 Poster: A snowHead
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I was a bit concerned (and confused) to read an earlier thread which said that ski boots are banned from hand luggage at Heathrow "and all other BAA Airports."
Stansted is a BAA airport and we flew from there last weekend with ski boots in our hand luggage, without any problems..... ????
My main concern is that we are considering a cat skiing trip to Canada next year and (given that we will be totally stuffed if our boots/luggage don't turn up) intended to travel with our ski boots as hand luggage. We are intending to book flights in the next couple of weeks and, after reading the earlier thread, daren't book a Heathrow flight to then run the risk of having our skiboots wrestled off us by a security officer.
Has any one travelled successfully through Heathrow recently with ski boots as hand luggage?
And if anyone has encountered problems, any idea why should ski boots be banned from hand luggage at LHR but allowed at Stansted (as well as non BAA airports like Teesside, Newcastle and Manchester)?
Not flying via LHR is going to limit our travel options next winter and possibly screw us on the cost of flights....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I flew to Vancouver from Heathrow recently you definitely could not take Ski Boots on aircraft as hand luggage. This rule seems to becoming standard at all airports.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nells & I took our boots through Heathrow in January. No problems at all (although we made sure that the bags were of the approved size/shape.)
This was with United.
Virgin wouldn't let me last year, but that's cause they were weighing hand luggage.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've travelled with ski boots in hand luggage through Heathrow several times over the last couple of years. Never had a problem. The last time I did it was March 2007, so things might have changed since then. Remember it's strictly 1 hand carry bag per person, that's what usually catches people out. But if you have to check your boots in, the chances of them being lost are extremely small. I certainly wouldn't use that as a reason not to fly out of Heathrow.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| Remember it's strictly 1 hand carry bag per person, that's what usually catches people out. |
No it's not - it's one plus a laptop/handbag at Heathrow
http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/controller/dispatcher.jsp?ChPath=Heathrow^General^Airport%20information^Security%20control&securityCountryGUID=fd2cb7b277c35110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____#
(Sorry, doesn't want to hyperlink for me)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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It's worth mentioning that airport security has it's own hand baggage restrictions (eg. limited size and number of items), plus individidual airlines have their own policies. So you have to check both the airport security and your airline policies. For example Air Canada allow 2 items of hand baggage, but most UK airport security will only allow you to take 1 item through security.
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| Wear The Fox Hat wrote: |
| uktrailmonster wrote: |
| Remember it's strictly 1 hand carry bag per person, that's what usually catches people out. |
No it's not - it's one plus a laptop/handbag at Heathrow
http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/controller/dispatcher.jsp?ChPath=Heathrow^General^Airport%20information^Security%20control&securityCountryGUID=fd2cb7b277c35110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____#
(Sorry, doesn't want to hyperlink for me) |
The laptop thing was always a bit contentious. Basically if you turned up at security with a boot bag and a laptop bag you would have had no chance of getting them both through. But you may have been ok with a laptop with no bag or one of those protection sleeves.
But it looks like they've very recently removed the 1 item only rule through security at Heathrow. So you're now more likely to be restricted by the individual airline policies, which can differ considerably.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 28-03-08 11:14; edited 1 time in total
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uktrailmonster, yes, I think it was the end of last year.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Thanks for all your replies - although the (pardon the pun) mixed bag of responses has left me somewhat confused. However, I'm quite heartened to see that some of you have managed to get boots on the plane at Heathrow, in contrast to those others who insist it's a total no-no.
Out of interest (UK Trailmonster) the "extremely small" chance (of losing luggage) that you refer to has, unfortunately, become reality for us on 4 occasions that we have flown Transatlantic - so we now expect not to see our luggage for 3 or 4 days on arrival across the pond and plan for that eventuality. But if the worst happened on a cat skiing trip (and we were skibootless) we could well be up the proverbial without a propelling/steering device. I think the luggage shenanigans we encounter perhaps have something to do with the fact that we usually need 3 flights to get from the frozen north to far flung places like Salt Lake City and Jackson Hole (and even Denver last month) and 2 flight connections are too much for the bags...
So, taking our skiboots (and other essential skiwear) as hand luggage has meant that, regardless of what happens to our checked-in baggage, at least we have been able to maximise the all important skiing time.
After much ado, I'm now thinking it's worth a try with the ski boots at good old LHR and would be interested to hear what the score is at Terminal 5 with BA in the future.
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John Crawford,
I think the important comments that you have made yourself.
1) That you are not going until next year. Things change quickly and often at the moment regarding what can and can't be carried as hand luggage, and could have altered several times between now and then.
2) If you are planning to travel with a carrier other than BA, what happens at T5 will probably have no bearing on your situation.
You could always Fedex your boots to the hotel the week before you leave.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A little while before you go, why not email the airline/airport and ask? Then if you got a "yes" you could wave that under the noses over any over-zealous security staff?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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John Crawford,
Sounds like your transatlantic luggage non-arrival is a US-specific problem, since you can't check bags right through to a final US destination from the UK - you have to clear customs with it all at your first port of entry.
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| Acacia wrote: |
John Crawford,
Sounds like your transatlantic luggage non-arrival is a US-specific problem, since you can't check bags right through to a final US destination from the UK - you have to clear customs with it all at your first port of entry. |
Possibly also a specific issue with the exact route being flown? I often fly to Canada, with connections, and have never lost any luggage (yet). As with the US, Canada also requires a luggage pick-up on the first port of entry. But I see that as slightly reducing the risk of your luggage missing the connection, as you are manually re-checking it onto the next flight. Another common source of luggage problems is when choosing connections that are close together. I prefer to choose longer connection times (2 hours min) to give luggage the best chance of making it through. Seems to have worked so far for me.
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