Restraints in Flight

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Generally, no need to make any claims; however, you make a living w/ your restraints, so do what you feel you must to make sure they are there when you arrive. Contact TSA and ask them for their offical policy or advice.

The TSA/DHS folks may chuckle when they rummage through your bag, but, they've seen it all and cuffs aren't what they are looking for. They may even leave behind a note to indicate that they rifled your bag (which will be obvious by the disarray). Personally, never had any problems putting them in a checked bag.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Cin, be careful I know someone who lost a lot their escape equipment in lost baggage, on a trip to India.

If you have a contact you may want to ship them so they arrive tandum to your arrival, if it is for a show and there is time add the cost of shipping to your cost.

I had a blue box broken just going to Canada so make sure they are secure in your suitcase.

Take Care,

Shawn

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Hey Y'All
Thanks for the advice. It is considered worthy!
Recently Palm Beach International Airport was closed for a couple hours due to a Magician (who they did not name) that did not claim his equipment and they freaked out not knowing what it was. Said planes stood on tarmac for a couple of hours. Vehicle traffic was a stand still up to 3 blocks. I know, I had to drive around them all ack!
I figured if TSA is THAT touchy,,,,well I better report what I have in restraints maybe.
Thanks again,
Cin

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

No need to contact TSA as long as you don't bring them as carry-on.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

As most of us already know, cuffs and other restraints can't be taken onboard as cabin baggage, but their SHOULD be no problem with it in your suitcase that's checked into the hold in the usual way.
As someone who travels UK/US at least a couple of times a year, I've never had any probs with the transatlantic sectors. However - on my last trip a few weeks ago, disaster struck! (Don't worry folks, cuffs OK, but suitcase wrecked). I had packed some hardware that I'd purchased in Georgia - travelling ATL/JFK with Delta (no this is one occasion when I couldn't blame them) - nearly didn't recognise my case as it came around on the carousel at Kennedy, covered in security packing tape and locks burst open!
Couldn't do anything about it there and then as I had to re-check my case for a connecting flight to London with a tight schedule. (I'd made the conscious decision not to check it straight through from ATL, as I wanted the reassurance of knowing it would be with me on the connecting flight - well, it was!).
I was furious all the back to UK - arrived home, opened my bag expecting the worst. What did I find - my immaculately packed belongings with no sign of disturbance - other than a very impersonal note from Uncle Sam:



and my cuffs were all in tact! (BTW, in case you need it, there's a Spanish translation on the back of the note!)
Yes I complained - correct, it got me nowhere.
I'll just pass on a bit of advice - don't pack your bags too tightly. Seems that it can cause the x-ray machines some problems if it can't see everything, and this can happen if there's too much packed inside. And it now seems sensible to take the advice that's generally given by the airlines - don't lock your bags.

Mike
Birmingham, England
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

it now seems sensible to take the advice that's generally given by the airlines - don't lock your bags

You can now get TSA approved locks. What that basically means, is that they have the keys. I use them, but just using cable ties or small screw shackles to secure the bags is probably as secure.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Well, if you are worried about checking them trough, and you are worried about "hiding" them in a carry-on, why not just wear them? (sorry, couldn't resist)

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Because they might insist on adding another pair to your collection.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Surely you mean add 'em to your wrists, buddy? lol

Mike
Birmingham, England
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

So insightful! Loosen up those trousers, Mike!

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Two quick stories. First, I returned from Australia 8/24/01,
weeks before 9/11. I walked through LA-X with a satchel with
19 restraints I had built with Ian while there. Lilies, Spoof cuff, Hamburgs, several "mini" cuffs, etc......
NO problem at all. Boy have things changed.

Second story, after last years EA convention in Ontario, CA.
I got to airport, checked luggage (with some cuffs, rare, inside), and walked to security with carry-on. I realized I had a rare cuff of Mark and Sheila Cannon's, a foreign
(Finish) Tower like cuff, and forgot I had it in my carry-on bag. I used a trick Sid Radner taught me. I stood it on it's edge and laid the bag down and sent it through X-ray.
They never even checked it. It just looks like a flat thin
strip of metal. There is no handcuff shape to it. Perhaps I was lucky, but I've used this several times, and so far, so good. Also, I always carry PR material on myself, and hope
that will help should I have any trouble.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Don't try to take handcuffs into the UAE (United Arab Emirites). They are illegal there. I was detained at security in Dubai in 2004 for about an hour. Had to leave them at the airport and pick them up on my way out of the country.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

John, regarding your story about standing the cuffs on edge, etc. I have traveled a good bit recently and have looked at some of the X-ray and imaging screen displays while they were in use and I wouldn't try your technique again unless you are confident that the image analyst will be asleep at the switch or unconcerned about cuffs on board. The images I have been seeing are 3D and colored to separate items by aspects of density, shape, and material content. It was especially easy to tell w/ metallic items exactly what was in the baggage. It might not be in place everywhere, but the imaging equipment I have seen lately is upgraded significantly from just a few years ago.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

Agreed Monica - the x-ray equipment at airports now is very sophisticated, certainly 3-D images that the operator can rotate and effectively see right inside the bag. The answer is - just don't try to carry restraint gear in your carry-ons.
Mine always goes in my checked baggage and I've had it opened several times - both in my presence and in my absence (see my earlier post about breaking open my bag). When it's been done with me present, never had any problems with the hardware I've been carrying. Let's face it, those guys (and women) on airport security must come across all kinds of gear when they are going through people's baggage - they've seen it all before!
But here's a simple tip for you - don't pack the stuff in your checked bags too tight. If you do, chances are the x-ray machine can't penetrate through a tight mass of clothing etc, and that's when your bag is pulled out for a manual search.

Hello
I was wondering about experiences that others here have had while transporting handcuffs and restraints while traveling with the airlines, especially from USA to Europe?
Should these Items be claimed at check in (?) is that necessary?
or just throw them in the case and hope they are there when ya get to the otherside of the pond?

Thanks
Cindi

I just came back from a flight and had a $1,200 pair of cuffs with me.
I took a gamble and sent my luggage away to be put on the plane.
I put the cuffs standing on their edge along with a few padlocks in my carry-on bag.
My sister was on standby in case it did not go through security and could mail them to me, but they went through with no questions. They immediately went into my front pocket for the duration of the flight back home.
Inside my luggage was a nice pair of Bean Detectives that I cuffed around the aluminum tubes inside the suit case. The tube contains the lift up telescoping luggage handle on the outside. I kept the key with me, so if some baggage handler tried to snag my cuffs, he would have to saw the two tubes apart or have a Bean key to open them with.
Needless to say, those cuffs made it home just fine too.

mark
O--O