Carrying a deceased's cremated remains into Sharm El Sheikh

[Pieter Stoaling]

Hi all,

I posted in another part of the forum and it was suggested I try here.

My father passed away in an accident in Sharm last year. One of his wishes expressed in his will is to have his ashed brought to Sharm and taken to his favourite dive location.

I am having a lot of trouble finding out requirements from both the airline I will fly with (EgyptAir, London>Cairo, Cairo>Sharm), and from the Egyptian Embassy to make this happen.

Currently, the best I can go on is to have all possible documentation available and translated into Arabic and hope for the best. But of course, the last thing I want is to be turned away from the flight or entry into Egypt. Or worse, arrested for doing something illegal.

If anyone has some experience here, I'd be very grateful to hear it.

Many thanks.

 

[rayaa3]

Similarly a few years ago I took my father's ashes to another country so that he could be put into the ocean in a place that he had fond memories. His ashes traveled in my checked luggage. I put him inside of a ziploc bag. It did not set off any type of concern when they x-rayed my bags on inbound customs or outbound from my home airport. I simply didn't mention it much less ask anyone's permission at the airport or customs. In hindsight I suppose I did run risk of it coming out in inspection and being a problem. It's worth mentioning this was not Egypt. From one son to another I wish you luck on your endeavor and condolences on your loss.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I assume you have tried an old-fashioned phone call to EgyptAir and the Embassy? I realize it can be frustrating to be put on hold for an hour, etc.

 

[Stoo]

I've been involved in similar "situations" a couple of times, and in my experience, it's perhaps better to "beg forgiveness than to ask permission". I don't think ones ashes are considered "human remains" really. They're just ashes. I suspect you could pack them away in your baggage and not have an issue at all. If you took them in your carry-on, and they were questioned, my guess is that you could explain yourself without much problem.

Having said that, perhaps ask your self if they were confiscated and "disposed" of, how would you feel about that. That's probably the main reason for dealing with this through proper channels.

I have a friend who teaches "undertaking" stuff at a college. I've sent her a message to see what she says.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I agree with you Stoo that this should be dealt with in accordance with the rules. As I believe the OP is aware, most airlines--though perhaps not EgyptAir?--have a specific policy about cremated remains: Airline Policy - Scattering Ashes

 

[npole]

There should be no issue with the transportation: to be sure, bring with you a copy of the deceased certificate, so if someone will raise a question, you can prove that you taken care of the certification (whenever it would be correct or not) and not that you didn't care at all. Here in Europe there's no problem, even if transported in the hand baggage.

Another matter is at the arrival in a country, especially in a country (Egypt) that is predominantly Muslim and where the cremation is considered an outrage, you may have more than a trouble to justify why you're travelling with the remains of your father. For this reason also, it could be problematic to obtain an authorization via the official channels.

 

[Stoo]

I have a friend who teaches "undertaking" stuff at a college. I've sent her a message to see what she says.

So this is the message back from my friend... She's a Funeral Director and now teaches, so pretty knowledgeable. She went on to say that it might be worth contacting the Egyptian Embassy to see if they have any requirements. Being a somewhat fundamentalist Muslim country, they may have some limitations,,,

Her reply:

He doesn't need anything too special, but should ideally have the cremation certificate and a letter of content to go through airport security and potentially customs, depending on the port of entry.
Cremated remains pose no danger to anyone, but I always encourage families to carry the container in their carry on to avoid any lost luggage drama. The container should be x-rayable as well so that security can open it if needed. Cremated remains are usually packed in a plastic bag and then placed in a second container (usually a temporary cardboard container or an official urn).
If the cremation took place a while ago, the crematorium will be able to provide a copy of the cremation certificate and a letter of content. They can also probably provide a temporary container if need be.
That's typically all that is required to fly, but I would check the customs request of the country he's travelling to to confirm that there are no issues. Big tourist places often have cremated remains scattered on them, and most governments look the other way - as long as he's not making a ceremony about it and is relatively discrete, I'm sure everything will be fine.

Hope this helps! And my condolences about your Dad. I hope this all works out for you.

 

[kelemvor]

I agree with the others that you're going to have to do some official checking. Otherwise the ashes, and your freedom, might be at risk.

This web page has some info on what you're looking for specifically, except that the source country is Canada instead of Germany: Repatriation of Remains To Egypt | Basic Funerals

It does tell you what documentation you should have and how the remains should be contained.