speed up the process ,theres no fee for a europass.also better dealing with the supers office than the public office,the process should take no more than a few days,(depending on your District)when you get you pass check the details, serial numbers,etc are right.

Grizzly 45

Lufthansa take firearms transportation very much in their stride and dont make a big song and dance about it.[So long as zer papers are in oder Ja?:D]
As do German airports.Once you have the EU firearms passport,your liscense,your passport and the invite for shooting in the Czech republic,they should treat it as a normal piece of transit baggage within the EU.
If you are breaking the flight in Germany and have to recheck in via the check in hall.They will call the police to give you an escort down to the main heavy baggage hall.The German police will want to inspect that the gun is unloaded and the serial number matches your EU firearms passport.
Dont worry about the lingo either .All the German police are fluent in English[have to be]:)
Ammo,keep it seperate from the gun in your checked luggage if you are taking it and you can take 5kgs of it as well.But you need the airlines clearence for it.
Best thing is to ring Lufthansa and book your flight over the phone and ask them what the story is with transit thru German airspace and airport.
All in all the Germans are a lot easier to deal with with firearms than most.

rabbit assassin

Was waiting 6 weeks for mine :mad:

LB6

6 weeks for a EFP? They're done in the station there and then, normally, if you can get the FO to be on duty when you call in. :rolleyes: Mine took 5 days including a weekend, a couple of weeks ago. Back in '07 got it back the same day.

rabbit assassin

LB6 wrote: »

6 weeks for a EFP? They're done in the station there and then, normally, if you can get the FO to be on duty when you call in. :rolleyes: Mine took 5 days including a weekend, a couple of weeks ago. Back in '07 got it back the same day.

6 weeks or just over that if I remember correctly ! We only have a "part time" station :rolleyes:

LB6

c'mere - I've 3 MAIN stations in this fine city and not one of them knew anything about EFP's. :eek: You've a reasonable excuse

Sika98k

rabbit assassin wrote: »

just got this off there Aer Lingus site as Im thinking of going to France to shoot wild boar later this year.

France does not allow any military calibers to be used in its country.

So your 308,30-06,6.5x55.8x57,7x57 etc etc cannot be brought into la belle France

Grizzly 45

Sika98k wrote: »

France does not allow any military calibers to be used in its country.

So your 308,30-06,6.5x55.8x57,7x57 etc etc cannot be brought into la belle France

ASFIK, you can posses mil calibres in France with proper liscensing and "good reason" as to why you need a specific military calibre...Its just the French dont bother,when you can get the same type of gun in a non military calibre with less paperwork. IE a colt 1911 in 10mm rather than 45ACP or a semi auto whatever in 300 win mag rather than 308. or a .222 rather than .223[which isnt military in the first place!]
So check that ,there might be a possibility of a temp import on a mil spec cal for hunting.

Sparks

Lufthansa are fantastic to fly with when carrying firearms. No muss, no fuss, very polite and efficient.
Aer Lingus have actually been fairly good recently as well, not as polished, but no confusion or panic which is a nice change

Some warnings, from bad experiences:

