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I'm a bit confused. Carrying poles in checked luggage has never been an issue. Did you mean carry-on cabin baggage?I am wondering if more people are having success with carrying poles (with rubber tips over 1cm long spikes) in their checked luggage?
The best advice is still here: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...sticks-into-the-airplane-cabin-with-me.73727/.We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security.
That is true, although as noted in the linked thread, only the TSA explicitly states that the TSA officer has the final decision. Whether by practice this can happen elsewhere is not explicitly stated in the rules of other countries I have read over the years.Some agents and some airports are more permissive than others.
Oops … yes of course … that’s what you get when you write a post last thing at night when you know you shouldn’t be on your phoneI'm a bit confused. Carrying poles in checked luggage has never been an issue. Did you mean carry-on cabin baggage?
I am going to make a number of observationsIn reading various airport security notes (Heathrow, Sydney) about carry on luggage it seems there is a focus on forbidding blades and knifes etc longer than 6cm
I will be flying internally in Spain, so maybe I will be OK?The Pilgrims House (not the Pilgrims Office) accepts donations of poles. You may also find pilgrims headed to the coast who can use them. In general, flying TO Spain with poles in carry-on is usually okay, but flying out of Spain they must be checked. Yes, there are always exceptions but they are not the rule.
Maybe yes and maybe no. You can always let us know afterwards what your own personal experience was. Have a good journey and Buen Camino.I will be flying internally in Spain, so maybe I will be OK?
I see that you said you fly on a low-cost ticket from Barcelona to Oviedo. That is always the problem with such tickets, isn’t it? The additional cost at the airport when you unexpectedly have to check luggage or other items after all!I think I will return my poles to amazon and then buy them again to be delivered to a collection point in Oviedo. At the end of the primitivo I can decide if I want to donate or pay the postage to send them home. Thanks!
We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security.
I see that you said you fly on a low-cost ticket from Barcelona to Oviedo. That is always the problem with such tickets, isn’t it? The additional cost at the airport when you unexpectedly have to check luggage or other items after all!
I will be flying internally in Spain, so maybe I will be OK?
No, this is not a safe generalization.In general, flying TO Spain with poles in carry-on is usually okay
This is an important point that usually gets ignored in these discussions. It seems that folding carbon fibre poles are OFTEN allowed.Just to clarify, is the prohibition only on assembled poles? Are disassembled poles allowed? I have on, on at least one occasion, got my disassembled (3-piece) Pacerpoles through TSA here in Seattle.
Maybe only the TSA explicitly states this on their website, but that does not mean that authorities in other countries do not exercise their own policies and interpretation. The website language is a public service communication and is purposely kept simple.only the TSA explicitly states that the TSA officer has the final decision.
Inside or outside makes no difference. The scanner sees them.put my poles inside my backpack
I unscrew the carbide tips from my Carbon ZZ's and role up the poles in my sleep sack which fits into 8L dryback with my spare clothes, which all goes into my small Osprey Talon 33L pack. Name and address already marked on the dry bag in case they catch it and make me check the poles last minute. Never been caught, even leaving Santiago.In reading various airport security notes (Heathrow, Sydney) about carry on luggage it seems there is a focus on forbidding blades and knifes etc longer than 6cm. After 8 caminos of religiously packing my Pacerpoles separately as checked luggage I am wondering if more people are having success with carrying poles (with rubber tips over 1cm long spikes) in their carry on luggage?
We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security.
Just thought I would check in to see what others had been experiencing post COVID.
Btw: I am sure a metal knitting needle could do much more damage than my carbon fibre poles
Even writing posts on your phone can be a dicey situation!!!Oops … yes of course … that’s what you get when you write a post last thing at night when you know you shouldn’t be on your phone
No - but I have done Paris to London and then Paris to Bayonne on separate occasions. You might want to look to see if there are any luggage restrictions for the train from Paris to London - I know I did have to have my bag scanned for that route.Dam, looks likes I might travel by train. Anyone else done this London to SJPP?
