Regs on airplane?

[noshow]

Anyone have experience with canister lights? These things look like... well you know.

I just bought a Halcyon Helios 4.5 and I really DO NOT want to check it... It was hard enough buying it once never mind twice.

 

[AllenG]

Looking beyond the issues of hassles from security guards and lost/damaged gear, are there any mechanical or pressure-related reasons why regulators or dive computers should be transported in a pressurized cabin vs. in a cargo bay? Many years ago, my instructor stated that a regulator could be damaged if it went in an luggage/cargo bay because of pressure issues. I didn't understand why that should be and never got a scientifically satisfying or sound answer. I subsequently heard the same thing said about dive computers, but again got a sound answer. Can anyone offer some enlightenment?

 

[Mitch]

I have always carried on my regulator for the reasons mentioned above. However, be ready to answer questions about it from time-to-time, especially during these times. I have not traveled with my reg since 9/11 but I once got interrogated for it during a time when airport security was on high alert.

It was the Saturday after TWA Flight 800 went down off Long Island in '96 and, at that time, it was still suspected that a bomb in the cargo hold brought it down. I was returning from Bonaire (I was not aware of this as I did not read any papers or watch the news while I was there) and had to pass through Miami on my way back to Houston. As I went through the checkpoint, I put my reg bag on the belt like I had done many times before, only this time, they stopped the belt, a guy in a blazer picked up the bag, and asked me to come with him. I was taken into another room, asked to open the bag, then subjected to a barriage of questions about it. After grilling me for 5-10 minutes, they finally sent me on my way.

While I was initially ticked at first, mostly for not telling me what was going on, I was understanding about afterwards once I found out why. Nonetheless, I will always carry on my reg, it is too costly of an item to risk the airlines losing it.

 

[JustAddWater]

I always carry my regs. I've lost luggage before, I'm not willing to take the the risk of losing my regulators.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi AllenG,

Any pressure changes within the cargo hold pose no threat to either your reg or computer.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[AllenG]

DocV - Thanks for the quick answer. I couldn't fashion a mechanical/air pressure scenario in which a cargo bay was no good for a regulator, but my scientific training is severely lacking (a psychologist can complete his/her training without so much as one "hard science" course - I'm sure any other psychologists residing on this board will take umbrage at this statement, but sorry folks, psychology is not a "hard science." While I might disagree with those who say that psychologists were put on the planet to make economists and meteorologists look smart, I am often dismayed by the lack of scientific training required by the field!!). In the mean time, I fear that the luck of the draw the next time I pass through airport security will separate me from my carry-on gear, so input from others is appreciated.

 

[raviepoo]

Except for my last trip to Miami, very single firkin' time I've travelled with my regulator in my carry on luggage, my bag has been searched. I don't know which incident steamed me more:

A) The time when the lady at the xray machine called out a desultory "Bag check" (it sounded like "Patrick" to me so I chimed in and started calling for Patrick) for 15 straight minutes before some guy came over and (S-L-O-W-L-Y) rummaged through my dirty undies;

or

B) The time that some clueless, somnambulant, high school drop out tried to take my BC apart and got her supervisor to threaten to have me arrested merely because I told her that it was life support equipment and was not supposed to be yanked and tugged on like that.

On this last trip the guy who responed to the cry of "bag check" looked at the x-ray monitor and said, "Oh, that's a regulator, for scuba diving." I wanted to do a dance of joy and give him a big hug.

Despite the occassional strip search (want to hear about the time I nearly set a new decibel record when a security guard told me to take down the front of my pants?) I would never consider checking my regulator. Just try to get one of the major airlines to reimburse you for THAT loss.

Do I sound bitter? You would be bitter too if you had to endure the indignity of having a security guard feel up your bra every time you try to board a plane to make sure you're not packing a pistol in your cleavage.

I'm tired of this. I really am.

 

[SunshineFish]

Originally posted by raviepoo
On this last trip the guy who responed to the cry of "bag check" looked at the x-ray monitor and said, "Oh, that's a regulator, for scuba diving." I wanted to do a dance of joy and give him a big hug.

Maybe instead of a rain dance we can come up with a please-let-me-go-through-without-checking-my-reg-bag-dance.

Do I sound bitter? You would be bitter too if you had to endure the indignity of having a security guard feel up your bra every time you try to board a plane to make sure you're not packing a pistol in your cleavage.

The worst is that they make is sound so legit by asking, "Do you mind if I touch you?" All in the name of safe air travel.

 

[JamesK]

Just a little warning for y'all. You might have a hard time with regulators at some airports now, and the airlines are powerless to do anything about it.

For example, on a trip last week to Mexico, a dive buddy of mine went to carry his regs on board. When he went to security, they told him they could not be carried on because they could be used as a weapon. Now mind you, like myself, he works for the airline he was flying on. When he presented his company ID, they told still told him no. When he got a supervisor from the airline to come and OK the regs for travel on the plane, he was still told no. Now, at a time, the airlines controlled security. However, that is not so anymore. We used to have the power to say what could and could not go on our aircraft. Now that the IMperial Federal Government has created 30,000 new faithful, non educated, government union workers (and I use the word workers only to be extremly polite) that is no longer the case. The security checkpoint has the final say, regardless of what the airline has to say about it.

So, the airline had to get his bag back, which was already at the airplane, so they could put the regs in it. Now, if you are familiar with the Atlanta airport, you know that getting a bag from E-concourse to the treminal, which is a mile away, and back is quiet time consuming. Luckily, he made his flight.

If I were you, I would carry a hard side case with your regs in it, so in case they will not let you through, you can check your regs without fear of the bag being beat up.

 

[AllenG]

Big James offers an important observation, that it would appear to be the particular airport's security (and not a particular airline) that controls whether or not a passenger can "carry on" regulators and dive computers. In that regard, does anybody (1) have first hand experience re the current practices at Miami International Airport, or (2) if there is an administrative office for that airport's operation from which guidance can be secured? An upcoming trip to Roatan will take me through Miami and, in case you didn't know it, the words "Grupo Taca" (the name of the main airline for Central America) come from an ancient Mayan phrase meaning "oops, we lost your gear."

In the mean time, I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can tell me what Miami's security guards have been doing. I understand that an airport policy doesn't necessarily preclude a stupid response by an individual security guard. And I believe it was Einstein who said, "the only things that may be infinite are the universe and stupidity, and I have my doubts about the universe."