Firearm Friendly Airports

[FunGunner]

From the amount of stories about flying with a firearm and the difficulty/ease in the process of doing so, wouldn’t an Airport friendly/unfriendly list be prudent, for the event that some of us have no other choice than to fly commercially.

So far in gathering information from other posts I found the following.

Unfriendly Airports,

Indianapolis, IN ***
John Wayne Airport, CA
Fort Lauderdale, FL
JFK, NYC
San Jose, CA*
LaGuardia, NYC


Friendly:

Nashville, TN
Atlanta, GA **
Orlando, FL
New Orleans, LA
Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN
Las Vegas, NV
Austin, TX
South Bend, IN
Springfield, IL
Seattle, WA
Tampa, FL
Sacramento, CA
Oklahoma City

* Denotes another count of Friendly/Unfriendly treatment at that Airport.

I know that this is an ever-changing list and I'll try to keep up with it, but any help or related accounts would help.

 

[Flyboy]

I didn't have any trouble at Oklahoma City last February. I walked up to the Southwest counter, bought a one-way same-day ticket with cash, and declared my pistol. The gate agent checked it, I walked over to the screener, he checked it, we locked it up, and I went on my way. Surprisingly, well, not-unfriendly.

Yes, I got screened--hard--at the gate, but I guess I set off every possible flag (including the white-male flag).

 

[El Tejon]

I've never had an unfriendly encounter at Indianapolis and I've been flying with guns out of Indy for decades.

I did have a TSA guy in Indy last summer unload my carry mags in my range bag. He said that "it's no big deal here, but they would yell at you in Texas" (I was TR bound into Austin).

 

[Telperion]

The problem lies with airline and TSA employees who don't know the laws and regs, and who have some Pavlovian-conditioned response to the word "gun". It seems your experience will differ widely depending on who you interact with:

When I flew from San Jose to Sigarms in NH, I told the ticket agent I was flying with a firearm. He leaned forward and in hushed voice asked, "Is it in a locked box and unloaded?" I said yes, then he had me sign the slip and put it in my bag. Done.

On the return trip from Manchester, they had me wait for some TSA suit, who made me dig out the pistol from the suitcase and prove it was unloaded, while watching over the event with a look of alternating confusion and horror.

 

[Cazach]

A different world

In South Africa they have dedicated "Firearms unloading lounges" in the airport.

Made me feel all warm, fuzzy and homesick inside.

 

[Sistema1927]

Both Albuquerque (ABQ) and Orlando (MCO) have been "firearm friendly" for me.

 

[Deavis]

I've never had an unfriendly encounter at Indianapolis and I've been flying with guns out of Indy for decades.

I did have a TSA guy in Indy last summer unload my carry mags in my range bag. He said that "it's no big deal here, but they would yell at you in Texas" (I was TR bound into Austin).

I second this since I had almost the same experience and I made the trip between the two cities in November. The only thing I didn't like in Indy was waiting for the desk clerk to nervously say, "I think they are done with it by now, besides, we know where to find you if we need you." In Austin, my bag went right up to the front, through the scanner, and the operator gave me a thumbs up himself.

There was a cop in Indy walking by as I unstrapped my holster, then my magpouch, and put them in the case next to the weapon. (I had quickly placed it in the case as I arrived from my holster) Not a word from the cop or the clerk even though I felt bad since I didn't have anywhere else to pack it up except the restroom and I didn't want to do it in there. It would be sweet to have a "Steel Club" right next to the "Platinum Club"

 

[ScorpioVI]

Chalk up another BAD experience at San Jose for me.

This was November of 2001, so things may have changed since. I wasn't even flying, I went to the airport to pick up my brother who was flying in from Chicago. Since this was Sunday, and the night before I was shooting a Saturday Night Action Pistol event, I still had my guns/gear in the car. I didn't think much of it since I wasn't going to bring the guns into the airport anyway, but I didn't know they were checking cars going into the parking structure for bombs and explosives and stuff.

So the security guys mirror my car, then ask me to pop the trunk. The dude checking the trunk saw the range bag and cans of ammo and just about shat himself. Went into panic mode, called SJPD. Two SJPD officers come over, thankfully they were much more professional than the rent-a-cops, ask me a few questions, verify that I'm not a bad guy, and told me that I can't park at the airport with the guns in the trunk. I had to drive a mile away, park at an office lot, walk back to the airport, meet with my brother, lug all his crap back to the car.

The best part is, there was another pistol in the car that they never spotted.

 

[fulloflead]

Telperion says:
The problem lies with airline and TSA employees who don't know the laws and regs, and who have some Pavlovian-conditioned response to the word "gun". It seems your experience will differ widely depending on who you interact with...

Absolutely correct. A year and a half ago I did a trip to Alaska with a handgun by this route:

Denver - St. Louis - Ankorage - King Salmon (and back again 10 days later)

I had to recheck luggage in Ankorage each time. EVERY SINGLE TSA person I came in contact with tried changing the rules on me. It's a good thing that, before I left, I went to TSA'S website and printed out the regulations and carried them with me everywhere I went. Though, it didn't prevent them from TRYING to screw with me each and every time.

 

[stevelyn]

Never been screwed with in either Anchorage or Fairbanks. I did butt heads w/ AK Airlines manager in Barrow once who tried to tell me a locked hard handgun case had to be locked in a hard shell suit case. I got a copy of the regs in Fairbanks, highlighted the pertinent sections and carried them with me when I flew. The Barrow manager had her copy flung on her desk upon my return.
I mostly travel on the commuter lines now and very rarely fly with major air carriers unless absolutely necessary. The commuters don't really make an issue about firearms since most of the people who fly with them here are regular customers.