Hi all, I hardly EVER travel, but I am going to Tulsa, Oklahoma to visit my brother and his wife this week. Never been on a plane that long. Haven't been on a plane in 3 or 4 years. I want to get some practice in while on vacation. Does anyone know if they will allow bamboo fans in carry on luggage or even check in luggage? Neither? Both? I could only do hand forms, but my TCC hand forms are coming up to be reviewed by my Sifu very soon. So I would like to work on them too. But I don't want my fan confiscated. Do they recognize fans can be used as weapons? This would be USA plane traveling rules/ laws. Thanks!
Probably depends on the type of fan. Metal tines, probably a no go. The bamboo ones are such common souvenirs that odds are they're okay.
I think you're up to the individual discretion of the ticket clerks. Might be worth a try though! As long as they're not too club like...
As long as they aren't like the Metal Dragon Fighting Fan, I'd think you'd be alright. My son was given a pair of autographed fighting fans by one of the performers at Chicago's Cirque Shanghai show over the Memorial Day holiday. He so obviously enjoyed their performance, they pulled him out of the audience and gave them to him. He's become rather good at them over the last couple of days.
How attached are you to that particular fan? Because we can talk odds, but that isn't going to make you feel a whole lot better if the TSA takes issue with it. Someone dropping you off? Someone you could pass the fan back to if you needed to do so? Personally, I'd skip it. It seems innocuous enough. But it's also nonstandard enough to raise eyebrows. Which is the first step toward major hassles.
Exactly. I used to work at BWI. And now I live right around the corner from Reagan National. Not so far from Dulles. Major hubs in the DC area, all. Getting through security is a monumental pain in the back side on a normal day, without introducing novelty items. To me, not worth the hassle.
Buy a cheap set to practice with and mail them to your brothers house. They'll be there waiting for you.
Checked baggage should be fine, but I wouldn't put them in carry on - if they catch you trying to bring what they consider to be a weapon onto the plane, you might find yourself in a world of trouble.
Checked would be best as that's what hunters do with their rifles. Just declare it to the checkin personnel and it shouldn't be an issue
That is an excellent idea. Too bad I am leaving in a couple of days. Not enough time to carry out this plan.