First - if you are going to quote me - please make sure to actually quote my post. I said nothing about "We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security." - that was the original poster who said that - but you quoted it as if I said it. I didn't. I have never travelled from Australia to Madrid through Heathrow - therefore I didn't have that conversation the OP stated they had.Neither the airport nor the airline is the source of these rules, that is the role of the civil aviation safety authorities in each country or area. As far as I can tell, none of them have amended their rules recently.
That is true, although as noted in the linked thread, only the TSA explicitly states that the TSA officer has the final decision. Whether by practice this can happen elsewhere is not explicitly stated in the rules of other countries I have read over the years.
When you remove a part from a hiking pole, is it still a hiking pole. Congratulations; I think you’ve come up with another variation on one of the oldest questions of logic. Apparently it’s possible to infer a great deal about the speaker from the version they identify with .As far as I have heard, nobody gives a precise definition of a hiking pole. Is a dissassembled pole still a hiking pole? Is a 14" folding contraption a "pole."
check Decathlon stores - it is a chain of french sports store with good equipment. There are poles in all price ranges. This is what i will be doing when i start in 3 weeks. Im sure there are other stores in SJPP or on the Spanish sideYou JUST gave me a minor heart attack haha. I had not even considered not being allowed take my new poles on the plane. I have no checked luggage. It would cost me 50 euros to add checked luggage for each flight and my poles were only 40!
I guess I will send the poles back to amazon and then buy some when I arrive!.
Is there somewhere in SDC that I can donate them before I leave again? For another pilgrim?
I have been told in the US the last 3 times to check..before that it was not bad..I always them in a tube in my pack to the airport in case they tell me I have to check. But try first to get in carry on...you cannot count on it in the US.The Pilgrims House (not the Pilgrims Office) accepts donations of poles. You may also find pilgrims headed to the coast who can use them. In general, flying TO Spain with poles in carry-on is usually okay, but flying out of Spain they must be checked. Yes, there are always exceptions but they are not the rule.
Yes, I mentioned TSA - but I also mentioned the UK website. The UK website does apply in the situation the OP asked about and the UK website says poles are not permitted in carry on (like the TSA website). This person mentioned HEATHROW which is IN THE UK. Again - I did not mis-speak. In the UNITED KINGDOM hiking poles are not technically allowed in Carry On according to the UK government website. And if Heathrow, which is IN the UK, is allowing them - then that is proof that some airports are more permissive. And if an agent at Heathrow says they are OK in an airport in a country where poles are not permitted in carry on according to the government website - then that is proof that the agent is more permissive. But the fact remains - they are not technically not permitted according to the UK website.and here I mean we who have travelled from EU airports to Spain and other European destinations and actually ASKED at the airport of departure and were TOLD at the airport of departure that we can take our poles on board and had attached them to the OUTSIDE of our backpacks in plain view - that we are somehow dodging the law or are “just lucky” and that we are scofflaws. We who don’t care about TSA agents and TSA rules because they don’t apply to where we fly.
Nowadays I am less sensitive because I know that these threads will end up being closed soon.
Similar in the UK. The rules - which are set nationally and published on a government website are crystal clear; no poles in hand-luggage; yet at least one airline (earlier post - which I’ve no reason to doubt) says ‘it’s OK’, and numerous posters in the very many times this has been revisited say they carried poles on.I have been told in the US the last 3 times to check..before that it was not bad..I always them in a tube in my pack to the airport in case they tell me I have to check. But try first to get in carry on...you cannot count on it in the US.
Did it from Berlin. Very comfy and relaxing despite having to change trains three times (Cologne, Paris, Bayonne) and in Paris even between train stations. Nice training walk from Gare du Nord to Montparnasse anyway, if you have the time. This took me around 20 hours but slowed me down enough for the experience of walking the next morning from SJPP.Dam, looks likes I might travel by train. Anyone else done this London to SJPP?
I apologize for that. I don't know how that occurred, but I can assure you that it was not my intention to attribute that comment to you. Given I only use the forum 'Reply' or 'Quote' features, it puzzles me what might have happened.First - if you are going to quote me - please make sure to actually quote my post and not the post I was quoting.
Can we please not have any more postings/discussions about *%#"' poles? I find it hard to believe this "issue" hasn't been resolved in hundreds of other posts. Use the search function ...