• Do not, if there is any option up to and including rowboats, fly KLM. Ever. Anywhere.
• If the person on the checkin desk has "Junior" anything on their lapel and looks in anyway confused at all about anything, ask (politely, because they're not being gits about it) if there's someone about who's dealt with firearms before who they could call. Don't be nasty - they're just starting off in the job and you've probably made their day a pain in their necks; but don't get burnt because they're only learning and the airline hasn't ensured they're properly trained, either.
• When checking in the rifle case, the charge is €40 normally each way (with Aer Lingus and Lufthansa and anyone else signed up to the sports baggage standard in the EU).
• Unless you are flying non-stop to your destination and non-stop back with the same airline (and if the flight is "in partnership with" someone else, you are *not * on the same airline - eg. to Amsterdam you'll be Aer Lingus out but KLM back), pay for the rifle case for both legs of the flight at the Dublin desk and get and check your receipt. Twice now I've been stung (once for €220, once for €245) for excess baggage because I didn't do that. And they tried it on a third time this year, but because of the receipts, I only had to pay the €40 instead of €180. And Luxair tried it last year as well, but they found their own mistake, told us about it and gave us this advice: The rule is that if you paid one airline for your ticket, the other airline has to honour that; they can't just charge you extra, because you have a contract with the first airline and they have a deal with that airline to honour that contract.
• Buy a Peli, Storm or SBS case (or an equivalent).Yes, it'll cost you up to €300. Yes, it's worth it - how much is a replacement stock for your rifle? Or a new scope? Baggage handlers come under "Act of God" in your insurance for a reason...
• Bumbags. Or small messanger bags (the kind you put 10" netbooks into). Get one, stick all your paperwork in there along with the stuff you want on the plane. You're allowed have one of these *as well as* your carry-on baggage and your check-in luggage, and they're incredibly useful.
• They'll tell you to get to the airport in plenty of time for check-in. They're not kidding. Two hours is the minimum you should allow (we ate up all of that coming through Schipol after Intershoot, and they were calling our name as we hit the gate). Three is maybe too much, but somewhere between two and three gives you enough time to get through and grab coffee after security and have enough time in hand to stay relaxed.
• If you have a coat, keep everything you need on you in its pockets in the airport, or in your bumbag (and that shouldn't be more than your wallet, your phone and maybe your car keys if you drove to the airport yourself - think of air travel with firearms as a mandatory exercise in minimalism ). That way, you can just chuck everything in the tray for the security scan quickly and retrieve it quickly afterwards. That won't matter if you don't have hassles at checkin - if you do, however, every second saved is less stress for you...

And I don't know how useful these may be, but they might be worth the read anyway: Notes for next time from matches shot abroad (mostly on logistics and such).

Grizzly 45

On a slight point RE KLM,and I know you had a ghastly experiance with them Sparks..Its not really KLM you need to avoid its SCHIPOL AIRPORT!

Last Nov I was almost in Sparks frame of mind,as on my annual trip in Nov to Germany/Hungary pheasnt shooting. They managed to lose my gun case not once but TWICE!!! :mad:Once going out,and once returning to Cork!

Reason for this is their absolutely ridicilous time slots they have for arrival and departing flights.You literally have less than an hour to cover a distance of est 2 mile plus with the hurdle of going thru security/passport halfway there as well. Last time I made the departure gate within five mins of closing.

Also on this point when you do get on the aircraft,ask the senior trolly dolly if she could check if the special cargo has been loaded [in a nice discreet way say firearm]They WILL be expecting it and it WILL be on the cargo manifest,as it has to be signed off by the captain.So they arent being put too much from greeting the self loading cargo ,and saftey instructions.

Unfortunatly due to the time slots they have to get out of Schipol,and because maybe it just happened to be Grass break:rolleyes:,neither times did my gun case make the flight.At least KLM crew and ground staff did explain this tactfully.

Didnt prevent me bollocking out on the return trip their security staff,as they said they "lost it between the Nurenberg and Cork airplane"!! Twice within a period of four days on the same flight,same passenger and item of cargo.Not to mind they were well aware of it arriving at least four weeks in advance.And had over two hours to deliver it to the delayed aircraft!!

In fairness it did arrive the next day in Nurenberg,with the TSA approved ,open with a special key that all airport security is supposed to have locks cut off!!:mad:

NOTE.. DO NOT buy gun cases with inbuilt locks!!At least if a security moron cuts off a lock somplace it is easier to replace than an entire gun case.Note too to airport security "experts" you dont have to cut off locks if you have an XRAY MACHINE to hand do ya???:rolleyes: Especially if you have the combo lock code as well??
Apart from having to deal with a non functioning [to foreign phones anyway] baggage update phone number in Nurenberg.

Cork was exellent on handling the lost gun on the return flight,as were the plain clothes Garda who went and checked personally the plane to see if no one had actually screwed up,as was Cork garda station that covers the airport,and almost sighed when they heard it was Schipol feckin up again!!So fair play to AGS Cork airport on that one!Aer Lingus popped it in a taxi!!:eek: and sent it up to me the next morning!

