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Confusion and misinformation
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A word of warning for all those flying Delta to Joberg and beyond. Delta told us our bags would be checked through Joberg to PE. RSA regs require that ammo be checked separately from your luggage. Also your luggage must be checked by coustoms in Joberg. Delta was either unaware of this reg or thought it did not matter. To make a long story much shorter our luggage with all the ammo was stuck in Joberg. Somehow and I do not understand all the machinations. Our luggage was sent to PE without going through coustoms and with my ammo still in the suitcase. Michelle KMG's Wonder Woman had to go to PE and with some kind of letter/permission slip she managed to rescue our luggage and ammo. Meanwhile I had to buy a change of clothes and find some 30/06 ammo that my old Ruger liked.everything worked out in the end, but DO NOT believe airline personnel when it comes to the vagarities of African travel. RSA coustoms never did inspect our inbound luggage. Jerry Hoover
 
Posts: 372 | Location: Round Rock,TX | Registered: 15 March 2005Reply With Quote
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Sorry about your issues with Delta. I've been given bad instructions by every airline I've flown at one time or another. That said, I am unaware of any country where the first port of entry is not where you go through the customs/SAPS-like process.

To my simple mind, Delta's misinformation is another reason to use a gun permit meet/greet service. Below is a post (with somewhat of a) warning of the SAPS requirement on domestic flights through JNB:

quote:
I've done both. I've been through Johannesburg more times than I have fingers and toes.... I have never had a problem either way (at least with SAPS), but I can assure you, if traveling with a newbie, having the permit in hand upon arrival makes a big dent into their normal African angst. There are some other issues a "Meet and Greet" can help with discussed below.

There is plenty of information on the internet of how to download SAPS forms, fill them out, etc. You need letters of invite, form 4457 and some other stuff, of course, and if you feel comfortable (and would feel comfortable fixing an unforeseen problem at the SAPS counter), more power to you.

All that said, here are a couple of places where "Meet and Greet" come in handy:

Any airline connections that require a fast turnaround to another international flight, i.e., airlines that have no baggage agreement with each other so you have to quickly get permitted in South Africa and then tote your bags to another airline.... same thing if you're trying to catch a domestic flight with a short layover.

And if your guns didn't make the cross-the-pond flight... what do you do? Travel on to wherever or have an experienced "Meet and Greet" company get your guns on the next plane when they finally arrive or do you just stay in Johannesburg and miss your connections???? .... Afton Guest House has found my bags the next day and got them on to Zimbabwe for me twice, btw.

So... If I'm staying in South Africa and being picked up by my P.H. at the airport, no "Meet and Greet", but if I have a short domestic or international connection (with no checked-through baggage service), have my wife or an inexperienced traveler with me or if I'm going to another country to hunt, I pay the money for piece of mind.

BTW, most services are in the $100 to $300 range.

Finally, I've been on Delta 200 when 70 or so guys were trying to get SAPS permits at the same time. If you are approved and your "Greeter" knows his/her business, you'll get out of SAPS in a few minutes instead of several hours (particularly when some nimrods show up with no 4457's, autoloading rifles, two guns of the same caliber, etc.)

So... I'm going back to Zimbabwe in April. I'll be met by Afton Guest House coming out of customs, will be escorted over to SAPS, they'll have my permit in hand, I'll pick up my guns without hassle, go get supper and a good night's sleep, have a eggs and bacon breakfast and talk to other African pilgrims about their hunts (done or incipient), ride Afton's van back to JNB, meet their associate/porter at the airport who'll make sure there is no hassle with SAA for the flight up to Vic Falls or with checking my guns... and be relaxing on the booze cruise by nightfall.

Big Grin



JudgeG ... just counting time 'til I am again finding balm in Gilead chilled out somewhere in the Selous.
 
Posts: 7746 | Location: GA | Registered: 27 February 2001Reply With Quote
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I second the use of meet and greet. We used Africa Sky and made it through SAPS easily. We did not become aware of the luggage problem until we arrived in PE. Michelle as stated earlier was able to retrieve our luggage without it ever going through RSA customs. I don't understand,but I got my luggage and my ammo without further delay. Jerry Hoover
 
Posts: 372 | Location: Round Rock,TX | Registered: 15 March 2005Reply With Quote
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I use the meet and greet religiously nowadays. However, I also have with me a printout (recent) of the airline's baggage regulations on firearms and ammo, along with those of TSA. This practice has come in handy on both sides of the pond in dealing with airline personnel who have limited experience with traveling hunters.

Meet and greet - yes. Meet and greet and airline regs in hand - yes PLUS !!
 
Posts: 742 | Location: Kerrville, TX | Registered: 24 May 2002Reply With Quote
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After 11 trips, I always use meet and greet - no matter what. It also helps to have a good travel agent book your flights that knows Africa.
 
Posts: 10413 | Location: Texas... time to secede!! | Registered: 12 February 2004Reply With Quote
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by JudgeG:
That said, I am unaware of any country where the first port of entry is not where you go through the customs/SAPS-like process.
[QUOTE]

I assume you mean when exiting the transient area of the airport? I've never had to go through customs (albeit I wasn't carrying firearms) when spending a few hours in another country, while waiting a connection to a third country.

Once in Japan, we had to go through Immigration and get a temp visa, because we missed our connecting flight and had to be bused to another airport for a new flight. As I recall we did not go through customs. The checked baggage was just loaded directly on the bus by airline employees and then reloaded on the new flight without having to be re-checked in.

BH63

As for Jo'burg, I will be using Afton House on my Sept trip though.


Hunting buff is better than sex!
 
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