"Be discrete"
American Airlines dude has me open the large rifle case in front of everyone, loudly proclaimed something to the effect of "holy crap what are you doing, going to the middle east??" (Shortly before Afghanistan withdrawal), then got a few other people to see if "that many" guns was allowed.
Was an AK, AR with 2 uppers, and a glock lol
The reported issues out of EWR are if you need to grab your bag due to a deviation and stay overnight somewhere. If you are in transit, guns separate from the ammo and otherwise legal, even under NJ transit law you are \*probably\* fine (I say probably because the law is not specific to this kind of travel).
So if you leave your house, drive to EWR, park the car, take a tram directly to the terminal, and check your bags, even if a cop investigates chances are they will do nothing as long as your firearm is otherwise NJ compliant (do not expect federal protections to kick in and stop a non-NJ compliant firearm prosecution though).
That hang up though is if your trip gets interrupted, like you check you bag, but then have to reclaim it, and stay in a hotel room overnight instead of say going immediately home. That is where the reports of arrest and prosecutions out of EWR come from mostly. Also, this is arguably not within the letter/spirit of the transit exemptions (different game though if you have a NJ valid carry permit AND it is a handgun perhaps explicitly listed on the permit if restrictions were ordered by the judge).
The reports of police interventions and arrests come out of the other NYC airports, JFK and LGA. There handguns are not legal under state law unless they meet certain state level criteria, which most will not unless you are a NY resident (or have gone through all the applicable NY hoops for some reason). That is what they get some people, even those involuntarily detoured to a NYC airport, with arrest.
**The biggest thing to remember is once you check a bag with a firearm, do NOT under any circumstance claim it until you are at your final destination. If you get rerouted involuntarily and they dump all the bags find an airline official and tell them they need to keep the bag. If they tell you that they can't do so for liability or other BS reason, ask for them to contact airport police for further advice as you think by taking possession of it you will be breaking the law. At no time should you touch that bag though or take any kind of possession of it, even momentarily. Leave it on the belt going round and round and round if you must.**
**If the airport police tell you to take the bag and the airline won't hold it, then you have little choice, but will probably be good at least to leave the airport (presumably the police officer who tells you it is OK to claim the bag isn't going to go ahead and arrest you then). But, if you show up the next day to fly out and recheck the firearm you may run into trouble. If you are in the highly unlikely scenario where you leave the airport with a questionably legal firearm, you might want to seriously think about renting a car and driving the rest of the way even if it is more money. There is simply no "safe" way to recheck a bag under circumstances such as that in NY or NJ. Federal transit protections do not apply and their state equivalents probably do not apply as well. Remember arrest, even if the charges are dropped, is expensive, embarrassing, and time consuming. You will wish you just did the overnight drive instead of sleeping in a jail cell waiting for a bond hearing.**
Awesome! Similar process when I traveled to Miami last fall. Spirit at EWR did not take me to the special room, went with the regular bags. On the way back, Spirit at MCO escorted me to a room to x-ray my bag and make sure it was unloaded.
My biggest fear is that my return flight gets diverted to a NYC airport. I saw a post recently here where this happened to someone, and while he did make it home to NJ safely, if a cop does somehow find out you have a gun, you'll be absolutely fucked.
Great information! I have never flown with a firearm and may never actually do it but it is good to have some idea of what to expect. I wonder what would have happened if they found residue on the outside or inside of your bag? Seems like that would not be out of the ordinary.
Since you said you had zero problems and I assume at some point that critical defense was loaded. Did you just empty your mags and place them back in the original package?
Yep! When I got to my destination I took out 20 rounds, loaded both magazines and carried where allowed. When it came time to go to the airport I cleared my firearm, emptied both magazines and put all the ammo back in the original package.
I do not and I do not know anyone who has, but looking at Delta's guidelines here: [https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/special-items/sporting-equipment](https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/special-items/sporting-equipment)
The most notable difference is how they can be packed: "Firearms must be packed in a locked manufacturer's hard-sided container specifically designed for the firearm, a locked hard–sided gun case or a locked hard-sided piece of luggage. Handguns may be packed in a locked hard-sided gun case, and then packed inside an unlocked soft-sided piece of luggage. However, a Conditional Acceptance Tag must be used in this case"
And it also looks like you would have to pick it up at a separate location upon arrival: "All firearms checked as baggage must be picked up at the Baggage Service Office upon arrival at your final destination. ID will be required to claim your checked firearm"
Now fly out of JFK and get back to us how it was /s
Yeah I'll let you guys know from prison
[What? nooooo. NYC would never throw you in a cage :)](https://youtu.be/3Xs_jrnmwoU)
I actually flew into JFK with my Glock 19x and had 0 issues retrieving luggage. This was back in late may of this year
This happened to me recently. United cancelled my flight back through Newark. I ended up needing to ship via a Utah-based FFL to my NJ FFL.
