Anyone taken their rifle on an interstate jaunt with Qantas lately ? Spoke to them about a visit to Darwin in September and they said that as long as the firearm and bolt aren't in the same case and I haven't got more than 5kg of ammo then I could just check my baggage in as per usual procedure . Sounds too easy ! An article in "Sporting Shooter" last September made it sound a bit more involved .
Looking for some first hand experience as don't need a hassle at the airport .

Apparently qantas are pretty good about this sort of thing,when the ipsc shooters went to Perth last month from Darwin there were no hassles. Dont try this with virgin though.

contact the Quantas'' Manager of saftety standards and dangerous goods compliance'' in your state. You need an Approval on domestic flights and international to carry firearms and ammo ,some of the people working for the airlines have absolutely no idea what is required and are bloody hopeless ,better to sfe safe and have the approval

Yes you need prior approval to bring a firearm or ammo in your checked luggage. This is easy and they send to you a fax or letter giving approval. Otherwise it is straight forward.

I travel between nz and aus annually and get written airline approval .
Get a letter from Qantas , and keep copies of any correspondence and carry them with you .Produce your letter of authority at check-in and dont accept the word of the check-in counter attendant . If you are having difficulty with the attendant ask to speak to their supervisor . Do not get angry , be courteous but do not be fobbed off . If you have airline authority in writting then they cannot refuse you travel.
Check-in early so you have time to sort any difficulties without the stress of a nearly departing flight . Did I mention dont get angry ?
Pack your firearms and ammo as per the airlines requirements .If you dont know what the requirements are then ask for them in writing in advance . It may seem stupid to you , but they do call the shots , literally , so you have to play their silly little games.
Above all , stay cool , ask for the supervisor , explain the situation as many times as it requires , and avoid being agressive because airlines have the right to not accept aggressive passengers....
Having spent time with airport security people extracting myself from a potentially awkward situation over ammo and international flights I can assure you it is easier to get it right before you leave home....and stay cool...

You must have written authority to carry firearms and ammunition as checked baggage with Qantas. This has been in effect for quite a number of years now.
The chap to contact works out of the Dangerous Goods dept of qantas in Sydney - Laurie Willoughby.
If you travel regularly with firearms as I do then you can obtain a permit for the calendar year. You must produce a copy of this permit at each check in.
The ammunition must be packed in a separate bag to the firearm [bolt removed or action broken down]. ammunition to be in manufacturers packaging or MTM type containers.
Good advice to check in early and watch the overall weight limits as they are starting to crack down on excessive weight courtesy of Virgin's policy to charge for anything over 20kg.
APB

Thanks all . Thought it all sounded a bit too easy when I spoke to the Qantas people . Mind you , I got the same (evidently wrong) story from 2 different staff members and one of them works in dangerous goods compliance . Sounds like a bit of staff training is in order .

Bushchook,

have sent you PM.


cheers cc

What if you wanted to take more than 5kg of ammo ??

You know I wonder it would be better to send your firearm by courier (insured of course) with your ammo to your hunt destination or a firearm shop before hand ??

quote:

You know I wonder it would be better to send your firearm by courier (insured of course) with your ammo to your hunt destination or a firearm shop before hand ??

I think you have to send it Aust post by law registered mail and they don't let you send ammo

Couriers with a a dangerous good licence can send explosives........or ammo which is perfectly safe and safer than most of the crap getting carted around on the back of semi's.

PC - the 5 kg per person is an IATA ( International Air Transport Assn or suchlike ) rule that applies to all airlines. If you want to carry more than five kgs then take your missus and put the surplus in her suitcase . The parcel can not contain more than 5 kg of small arms ammo, and you cant put both lots in one suitcase , one each please .

quote:

Originally posted by PC:
Couriers with a a dangerous good licence can send explosives........or ammo which is perfectly safe and safer than most of the crap getting carted around on the back of semi's.

Yep, but they don't send DG cargo by air very much. It's far from simple. There are very strict packaging and labelling requirements [generally the specific containers used must be IATA approved, for the carriage of dangerous goods by air], and there's usually a hefty per shipment DG surcharge [e.g. $200 or so with TNT, for Class 8]. After all, you can't just pull a plane over to the roadside if something nasty starts happening. That's partly why it's on semis!

See the CASA site for some incidents and near misses....

Also, very few couriers will accept Class 1 [explosives] stuff for air transport. It's a specialist service, by the like of DGM, and generally can only use cargo aircraft. Doesn't come cheap.

There are well established reasons for ammo being classed as DG, safe though it is in normal circumstances.

The requirements for carrying it in accompanied luggage are much less onerous than for commercial shipments - we can think ourselves lucky, really.

Muzza is spot on aboout the quantity rules, too.

quote:

Originally posted by PC:
What if you wanted to take more than 5kg of ammo ??

You know I wonder it would be better to send your firearm by courier (insured of course) with your ammo to your hunt destination or a firearm shop before hand ??

Can't work if you are travelling overseas!
must be accompanied baggage to jump through all the licensing and import requirements.

CC ,
Have sent you a P.M.

PM sent

cc

Spoke with and emailed Laurie Willoughby at Qantas . He heads up dangerous goods compliance . Supplied a few details and had a letter of authority to carry ammo within 24 hours .
Firearms themselves don't require any special authority for Qantas domestic flights as long as they are in a locked case and the bolt is carried in a separate bag . Check them in as you would your suitcase .
Easy fixed .