Question for those of you who have traveled through Amersterdam to SA. I will be flying NW out of Detroit and KLM out of Amsterdam to Joburg. I will attempting to check luggage and guns straight through. Will I need to claim guns at Amsterdam customs and re-check? I realize I will need the Dutch customs forms. If I check guns and luggage all the way to Joburg when and how will the forms be used? Does anybody have a completed Dutch custom form I could look at?

Thanks

Do you have a travel agent? If not, why not?

I know personally of someone who just got in a giant screw up because KLM was not notified AHEAD of time that the passenger would be traveling with guns. Whether this would apply when changing flights or not, I don't know. Whether it would apply with checked through luggage, I don't know either.....that's why you use a good travel agent.

I use Kathi Klimes.

No- I do not use a travel agent. This will be my fourth safari (first time through Amsterdam). I also travel a lot internationaly (Europe and Asia) and have never used a travel agent. I am using NWA frequent flier miles for this trip next June and I am wondering why the Dutch custom forms are required when checkin bags all the through to SA

Willis,
Sent you a pm

Kathi,

replied to you PM

All I know is this I'm leaving next week on my first trip to Africa ticketless and my first trip through Amsterdam. There is something on the end of my itinerary that says I'm preapproved for firearms.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
All I know is this I'm leaving next week on my first trip to Africa ticketless and my first trip through Amsterdam. There is something on the end of my itinerary that says I'm preapproved for firearms.

lavaca:

That probably covers it, but if you're flying KLM I'd check with my travel agent (unless it's Kathi in which case, no worries) just to be sure they've specifically notified KLM that you will be flying with firearms. One person's TA did not notify them and he was refused boarding, he lost a day off his trip, not to mention the hassles.

I just came back from Tanz and Kenya, both ways through Amsterdam, although going there was a 2 day stop. If you are just connecting in Amsterdam with a layover of a few hours and won't otherwise be collecting luggage, you may have a slightly different procedure, but in any case, when you arrive and the Customs guys do a passport check at the gate, I would tell them that guns are being transferred and offer to show the consent form to them at that point.
You should note that although NW policy is that guns and ammo can be in same case, this is not KLM's policy and they should be in separate bags and ask whether NW should mark the bag with the ammo as again this is KLM's policy and this is not something you would normally do in the US. When I got to Amsterdam my procedure was different, as I took the guns and ammo directly to the KLM baggage office and was advised to put the ammo in it's own bag which could be checked (which almost came back to haunt us).

When then went to customs, sans the guns and ammo, and I told customs we had guns and the checked the Consent form, contacted KLM to note that the guns were there, etc. and then came back and said everything was cool I asked whether I needed anything special on the transit back and they said "NO" it was all handled. However, when I arrived in Amsterdam on the way back, I told the customs guy checking passports at the gate that I had guns being transferred through that had been checked on the way out and they simply said, "no problem", it's all fine.
I should have left the ammo in my "hunting bag" with the rest of my gear and left it with KLM, instead of taking a "small duffel" to put the locked ammo box in. When you leave Amsterdam, they check the gun case and the ammo case directly from the baggage office when you are checking in upstairs. Since KLM policy on flights from Amsterdam to Africa is only 2 free pieces of luggage, even in Bizz class, I would have had to pay for an extra bag, had not I been traveling with my wife and kids and between us we kind'a fit the two bag limit. I say kind'a because we were also carrying three large Safari Care bags full of clothes, soccer balls, uniforms, etc. for schools in Manyara and Arusha and they wanted to charge us $225 for each of them as excess luggage, since we had not precleared them as humanitarian before the flight. After a lot of talking to supervisors and others, we were able to get them through, by combining two of them into one and convincing them that we had gotten screwed on the bag limit, since one of the checked bags (the ammo) was small and only weighed 11 pounds. It seems they were much more concerned about the number of bags then their weight, which is interesting. Anyway, all's well that end's well.

Amsterdam is painless if you have the proper paperwork filed with Customs prior to arrival. I faxed mine ten days prior to departure and then called them an hour later and they confirmed receipt. Things were cool going through both ways. The Dutch are very efficient. The TSA could take some lessons from them on airport passenger screening.

quote:

You should note that although NW policy is that guns and ammo can be in same case, this is not KLM's policy and they should be in separate bags and ask whether NW should mark the bag with the ammo as again this is KLM's policy and this is not something you would normally do in the US. When I got to Amsterdam my procedure was different, as I took the guns and ammo directly to the KLM baggage office and was advised to put the ammo in it's own bag which could be checked (which almost came back to haunt us).

As has been mentioned on here several times, you should note that NW's policy is a DOMESTIC policy and DOES NOT apply to international flights. INTERNATIONAL flight rules currently require the guns and ammo to be in SEPARATE pieces of luggage and that the ammo be inside a box such as a cheap metal cash box. As far as I know, you can carry the ammo inside a piece of luggage in it's container.

Gatorado,
You're absolutely right. The ammo was already in a separate box in one of my checked bags. The "luggage" problem arose because when I got to Amsterdam I took it out of that luggage and put it in a separate small duffel which then held just the ammo, thus creating another piece of luggage. I should have just left the whole other bag with the ammo and the other stuff with them, which is what I will do next time.

You can get the Amsterdam form off the Hunt Report or off the internet. This must be faxed to Amsterdam along with copies of your Customs forms for your guns and a copy of your passport about six weeks before you go. You need to fill out two copise of the Amsterdam form. 1 for going out and 1 for coming back. They will fax you back an acceptence. You show this to Northwest Airlines when you check in. Or you can contact the neitherlands Embassy. Let me know if you need more info?

Thanks to all who responded