Also KLM on contact reimbursed me too for the broken locks as well within the week,and apologised profusely for the sloppy way this had been handled.
So TBH KLM isnt bad if you can avoid going from Schipol that is.Or maybe this year I'll try an early flight,take a day down in Amsterdam and go look at the "tulips and windmills";)and catch the evening flight to Nurenberg.Maybe that wil give them enough time to get it on the plane!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Buy a Peli, Storm or SBS case (or an equivalent).Yes, it'll cost you up to €300. Yes, it's worth it - how much is a replacement stock for your rifle? Or a new scope? Baggage handlers come under "Act of God" in your insurance for a reason...

HEED WELL THIS ADVICE! Mine on two seasons round trips Germany Ireland now looks like it has served out in Afghanistan!!!Having worked in airport security and behind the scenes at airports,you can be assured luggage is well booted about..Esp if it looks valueable or fragile!!

Sparks

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

On a slight point RE KLM,and I know you had a ghastly experiance with them Sparks..Its not really KLM you need to avoid its SCHIPOL AIRPORT

Schipol's definitely a pain if you're transiting through there, but this time round it was a terminus; and it works surprisingly well for that. The problem this time was purely KLM because it was only the checkin desk that caused problems.
Actually, the non-KLM staff we've dealt with in Schipol, like the baggage folks, the military police and the customs lads, were all friendly, professional, courteous, nice people, who got us through with the minimum of fuss and bother.

It's the bloody airline that made it a nightmare...

Also on this point when you do get on the aircraft,ask the senior trolly dolly if she could check if the special cargo has been loaded [in a nice discreet way say firearm]They WILL be expecting it and it WILL be on the cargo manifest,as it has to be signed off by the captain.So they arent being put too much from greeting the self loading cargo ,and saftey instructions.

We generally keep an eye on the baggage carts from the gate for that - firearms cases tend to be easy to spot
And unfortunately, if you don't see them, there's little you can do - they won't hold the plane for your bags

...KLM...

See, that was the only bit you had to say, and the rest followed naturally
I've flown with them on three trips now, through schipol and helsinki, and every single time the feckers have made my life miserable.

Lufthansa all the way for me from now on, any time it's possible. Even if it cost an extra few quid, the peace of mind is well worth it.

Grizzly 45

Sparks wrote: »

Actually, the non-KLM staff we've dealt with in Schipol, like the baggage folks, the military police and the customs lads, were all friendly, professional, courteous, nice people, who got us through with the minimum of fuss and bother.

By and large the Dutch are sound and dont get flusterd by much..But you would think in an international airport,wher I'd say firearms do cross the tarmac at least a few times a day with people transiting Europe/US/Africa etc.That you would dedicate maybe just one security offical to shift them from one aircraft to the other double quick.Especially if they have known it is comin in three weeks before ,on what flight,with whom,and what the time limit is between departure and arrival??I mean it not a load of ol knickers and socks that we are talking about if it should go missing!![They didnt arrive either going out or returning!:mad:]

We generally keep an eye on the baggage carts from the gate for that - firearms cases tend to be easy to spot
And unfortunately, if you don't see them, there's little you can do - they won't hold the plane for your bags

Very true on both counts..But a bit difficult to spot in the pitch black Nov night,a black peli case buried [usually]under a ton of black luggage.:(

See, that was the only bit you had to say, and the rest followed naturally
I've flown with them on three trips now, through schipol and helsinki, and every single time the feckers have made my life miserable.

I guess everyone has a bad airline.Me its Alitalia :mad:!! They are marginally better INMHO than limping to your destination with a leg full of bird shot!!

Lufthansa all the way for me from now on, any time it's possible. Even if it cost an extra few quid, the peace of mind is well worth it.

Couldnt agree more with you,unfortunately the dont fly from Cork or better still Shannon!:( Driving to Dublin is a pain in hoel especially the rippoff prices for parking!And then they would pitch me out in either Munich or Frankfurt,equidistant from where we live by two and a half hours by train[expensive and a PITA] or an inland flight of 30 mins at the price of the Ireland/Germany flight again.:eek::(While Nurenberg is all of a half hour down the Autobahn from us.