Solution: Just buy them locally and support the people that make the caminos possible ... it's not expensive and it's not difficult ... and much appreciated.
Yes, it is surprising, but apparently the whole world just hasn't been paying attention to our threads.I find it hard to believe this "issue" hasn't been resolved in hundreds of other posts.
if you are going to quote me...
My explanation might not be exactly what happened, but it illustrates a hazard... I have found that If I have two quotes selected and placed, and then backspace in the second quote, it is very easy to backspace right into the quote above without noticing. This places the words of the second quote under the name of the first one. Once you are aware of this possibility, it is good to be watchful for it.Given I only use the forum 'Reply' or 'Quote' features, it puzzles me what might have happened.
I haven't heard of this happening. After all, they don't offer to check other disallowed things (liquids, sharps, etc.) for free. I suspect that Santiago airport is the exception because so many passengers would be trying to leave with poles in their hand baggage and arguing about fees, etc., that the disruption at security would be too much of a problem. Simpler to have this agreement among airlines.has anyone been asked to check them for free in the US since they are not technically allowed in carryon’s?
We flew out from the UK a couple of weeks ago, from Manchester to Madrid, with Ryanair. I too have Pacerpoles, but didn't want to chance having them confiscated, so found a cheap pair in the garage that I didn't mind having to give up.In reading various airport security notes (Heathrow, Sydney) about carry on luggage it seems there is a focus on forbidding blades and knifes etc longer than 6cm. After 8 caminos of religiously packing my Pacerpoles separately as checked luggage I am wondering if more people are having success with carrying poles (with rubber tips over 1cm long spikes) in their carry on luggage?
We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security.
Just thought I would check in to see what others had been experiencing post COVID.
Btw: I am sure a metal knitting needle could do much more damage than my carbon fibre poles
I tried to fly from Stansted last week with collapsible trekking poles in my hand luggage (as I only brought one rucksack). They were taken off me at security, as the ‘joints’ were deemed sharp and dangerous. Walking poles are only allowed if you are visually impaired, apparently. Reclaiming them in person on return is not possible (as the office will be shut when I fly in) and the postage charge is more than the cost of a new set!In reading various airport security notes (Heathrow, Sydney) about carry on luggage it seems there is a focus on forbidding blades and knifes etc longer than 6cm. After 8 caminos of religiously packing my Pacerpoles separately as checked luggage I am wondering if more people are having success with carrying poles (with rubber tips over 1cm long spikes) in their carry on luggage?
We were told at Heathrow (heading from Australia to Madrid) by British airways not to bother checking the poles and had no problem with security.
Just thought I would check in to see what others had been experiencing post COVID.
Btw: I am sure a metal knitting needle could do much more damage than my carbon fibre poles
I agree. Won’t leave home without my Pacer Poles. Buen CaminoMight be time to close this off now
It was simply an inquiry to see if I had missed a policy change.
All the factual information has been very helpful and I will continue to pack my PacerPoles with their challengingly large handles in whatever box I can find and check them … for me they are definitely too precious to lose.
Thanks to all contributors
And the answer to your question is that none of the participants in this thread, myself included, knows whether there has been a policy change at Heathrow airport as to walking/hiking poles on flights from London Heathrow to Madrid Barajas.It was simply an inquiry to see if I had missed a policy change.
The answer came quickly and I did not find anything worthwhile in it to report but I am doing it nevertheless. As expected, it came from a Customer Service Advisor and not from the security department of Heathrow itself. Despite the fact that I had pointed out that links to websites and reports from travellers are contradictory and confusing and that I had quoted (without naming names) that one of many similar reports appear to indicate that [folded up walking sticks] are allowed on flights from Heathrow to Madrid, this was completely ignored by the customer service person. As expected, btw. The answer in all its glory:I find something worthwhile to report in their reply, I’ll let you know.
Yes, this is a good time to call it. We have all had a chance to address the OP's question, and she is satisfied with the information.Might be time to close this off now
It was simply an inquiry to see if I had missed a policy change.
And add an LPerhaps poles are permitted if you remove the ‘e’
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