Account of Flying with Firearms

T.J. San Jose inspection issues mar an otherwise good trip. SJC blatantly disregards federal law on a routine basis.

SJC --> DEN --> TPA 2009-11-05

Luggage & Gear
T.J. was traveling with a Stanley Mobile Toolchest with Master laminated "Commercial" padlocks, carrying laptops layered with foam and 1 S&W .22 pistol in its own hard plastic case. There were a total of five other checked bags and two additional travelers accompanying him.

Outbound Travel
T.J. paid the curb porter a little extra, and he took care of the group quite well. They were traveling with a total of 6 checked bags. They got the declared firearms tag filled out and placed inside the pistol's hard case. T.J. unlocked the toolchest at the curb for airline staff inspection (which is odd, given that most airports have policies banning curbside check-in with firearms) and locked it back up, all at the curb.

T.J. was then informed that TSA would have to inspect the bag as well, and that he would have to surrender a key for this to happen. This flyer then told the airline worker that he believed this policy violated federal law and that he wished to be present to re-lock the case after the inspection. T.J was told that was not possible as the TSA inspection facility at SJC is in a separate area that is inaccessable to the public. This is allegedly airport policy, and not specific to the airline.

This was indeed what T.J. and his party faced during the rest of their time at San Jose airport. There is no access to the secondary screening area, and T.J. was instead contacted by an airline representative at the gate and asked to surrender his key. He again asked about the legality of this, and expressed his desire to be present for the inspection. The Southwest worker said that this is simply procedure at SJC and there was nothing that could be done. Grudgingly, T.J. surrendered his key, which was returned soon thereafter. He never saw or was able to speak to any of the screeners.

T.J.'s bBaggage arrived on-time and without trouble. Although all the bright pink electrical tape placed on the luggage was generally torn and in bad shape, it was sacrificial anyway. The Stanley case had obviously been opened and rummaged, as none of his padding was where he had initially placed it. There was also no inspection tag left behind.

Homebound Travel
This was a one-way journey.

Final Details & Thoughts
Both T.J. as well as those of us here at deviating.net feel the legality of what SJC is doing on a regular basis is somewhat dubious. Their standard procedure for traveling with firearms seems to be inspection without the owner present, with no option for anything different. T.J. was not sure who to contact to make complaints on this, but we have at least a few suggestions. First of all, contacting the TSA (at that airport and then at their main office) isn't going to help, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad idea. Secondly, informing SouthWest airlines (or any other carrier if you've had business at SJC) that you will not fly with them anymore due to your experience at that airport could serve as a way to rattle some trees. Beyond that, talking to your member contacts at the NRA (if you are a member... and if you are not, why not?) and perhaps even trying to reach out to your elected officials if they are firearm-friendly could be the next step.

In my view, however, voting with your wallet and making this fact very public to the parties that are impacted is often the best course of action. You can bet that i'll never fly through SJC now because of this. I encourage others to join me. After all, you can always hop on the 280 (or the 880) and be at SFO or OAK in under half an hour. That's 30 minutes which would totally be worth it to me, in terms of knowing my bags and my guns would be treated properly.

Air Travel Ratings
If you don't have the time or the desire to read the full text of someone's account of air travel, you can simply refer to the rating shown at the conclusion of each portion of that person's journey. The following criteria are used in assigning these ratings...

Four Stars	check-in - no hassle, no delay screening - in full view, lock and unlock yourself luggage - all on time and intact
Three Stars	check-in - some delay or mild hassle screening - somewhat obscured, locking and unlocking yourself or it's done directly in front of you luggage - all on time and intact
Two Stars	check-in - major delay or major hassle screening - in a room or area that you could not enter and could barely observe luggage - luggage opened non-destructively
One Star	check-in - flight missed or passenger delayed from flying, properly packed items denied as luggage screening - luggage unlocked and opened totally in another area fully removed from you luggage - destructive entry into luggage and/or tampering with firearms
Zero Stars	This is a special category for outright theft, loss, or damage of firearms during air travel
half-star results are possible... naturally, they involve partial or mitigated problems that somehow fall in-between the above categories