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Wooden Walking sticks on Ryan Air Cabin baggage

Alasdair Kay

Member
Time of past OR future Camino
"May 2016 "
Hi I wanted to know whether people who had flown Ryan Air (I am flying Stanstead Biarritz) had had any problems carrying their wooden staff and pack onto the plane as cabin baggage, (i know metal walking poles can't come on the plane ). It seems that the reg's are enforced in a variety of ways usually based on who is at check in / cabin crew.
Or should I just suck it up and check my bags in. Although had experiences of my baggage getting lost and don't fancy three days stuck in Biarritz waiting for it.
I do want to take my personal walking staff as I made it myself from the Holy Tree in my garden and well it's mine .... Don't really want a shop bought one from STJPdP..
Any advice helpful...

Alasdair
 
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Sorry your post has gone unanswered. While I do not have a 100% answer for you, and just asked a similar one regarding the Lisbon airport, here is my take.

My guess is that you would not be allowe to bring a staff when boarding in Biarritz, and what I do know for a fact is that there is NO way the Santiago airport will let you on board with the staff, if you are planning to fly back from Santiago, regardless of the airline.

I would love to see a picture of your staff!
 
I flew with Ryan Air from Stansted to Biarritz. I checked my baggage which included a collapsed trekking pole. The baggage was in the terminal before I was.

Consider whether your walking stick could be used as a weapon. If so then it won't be (or shouldn't be) allowed as carry on. EU regulations state no blunt objects such as baseball bats ...

Too, I fail to see how a walking staff would be short enough to fit within RyanAir carry on baggage dimensions.
 
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I don't know about Ryanair, but I brought my wooden walking staff, with a rubber tip like a cane, back with me on the plane from Madrid to Calgary, with a change in London. I changed into a long skirt, limped a little, leaning on my staff, and was directed into the security check line for the frail elderly and people with babies as I arrived in the security area. I am planning on taking it with me to France in the same way, when I begin my next camino in the south of France in September. I have never had a problem getting a walking staff through a security line in Canada, as its wooden content and medical-looking rubber tip seem to qualify it as a walking aid (which it is) and that is allowable through security in Canada.
 

Clearly you don't need the staff as a walking aid even as you pretend to need it to clear security with it.

The security people are not stupid; eventually you will be found out. The result will be that people that genuinely need the walking aid will be given a higher degree of scrutiny than is warranted.

This is what I mean by scoff laws causing problems for everyone else.
 

Perhaps it is not polite to make assumptions. I have extensive arthritis, which I manage while on camino with regular medication, but the walking stick is also useful for balance. When I need it, I use a metal cane at home, but it is not so useful for walking downhill and more likely to be interpreted as a weapon.
 
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