I'd like to start a discussion on what items you can include in a survival kit you can take with you when flying on a commercial airline. The restrictions vary for carry-on items and for checked baggage, and I would like to include both of these in this thread. The obvious items that would be affected include sharp objects (ie: knives), tools, guns and flammable objects. A list of prohibited items is listed on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtmHere's a summary of the airline restrictions for some of the items.
Items That Are Completely Banned
The following items are completely banned from aircraft, and should not be brought to the airport:
Explosive and Incendiary Materials: Gunpowder (including black powder and percussion caps), dynamite, blasting caps, fireworks, flares, plastic explosives, grenades, replicas of incendiary devices, and replicas of plastic explosives.
Flammable Items: Gasoline, gas torches, lighter fluid, cooking fuel, other types of flammable liquid fuel, flammable paints, paint thinner, turpentine, aerosols (exceptions for personal care items, toiletries, or medically related items).
Gases and Pressure Containers: Aerosols (with the exception of personal care items or toiletries in limited quantities in containers sized three ounces or smaller), carbon dioxide cartridges, oxygen tanks (scuba or medical), mace, tear gas, pepper spray, self-inflating rafts, and deeply refrigerated gases such as liquid nitrogen.
Matches: All matches are banned from checked baggage, and strike-anywhere matches are banned completely from aircraft, but you can have a single book of safety (non-strike anywhere) matches with you in the passenger cabin.
Other Dangerous Items: Tear gas, spay paint, swimming pool or spa chlorine, and torch lighters.
Items Allowed Only in Checked BaggageThe Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has prohibited the following items from airplane cabins and carry-on baggage but may (with some exceptions) be carried as checked baggage:
Sporting Goods: Bats (baseball, softball, cricket), hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, bows and arrows, ski poles and spear guns golf clubs, and pool cues.
Knives: Knives of any length, composition or description (except for plastic or round bladed butter knives), swords, machetes, and martial arts weapons such as throwing stars.
Cutting Instruments: Carpet knives and box cutters (and spare blades), any device with a folding or retractable blade, ice picks, straight razors, and metal scissors with pointed tips, are only allowed in checked baggage. Small scissors with a cutting edge less than four inches (10 cm) are allowed in the cabin.
Firearms: Pistols, flare guns, BB guns, rifles, and other firearms must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided container, and declared to the airline at check-in. There are limited exceptions to the firearms and ammunition rules for law enforcement officers. In the United States, federal laws apply to aircraft and to the secure areas of the airport such as the gate areas. State or local laws concerning the carrying of concealed or unconcealed weapons do not apply. Attempting to enter the secure area of the terminal with weapons, even accidentally, may lead to your arrest.
Firearm Parts: They should be treated like firearms and only carried in checked baggage.
Ammunition: In the US, small arms ammunitions for personal use must also be declared to the airline at check-in, and must be securely packed in fiber, wood or metal boxes or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ammunition, if properly packaged, can also be carried in the same hard-sided case as an unloaded firearm. You should check with the airline to see if it has additional restrictions on either firearms or ammunition.
Tools: Tools greater than seven inches in length can only be carried as checked baggage. Also, power tools such as drills should also be in checked baggage. Shorter tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers, may be carried in carry-on baggage. Any tool with a sharp or cutting edge like a hand saw, box cutter, or drill bit are also limited to checked baggage. If you have a toolbox in checked baggage, make sure you check every compartment to make sure that your toolbox does not have any containers with flammable liquids, utility lighters, micro torches, or other banned items. Larger equipment like a step ladder or circular saw should be checked.
Hazardous Items Allowed in Carry-on Bags and the Passenger CabinThere are a number of items that could be considered hazardous or dangerous that are actually allowed in the passenger cabin, including your carry-on baggage:
Small Hand Tools: Most hand tools that are less than seven inches (18 cm) in length and that don't have sharp cutting edges can be taken into the passenger cabin. This would include tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, and pliers.
Matches and Lighters: You can have a single book of safety (non-strike anywhere) matches with you in the passenger cabin, either on your person or in your carry-on baggage. You can have a common lighter with you on your person or in your carry-on baggage. In the US, lighters with fuel are prohibited in checked baggage, unless they adhere to the Department of Transportation (DOT) exemption, which allows up to two fueled lighters if properly enclosed in a DOT approved case.
