Delta Airlines: Handgun In Checked Luggage Experiences?

[msmp5]

Does anyone have any recent experiences with checking a handgun in checked luggage on Delta Airlines flights? I usually fly JetBlue, Alaska and American, and have never had any issues. But an upcoming domestic USA trip might require me to fly via Delta. So if you've had any recent experience with how they (Delta Airlines) does it, please feel free to share it! Thanks.

 

[Frank Ettin]

Not really a legal question, so I’m moving this to General Discussion.

 

[GarrettJ]

I fly Delta most often, as they are the largest carrier at my nearby airport.

I've had no issues with them. Procedure seems pretty standard across all of the carriers any more. I see some variation in the TSA / baggage check, depending on which airport I'm at. But that is an airport thing, and not an individual airline thing.

Two items of note specific to my flights with Delta:
1. The last couple of times I've flied, I received my gun case with a big zip tie wrapped around it. Extra insurance so the case wouldn't pop open? And they don't always do it. Sometimes they zip tie on the trip out, but not on the trip back. That's fine, except the pocket knife I would normally use to remove the zip tie was also in the case.
2. Delta usually does not send my case out on the baggage carosel. I usually have to pick it up at the baggage office & show ID. I'm okay with that. A recent flight on another carrier sent my case out onto the carosel.

 

[msmp5]

I suspect the zip tie is essentially the same as telling all the airline employees (including the baggage thieves) that there's a gun inside. GarrettJ, when you say "Delta usually does not send my case out on the baggage carosel.... are you talking about an obvious gun case, like a rifle case? Or did they send your regular normal looking suitcase, with checked handgun inside, to the Baggage Office? Also, for late night arrivals, I've sometimes found the Baggage Office at various airlines to be closed. What then?

 

[Old Dog]

So, flying out of Detroit Metro ... informed the Delta counter clerk I needed to declare firearms (two pistols) in my checked baggage ... had approximately 35 or 40 people behind me in line.

Clerk loudly asks: "So how many guns are you traveling with, sir?"

Yep, one of those moments. Lots of heads and ears perked up, fer sure.

However, DTW doesn't make you accompany your checked bag with gun(s) over to another TSA checkpoint to have you show them your gun(s) and run sniffer swabs over your baggage (inside and out) like Sea-Tac (Seattle-Tacoma) does.

Never any problems with Delta otherwise. United, Alaska also good to go (never issues), and I fly a lot.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

There's some airport differences, too, I think, but my experience flying in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul and Orlando was similar to that of others. The zip ties are a thing, which was super annoying because of course my knives were in the same checked baggage. I think this is because of that MCO shooting a couple years ago in the baggage claim. You have to wait a bit to pick up your luggage rather than it going on the carousel, which is a mixed blessing. Sometimes you have to wait for a police officer to come check your gun. Overall Delta people know what they're doing.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I haven't had my bag zipped tied yet...mostly fly Southwest or Alaska...but talked to some folks who have.

My understanding is that when they zip tie it, it marks it for special handling; they also do it for other high value items. That means that when it comes off the plane it is supposed to be hand carried to the Luggage Claim office. If that piece of luggage gets "lost", someone is going to lose their job.

FYI: If you don't know how to easily break a zip tie, look it up on YouTube

 

[GarrettJ]

GarrettJ, when you say "Delta usually does not send my case out on the baggage carosel.... are you talking about an obvious gun case, like a rifle case? Or did they send your regular normal looking suitcase, with checked handgun inside...

I don't ever put a gun case inside a regular suitcase. I go the complete opposite direction. I use a large, heavy Pelican case, even when I'm bringing a small handgun. My large case is not an obvious "gun" case. It looks more like an equipment case (I think it's a model 1720). But I'll put a handgun in there, along with my clothes, laptop, and other stuff.

Think of it this way: the airline does not track your case. They track the tag on your case. So say you lock your blaster in a pistol case, and hide that inside a suitcase. Now if your suitcase breaks open in Atlanta when you're changing planes and the gun falls out, they have no way of knowing that. They don't know if your gun case walked off at your departure airport, at your layover airport(s), or at your destination. All the airline can tell you for sure is when and where the tag was scanned.

So I want the tag on my actual gun case. I'll use a gun case to carry my luggage. Not a luggage case to carry my gun.

To 9mmepiphany's point, the zip tie does not signify the case for special handling. But they do have ways to do that too. Delta has a "CAGPT" code, which stands for "Check And Give Protection To" (yes, I just looked that up). They used to put a big sticker on the case. In recent years, it is just printed on the luggage tag. But as noted above, it means they pay more attention to it as it is handed off from one place to another. They also make you pick it up at the luggage office, and not at the carosel, where anyone could grab it. Those usually get there after the carosle luggage is all dropped off, so it takes a little more time at your destination. I find the trade-off is worth it vs. the risk of your gun walking.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Thank you.

I'll be finding out how American Airlines does it in April when I head out to a match in TUC AZ

 

[msmp5]

GarrettJ, that’s good info, thanks. I guess I’ll give Delta a try. I never travel with a favorite or valuable handgun anyway, I guess if they lose it they can just buy me a new one.

 

[IlikeSA]

I have flown Delta to Atlanta, Denver, and Miami. All have been good experiences. I locked mine in a handgun case in a black samsonite lockable suitcase. You have to check it in at the check in counter inside, not out, and, at least in my experiences, a porter takes your bag to the TSA area. They check it, and let you watch them send it on its way. Mine have always been at a separate area rather than the carousel, which I am happy to see. Sometimes it is there faster than the carousel (Atl, Mia). At times it has been slower (DIA).

It's had a zip tie on it the past couple of times. My theory on that is that it is to "prevent" a shooter from accessing his gun before leaving the airport. There was an airport shooting at Ft Lauderdale a few years ago where the shooter flew in from Alaska, I think, and shot a bunch of people. That's my theory at least. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale_airport_shooting

 

[dh1633pm]

I was at the Syracuse Airport checking in at the Delta Terminal and there were about 9 Army Dog Handlers Dressed in Civilian Clothing. I watched as one opened his hard case at check in. There were about 10 mags, two M9's, and one M4. He had a beautiful German Shepard as well. They didn't fly on my flight, but they seemed to process right through the line.