Taking your sea fishing gear on flights

Hi All,
I have just started taking my gear with me on my travels:

Easy jet was first from edi to belfast international.

Gear= large 120litre holdal(Checked In) with boots, floatty 7 piece rod, all my rigs etc. telescopic aluminuium rod rest, clothing, headlamp, batteries loads of stuff
it weighed 21 kg with out my weights in it (20kg is the limit) then they charge you £5 per kilo after that they let me off with the extra kg.

Checked in my 3 piece penn rod in carrying tube (no extra charge).

Handbaggage
I had my laptop bag and a small rucksack with clothes (and weights/grippers)

When going through the security xray machines they stopped me and searched my bag as the grippers set the alarms off, but after heavy discussions they let me pass with them.
i also had one rig in the bag and a spool of leader.


On the return leg Belfast international to Edinburgh,

same thing at check in no problems no charges etc.

But on going through the security / xrays they all argued about the weights and the line i had put a spare fixed spool real in and 4 leaders they eventually let me through with the grippers but confiscated the line (aaaaaaarrrgggh) but due to the 15 minute weight and the slowest oldest bag checker in the world i missed my flight so my bags where unloaded so i had to go back to the check in, before that though i went back to the xrays and asked for my line back which they did give me.


Next week i am flying with the same gear but with BA to orkney, so will let you know how i get on there.

Epoch Sir, You have it rough... lol

Epoch Sir, You have it rough... lol

1 of those days, left site at 15.00 got home @ 23.00.

I brought a fair bit of gear to Australia last year. I stuck it all in the hold and had no problem. I had been warned not to take line or weights in the hand luggage.

Epoch,

I travelled to Tunisia last year with two rods, reels and a lot of tackle - no difficulties.

However - I did put all my tackle in my hold baggage.

If you put any tackle in your hand baggage, then the jobsworth security people will determine whether or not it could be used to assault/overpower cabin crew. If they can make that link - goodbye tackle.....

Best to place all in hold baggage mate.

GG

They wouldn't let me through with reels loaded with line at Dublin airport a couple of years ago: I could strangle someone withe fishing line! (That's what I was told!). I pointed out that I could also strangle someone with my tie or shoe laces, but this didn't mean that they confiscated everybodies ties or shoes. Actually, when I think of it, I could strangle someone with my bare hands...

Hi Neil

Nice one my son, like it! :D
Flying out next Sunday, Fuerteventura, everything is going into the hold.
Its not the customs and security people I'm worried about, its the wife!

Just kidding....

yeah, airport security has tightened up so much since 9/11 etc that you can hardly take anything in the cabin with you. on a belfast glasgow flight at christmas a guy had 2 remote control flying saucers(kids toys) as hand luggage and he had to argue for over a hour to get them on!!apparently because the remote had a trigger on it and he could have held cabin crew at gunpoint! :shock:
common sense should prevail in these situations i think.
or at least some kind of arrangement prior that you can go over your limit with weight in the hold if their is someone else with handbaggage only....as there normally is on domestic flights, then u could you their allowance! :wink:

Hi all.

I work for the dft at the city airport. And yes line is not permitted in the cabin. Also be careful with weights and hooks.

If anyone wants the regs on sports kit on flights pm me and i will send a copy of the dept of transports guild lines.

Only advice i can give is what you take with you may not come back. Yes next to USA we have the hardest rules for transport any were. But in some countries it depends on the day and as a different country they have say what goes on that day.
I have been told that some sports anglers in Spain and Norway having to bin all line,weights and hooks even as hold bags. so be careful could cost. In Kenya last year a group had to give up their rods. These are rare but you have no recourse if asked to do so. Get good rod insurance and even if only traveling to mainland travel insurance a must.

And don't listen to your check in staff it don't matter if its British airways,bmi or easy jet. If you get to security and the dft they have say and no one not even police can over rule them. They work for home office and the Aviation and Maritime Security Act (AMSA ) something worth reading before you go on A flight.

Flew back from Dublin to Warsaw today :cry: and Aer Lingus charged 25 Euro for the rod. I had accidentally left 2 packets of hooks in my backpack - which they confiscated at the security check!

I did take your advice on the rest of the gear though, so the reels, line weights etc were all in the hold.

Cheers,

Ian

Should have put some lug on them. That would teach them. Warsaw minus ten this morning Ireland plus ten.

thats mad :lol: :lol:

-10 and snow! God forsaken place!!

Does anyone know what they think you are going to do with hooks on a plane? I know they are sharp and pointy, but so is a pencil!

iam back at work tomorrow fri after being off i will post the rules for all to read and pm to people that have asked.

yes the rules are ambigous there are no reasons why an object has or does get on the list but once there the staff have no opion but to take.

hooks get me all the time i let them go as its the searchers role to build up a profile of person and i say they are anglers but some say hooks can be used as a weapon. watched a video were dude was being held with a hook to the eye. daft as it is ... but items like bungie cord and some kind of tennis bats are aloud but some are not. go figure.

dft makes rules but sometimes dont think them out

What about a sharpened pencil held at the throat? or a glass, ceramic, rigid plastic knife taped to the forearm? Wire from an underwired bra? Neck tie, shoe laces, belt, a stocking (much better than tights!) There is no limit to a terrorists imagination - we'll be boarding naked before we know it....

now hears a fact that not many might know...

most airlines transport all competitive sports equipment free i.e. no limit, this includes every thing from olympic sports to football equip, surf boards ect,ect.

the only thing is with fishing equip, it's not recognised as a competitive sport..

but i know of a couple of cases where when getting the equiptment cheked in, the check in girl didnt realise this was the case, and the other one was persuaded in believing that it was a set of golf clubs going to the masters in the U.S.

so if you can talk the hind legs off a donkey youshould have no problems

Mmmm......8 foot golf clubs?

:roll: :lol:

Having had all the issues of line confiscated, leads thought to be bullets and so on, when I flew cheapo Southampton - Belfast for a comp I had a thought. Rather than pick up £4.25 a kilo excess baggage, 'sports equipment' is discretionary for carriage, etc, I went deeper inot the airport and found an air freight company and explained my problem. Brilliant. 30kg of kit (everything for a couple of days match incl bait), three rods, tripod, beach shelter = £21.25 air freight incl xrays, insurance, collect at Belfast, it went on the same flight as me but because it had a certificate of inspection it was no problem. This meant I could use my ordinary allowace for a spare pair of undies. Just had to organise it a couple of days in advance and turn up earlier at the airport on departure. As a result, people coming to comps we've arranged are now flying and air freighting rather than driving in the traditional works transit van, saving a fortune in time and money.

For use at belfast city airport the company if you wish to do it this way is.
menzies cargo if anyone has problems finding number iam can get them it.

Only problem with sending as cargo is that items can be delayed it is the first thing taken from a plane if over weight so if they can sell a seat they will before cargo goes so be sure leaving when you are. Planes are on a very thight weight limit as a small amount can cut into there cost as they need to take on fuel and so on.

I use same when i go to spain for a mnths fishing every year and never had this problem but have heard in work it can happen. on short haul flights it would be very rare but be aware it does happen.

I will ask the lads ar cargo as it is there area an see if i can find how often it has happened and post report.