There are many beautiful places in the world where you want to be away from civilization, and many peaks that you can conquer. And in our age of progress, it is not difficult to get to any, even the most remote corner of the earth by plane. If you are going on a trip with mountaineering equipment, you need to carefully study the rules for transporting equipment in your luggage.
According to the rules of most airlines, mountaineering equipment includes: ice pick (ice hatchet), mountain backpack, trekking poles, mountaineering boots, climbing crampons, various cables and carabiners, helmet, tent for overnight stay, sleeping bag and other equipment items. The list may vary slightly, either up or down. In any case, the tourist must pack everything carefully and compactly.
If you plan to carry an avalanche backpack with an ABS system, choose those models that are filled with non-explosive inert gas "argon" - you are not prohibited from boarding the plane with it. The main thing is to inform about its presence when going through customs and do not try to carry it as hand luggage. Each passenger can take on board only one cylinder and one handle with a pyropatron. The cylinder is checked in as baggage separately from the backpack. It must be hermetically sealed with a protective cover. It is advisable to keep the cylinder at hand in case of inspection.
Try to pack it so that it can be quickly removed from the luggage. If customs officers have questions about the safety of this device, refer to the inscriptions on the cylinder itself or carry with you printed rules for transporting such luggage. Standards for transporting sports equipment - will such cargo be free or subject to a fee? The first thing you should do when planning a flight with sports equipment is to contact the airline and clarify the rules for transporting oversized baggage and sports equipment. Also you can to use luggage storage barcelona for keep your baggage in safe.
Most airlines allow you to carry skis and snowboards for free. However, not all carriers are loyal to mountaineering equipment. You should not expect free transportation on low-cost flights: you have to pay extra for regular baggage, and even more so for sports equipment. The rules for carrying baggage and sports equipment are usually posted on the carrier's website. You can also read them in our articles. And if you have any questions, call the hotline. In the same way, you can choose the most favorable flight rate for yourself - the best option would be to carry sports equipment together with the main baggage.
Baggage weight/dimension standards vary among airlines, but on average, each passenger is allowed 20 kg of baggage in economy class and 30 kg in business class. The dimensions of bags should not exceed 158 cm in the sum of three dimensions (length, height, width). If a case with mountaineering equipment meets these standards, you will have to pay extra for excess weight in exceptional cases. Low-cost airlines offer passengers “hard economy” — usually these are flights with the most modest comfort on board, where you are supposed to travel almost light, with only hand luggage.
You will have to pay a considerable amount for additional baggage in the form of mountaineering equipment, and there can be no talk of any savings when buying tickets. Keep in mind that you will most likely have to check in oversized baggage at a separate counter, so arrive at the airport early (3-4 hours) and be patient.
In general, the rules for transporting such special baggage depend on: type of airlines, a specific airline, flight class. Traditional airlines such as Swiss, Austrian and many others offer their customers free transportation of sports equipment - in addition to the main piece of baggage for each person, and budget low-cost airlines Wizz Air, EasyJet, RyanAir, FlyDubai, Norwegian, Pobeda will require you to pay extra for the transportation of mountaineering equipment.
