Flying with scuba cylinders in Indo...

[silent running]

Hello all, I posted this same ? on the general asia forum also. I and 2 other rebreather divers are traveling to Ambon in March and I just noticed that Lion Air doesn't allow "aqualung cylinders" even in checked baggage. I have flown all over the world with my CCR and cylinders in checked baggage, empty with the valves off and never had a problem. I'm waiting to hear back from the dive op, to see if they can speak with Lion Air and find out if there's any leeway in the policy. Anybody ever fly on Lion Air with small/pony/2ltr cyls, or any other Indo airline? We could also take Batavia or Mandala, but Lion Air has the most convenient flight... Thanks, -Andy

 

[Taxgeek]

I'm interested in the answer to this as well. From their website, didn't it say "Compressed air, such as Aqualung Cylinders" or something like that? If there's no compressed air in it, and hence no hazard, maybe it would be fine.

Would totally stink though if you got to UPG and they said, no, sarry, it says no cylinders, I don't care whether or not there's air in it . . .

 

[Andy_W]

Hi guys...It will be tough and tricky to carry cylinder inside indonesian airline. If you are lucky they will let you go just by showing by pressure guage that it's empty.

If they wanna play with you, they might ask you to disassemble the cylinder valve and show them that it's empty inside the cylinder.

My suggestion is ship them of to you destination.

 

[ams511]

I would call the airline if you can. If I am not mistaken it is against international conventions for a plane to carry most types of pressurized containers. If you remove the air and disassemble the valve from the tank then it is no longer under pressure, which should be fine. It may be that someone translated the policy inaccurately into English. It could also be an anti-terrorism measure given that they may not have the ability to check inside the cylinder. Remember airline rules change frequently so even if a member did it in the past there is no assurance you can do it now. Call or speak to the travel agent.

 

[silent running]

Thanks for the feedback people. I fully plan on taking off the valves, I always do. Hopefully it's just an issue of whether they are pressurized or not...

 

[Taxgeek]

Likewise. They'll never get past LAX security with valves on either. I think that's standard.

 

[MartianBeerPig]

I think you'll be okay with the valves off. Their 'baggage' page only mentions cyclinders in connection with compressed gases. Provided the cylinders aren't under pressure, I don't think it applies. You should be okay.

 

[silent running]

Thanks for the info everybody. The resort confirmed that they have taken empty cyls on Lion Air flights and it's OK...

 

[thomjinx]

Admittedly, it has been over 10 years since I lived in Indonesia. And I never traveled with scuba cylinders while I was there. But when I was there, if one wanted to pass through an airport like fat through a goose, with no hassles about anything, a bit of polite 'encouragement' in the form of legal tender worked wonders!

The tricky part is that you need to know who to offer the encouragement to, and to be able to do it discretely and politely. It would best be arranged by a local. I would ask your dive op if they can arrange a well-placed bribe. It might be surprisingly small. I would be prepared to pay one at least, in case the opportunity presented itself. Always politely and deferentially.

I am not passing any kind of judgement on the way other people do things. One culture's crime might be another culture's time-honored tradition.

I am just passing on what might be useful information.

Go with the flow.

Thomjinx

 

[MartianBeerPig]

Picking them out of the crowd is generally not too tricky. They'll usually make themselves known. The hard part is working out a fair, um, price. Especially if you're from for'n part. In this case, you'd probably offer to pay for 'excess baggage'.