Importation or Transiting Procedures Through Countries with Weapons & Ammunition

[Datchew]

Frankfurt airport has luggage services right at the airport, I would email them at gpa@frasec.de to make sure that they will store your specific firearms. See the following link and scroll down to Baggage storage:

Luggage Services at the Airport

www.frankfurt-airport.com

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It's been a couple months of fruitless effort.
I've emailed and spoken to Frankfurt airport services and Lufthansa freight in Germany.
Frankfurt airport says they cannot store firearms and have no recommendations for local services that do.

Lufthansa says they cannot ship my rifle to JoBerg if I'm not on the flight but i can use a freight forwarding service to do so. Then, they recommended 2 of them in Frankfurt.
However, both of them told me they cannot help due to "company policy."

My intent is to fly into Frankfurt with the rifle and proceed with 1 of 2 options:
1 - Store it for up to 2 weeks while on other business in the region and then take it with me on a flight to Johannesburg.
2 - Ship it ahead of me to the PH's rifle importer service to hold for me until I arrive in Johannesburg.

I'm hitting a lot of walls here. Anyone have any suggestions?
This is starting to feel like I'm chasing a unicorn and need to re-think my plans.
Thanks much.

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

I have not had any luck with weapons storage in/ near Frankfurt either, and have chased down many leads.

My understanding is bags cannot fly as checked luggage without the passengers, for international flights. That's due to positive passenger-bag matching (PPBM) which is a security procedure that matches passengers with their checked baggage before an international flight departs. So you cannot take it part way then have it checked on past wherever you are.

Shipping weapons in any traditional way is *probably* not impossible... but guaranteed to be extremely difficult and expensive. Perhaps your local FFL would know more/ be able work with your PH's importer.

 

[Datchew]

Thank you for that.

I have not had any luck with weapons storage in/ near Frankfurt either, and have chased down many leads.

My understanding is bags cannot fly as checked luggage without the passengers, for international flights. That's due to positive passenger-bag matching (PPBM) which is a security procedure that matches passengers with their checked baggage before an international flight departs. So you cannot take it part way then have it checked on past wherever you are.

Shipping weapons in any traditional way is *probably* not impossible... but guaranteed to be extremely difficult and expensive. Perhaps your local FFL would know more/ be able work with your PH's importer.

Thanks for that.
It seems it's easier to ship a corpse and "human remains" in the airlines than a rifle. Go figure.
I'll reach out to my PH's importer and local FFL's as suggested.

 

[Longwalker]

As I predicted, the transit through Newark with firearms was as convoluted and mysterious as I thought it might be. On the way out from Vancouver-Joberg, we were happily surprised that we were pre-approved and checked through to Joberg from Vancouver, so we didn’t have to endure the silly USA customs clearance and re-claim and drop off of bags in Newark.
On the way back, we got the full display of stupidity from the USA border security and airport security.
All travellers with rifles including the USA citizens had to clear customs, Border security, and firearms inspection and permits. I’m glad I got the USA "temporary importation of firearms and ammunition by non immigrant aliens" form 6NIA approved before my flights, even though I was told numerous times by various people it was not necessary for a Canadian citizen transiting in a USA airport . One guy was not so lucky and was detained because he didn’t have the form 6NIA. None of the USA border security or TSA agents would give any advice or answer any questions. They asked the questions, travellers gave answers, that’s the end of discussion.
To Delta’s credit, they anticipated delays and problems for us, and actually sent an agent to meet us at the arrivals gate with a sign with my name on it, escorted us through the Border security inspections and re- checking of luggage and the extra inspection of the firearms by TSA somewhere in the basement depths of the airport. They Re-printed my baggage claims tags, gave me new boarding passes, just to make sure we had all they could do for us. All this took more than three hours.
Evan and I had to change terminals, beg and cajole our way to the front of the transit bus line up, run a long distance to catch our flight once we got to the international departures terminal, then the boarding gate was closed already but the attendant re-opened for us and let us on when they noticed the firearm case was already listed as loaded in the baggage hold.
My regular suitcase with the ammunition inside didn’t make it on that flight to Vancouver, so I had to file a missing bag report in Vancouver. Thank goodness I had Apple Airtags in all my bags. I always knew where they were, even if the airport or airline didn't. The airtags also helped solve a little mystery with my misplaced rifle case on the way out through Joberg too. That was quickly resolved when I showed and agent where it was.
After arriving in Saskatoon, Air Canada delivered my bag to my home the next day, very effective service under the circumstances.
So I’m not sure what advice to give you about anyone transiting via Newark with or without firearms. Seems like that there is a silly bunch of rules and procedures that might be avoided by choosing a different airport. Or avoiding the USA entirely. It took me six weeks to get approval for the USA transit form 6NIA. And I had to buy a USA hunting licence to get things started. The first application was three weeks waiting, then rejected and they sent me to the back of the line for not having a ZIP code in my address. We use postal codes in Canada, no ZIP codes. So I had to re-apply and explain that and put my postal code in the ZIP code slot with a note. Still had to beg the USA border agents for approval after another three weeks. Got my permit only one week before departure.

 

[Hank2211]

This is more than a little confusing.

ATF Form 6NIA is entitled “Application/Permit for Temporary Importation of Firearms and Ammunition by Nonimmigrant Aliens” and has nothing to do with transmitting the US.

I’ve applied for the permit before, when I’ve been travelling to the US to hunt - and it seems you addressed this by getting a hunting licence, even though you weren’t stopping in the US and weren’t hunting in the US. I was told by CBP in the past that if you aren’t hunting in the US (or attending a competition), you can’t get a permit because Form 6NIA doesn’t apply. I’m not sure if the policy has changed, or if you got lucky, but I note you say that the one person who didn’t have the permit was detained - even though if you ask (someone who will actually answer a question), you’re told not only is the the 6NIA permit not necessary, it’s actually not available (or so they say) for those who are only transiting the US.

You’d think this would be an easy problem to address, but - probably because no one in the US bureaucracy really cares about aliens - no one in authority ever seems to address the issue once and for all.

I also note that you say that no one would answer any questions. I’m not sure why authorities treat people who want nothing more than to comply with the rules badly, but they do. If you ask “tell me what I need to do” you’re told to figure it out for yourself. If you ask “what do you want me to do” they tell you they ask the questions. I can only hope that one day, karma puts these people into the same position they’ve put law abiding people into.

It’s for this reason that in my many visits to Africa (nearing two dozen now), I have always avoided going through the US. And I see no reason to change that.