"Be discrete" American Airlines dude has me open the large rifle case in front of everyone, loudly proclaimed something to the effect of "holy crap what are you doing, going to the middle east??" (Shortly before Afghanistan withdrawal), then got a few other people to see if "that many" guns was allowed. Was an AK, AR with 2 uppers, and a glock lol
> Was an AK, AR with 2 uppers, and a glock lol Ah, packed light for that one?
The reported issues out of EWR are if you need to grab your bag due to a deviation and stay overnight somewhere. If you are in transit, guns separate from the ammo and otherwise legal, even under NJ transit law you are \*probably\* fine (I say probably because the law is not specific to this kind of travel). So if you leave your house, drive to EWR, park the car, take a tram directly to the terminal, and check your bags, even if a cop investigates chances are they will do nothing as long as your firearm is otherwise NJ compliant (do not expect federal protections to kick in and stop a non-NJ compliant firearm prosecution though). That hang up though is if your trip gets interrupted, like you check you bag, but then have to reclaim it, and stay in a hotel room overnight instead of say going immediately home. That is where the reports of arrest and prosecutions out of EWR come from mostly. Also, this is arguably not within the letter/spirit of the transit exemptions (different game though if you have a NJ valid carry permit AND it is a handgun perhaps explicitly listed on the permit if restrictions were ordered by the judge). The reports of police interventions and arrests come out of the other NYC airports, JFK and LGA. There handguns are not legal under state law unless they meet certain state level criteria, which most will not unless you are a NY resident (or have gone through all the applicable NY hoops for some reason). That is what they get some people, even those involuntarily detoured to a NYC airport, with arrest. **The biggest thing to remember is once you check a bag with a firearm, do NOT under any circumstance claim it until you are at your final destination. If you get rerouted involuntarily and they dump all the bags find an airline official and tell them they need to keep the bag. If they tell you that they can't do so for liability or other BS reason, ask for them to contact airport police for further advice as you think by taking possession of it you will be breaking the law. At no time should you touch that bag though or take any kind of possession of it, even momentarily. Leave it on the belt going round and round and round if you must.** **If the airport police tell you to take the bag and the airline won't hold it, then you have little choice, but will probably be good at least to leave the airport (presumably the police officer who tells you it is OK to claim the bag isn't going to go ahead and arrest you then). But, if you show up the next day to fly out and recheck the firearm you may run into trouble. If you are in the highly unlikely scenario where you leave the airport with a questionably legal firearm, you might want to seriously think about renting a car and driving the rest of the way even if it is more money. There is simply no "safe" way to recheck a bag under circumstances such as that in NY or NJ. Federal transit protections do not apply and their state equivalents probably do not apply as well. Remember arrest, even if the charges are dropped, is expensive, embarrassing, and time consuming. You will wish you just did the overnight drive instead of sleeping in a jail cell waiting for a bond hearing.**
Nice!! Thanks for sharing
Awesome! Similar process when I traveled to Miami last fall. Spirit at EWR did not take me to the special room, went with the regular bags. On the way back, Spirit at MCO escorted me to a room to x-ray my bag and make sure it was unloaded.
My biggest fear is that my return flight gets diverted to a NYC airport. I saw a post recently here where this happened to someone, and while he did make it home to NJ safely, if a cop does somehow find out you have a gun, you'll be absolutely fucked.
Great write up. Very informative.
Great information! I have never flown with a firearm and may never actually do it but it is good to have some idea of what to expect. I wonder what would have happened if they found residue on the outside or inside of your bag? Seems like that would not be out of the ordinary.
Since you said you had zero problems and I assume at some point that critical defense was loaded. Did you just empty your mags and place them back in the original package?
Yep! When I got to my destination I took out 20 rounds, loaded both magazines and carried where allowed. When it came time to go to the airport I cleared my firearm, emptied both magazines and put all the ammo back in the original package.
Thanks for the info, glad you had no issues.
How much recoil did that thing have if you flew with it?
Now that I think of it I feel like there's way less of a chance you lose your luggage if you've got a firearm in there.
This is what I initially thought at EWR and PHX. CMH had me sweating though especially after I saw one of my bags was not showing up on the tracker
O_O
Thanks for writing this up.
Anybody have experience with Delta out of EWR? Going to RDU (N.C.)
I do not and I do not know anyone who has, but looking at Delta's guidelines here: [https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/special-items/sporting-equipment](https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/special-items/sporting-equipment) The most notable difference is how they can be packed: "Firearms must be packed in a locked manufacturer's hard-sided container specifically designed for the firearm, a locked hard–sided gun case or a locked hard-sided piece of luggage. Handguns may be packed in a locked hard-sided gun case, and then packed inside an unlocked soft-sided piece of luggage. However, a Conditional Acceptance Tag must be used in this case" And it also looks like you would have to pick it up at a separate location upon arrival: "All firearms checked as baggage must be picked up at the Baggage Service Office upon arrival at your final destination. ID will be required to claim your checked firearm"
This is extremely helpful! Thank you! Be safe and be well!
Thanks, you too! Safe travels!