Flying through Heathrow with Firearms now Forbidden, NOT

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Just saw this on the PHASA Facebook page for anyone planning on transiting through England.

 

[shotgungibbs]

Just avoid Great Britain if at all possible!

 

[wesheltonj]

Nothing on BA or Heathrow websites, yet.

 

[Gordonuk]

Is the above confirmed.

 

[Happy Myles]

Always avoid Britain airports when traveling to Africa with firearms. Always.

 

[Gordonuk]

What about if you are about to fly from the Uk to hunt in SA

 

[bowjijohn]

I'm getting sick and tired of living in this country

It is becoming more and more like East Germany with thought police, and ever more restrictions on personal freedoms !

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Is the above confirmed.

Dont think that Phasa would put something out that's not confirmed.

 

[SaintPanzer]

My understanding is that the reason for this is there is such a luggage backload, they do not want to risk firearms being left in unsecured areas. While I agree that sometimes rules are made to be restrictive, in this case, there's actually a bonafide reason...

The real question is when will this go away?

 

[WAB]

Why isn’t Gatwick having the same issues?

 

[Philip Glass]

This wont last but will cause much trouble for those with current travel plans. Just like SAA stopped carrying firearms then a month or so later started up again. It is due to short staffing all over the world. Too much welfare and no one will work!

 

[wesheltonj]

Why isn’t Gatwick having the same issues?

Gatwick is also having a luggage melt down too, with Easy Jet. Not sure where PHASA received their info from. But Scotland airports are not major travel hubs.

 

[GorgonStare]

I’ll admit my ignorance and flame me as necessary but is it possible to ship your rifles to the final destination so as to not have to fight the system? Granted there is risk involved.

 

[thriller]

I’ll admit my ignorance and flame me as necessary but is it possible to ship your rifles to the final destination so as to not have to fight the system? Granted there is risk involved.

Not sure about international but in the US I have seen it done to certain destinations. Never done it myself though

 

[JimP]

I’ll admit my ignorance and flame me as necessary but is it possible to ship your rifles to the final destination so as to not have to fight the system? Granted there is risk involved.

I believe that you would need to send your rifle to a importer and have a exporter do it from your side. I am sure that it would cost more than just renting a rifle at your destination.

Here in the US you would need to send it to a person that holds a FFL and pay what they would charge for the service.

 

[BRICKBURN]

They are having huge issues with baggage handlers / ground staff. I'd guess they don't want a firearm in this situation.

Airline ground handling shortage is now the constraint on Heathrow’s capacity – The number of people employed in ground handling fell sharply over the last 2 years, as airlines cut costs during the pandemic. We have been raising our concerns over lack of handler resource for 9 months. We estimate that airline ground handlers have no more than 70% of pre-pandemic resource, and there has been no increase in numbers since January. In the second half of June, as departing passenger numbers regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, we started to see a worrying increase in unacceptable service levels for some passengers; an increase in delays to get planes on to stand, bags not travelling with passengers or being delivered very late to the baggage hall, low departure punctuality and some flights being cancelled after passengers had boarded. This showed us that demand had started to exceed the capacity of airline ground handlers and we took swift action to protect consumers by applying a cap on departing passenger numbers, better aligned with their resources. Airline ground handler performance has been much more stable since the cap came into effect, and we have seen a marked improvement in punctuality and baggage performance. Heathrow’s cap is 50% higher than Schiphol, which shows how much better the airport and airlines have planned at Heathrow than our competitors. The cap will remain in place until airlines increase their ground handler resource.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I have attempted to contact LHR about this issue. If I get a response I'll let you know.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Just saw this on the PHASA Facebook page for anyone planning on transiting through England.

View attachment 479537

I had always planned to go hunting in the highlands. That would most certainly put a damper on it!

 

[Gordonuk]

Living in the UK. I have seen nothing to confirm the PHASA announcement.
Have just returned from SA from London with Firearms, it was a nightmare.
Both in London and when I departed SA

 

[Woodcarver]

I believe that you would need to send your rifle to a importer and have a exporter do it from your side. I am sure that it would cost more than just renting a rifle at your destination.

Here in the US you would need to send it to a person that holds a FFL and pay what they would charge for the service.

You can ship your firearm in the US to yourself, care of someone (like your guide, outfitter, or friend) who is where you are going. They take delivery, but aren't supposed to unpack it, you unpack and take possession when you arrive. When you are done hunting/shooting, ship it to yourself at your home. No FFL needs to be involved.
I don't think you can do it this easily if your destination is out of the country. In that case you would need an exporter and an importer's services.