Short notice rifle permit- Frankfurt

[Laniarius]

So, you flew Lufthansa all the way from Joberg to Houston?

It seems the only risk of flying through Frankfurt is getting bumped onto another airline (not a coop member) or delayed overnight. Then the guns have to be rechecked and Frankfurt police transit form will have to make an appearance. I have always lucked out and made it onto my connecting flight through Frankfurt okay. But next time I will be prepared for the worst and do the paperwork. Lesson learned from African Hunting forum.

My guns have also been dumped at oversize baggage in Toronto and totally unsupervised. By the way, this is a violation of Canadian law as I read it. While in Canada, the guns are always to be in possession of someone with a possession license. So, isn't someone with a PAL license supposed to be handing it to me and checking to make sure I'm the owner? Well, you'd think so. Guns are not the kind of luggage that any of us wants to wind up in the wrong hands. Gun owners are required to be responsible but airports are authorized to be careless? I don't get it.

I agree, the guns shouldn't end up dumped in the oversize baggage area. Same thing happened to me one time.

Regarding Canadian law and custody of the firearm, that's a good question. With shipping firearms by mail, there is clearly some kind of exception where it's just a "package". One of the few advantages of our laws over the US is that we can have firearms shipped to our door. Mailmen here don't need to have a Canadian firearms license. A key difference is that by mail they're being delivered to your door and usually a signature is required. In the oversize baggage room anyone could be there.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

that’s the only option direct from Anchorage- worth it for sure since other wise it becomes annoying with so many layovers.

I’ve seen past info saying the flight is operated by Discover airlines which was linked to Lufthansa? No personal experience though

Again, if you want your guns to go through without having to check them on the next airline, consider the Star Alliance group of airlines. Get on board with one of those airlines as quick as possible and stay booked with the group as long as possible. If it means one more layover, it might be worth it.

You should call Condor and see if they are affiliated enough with Lufthansa to fall under Star Alliance network re luggage transfer. If you don't have to recheck your check bags in Frankfurt you might be okay.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I agree, the guns shouldn't end up dumped in the oversize baggage area. Same thing happened to me one time.

Regarding Canadian law and custody of the firearm, that's a good question. With shipping firearms by mail, there is clearly some kind of exception where it's just a "package". One of the few advantages of our laws over the US is that we can have firearms shipped to our door. Mailmen here don't need to have a Canadian firearms license. A key difference is that by mail they're being delivered to your door and usually a signature is required. In the oversize baggage room anyone could be there.

Yeah, there was a big stink a couple years ago when one of the big couriers dropped a gun at the door. Granny was babysitting and told junior to go get it. He walks into the kitchen with a gun. Yikes! The courier was banned from shipping guns and ammo and it was a big headache for us up North for a while. Native guys couldn't get their ammo for subsistence and that put an end to the embargo very quickly!

 

[Troubleshooter]

I thought the Frankfurt transit permit thing died several years ago? Is it back?

The last time we flew united through Frankfurt was 2016 I think.. so it’s been a while.. there was no permit requirement at that time.. we simply checked the rifles in at the united desk at DFW and they were checked all the way through to Jo’berg…

When returning to the US, Lufthansa (code shared with United) charged us a $200 handling fee for the rifles when we checked in at Jo’berg… but then checked the rifles straight through to Dallas…

I don't think that the requirement ever went away. It might not have been uniformly enforced, but it's still there. Having the rifles checked-through all the way to Johannesburg is likely why it never came up in your case. When I flew through Munich, it was absolutely required. Different office though, as the permits were issued from the Landratsamt associated with the specific airport (Munich being a different office for example, than Frankfurt). As a practical matter it didn't come into play unless you had to take possession of your firearms (e.g., missed / rescheduled connecting flight, change of airlines, extended layover, etc.) You were lucky.

The suggested application time was 30 days in advance, in order to allow for processing time. But I've had the permit in-hand within a couple of weeks. Of note, they send you the permit in the mail and you are expected to bring that original with you.

The $200 fee is based on the policy of the first airline on your route. United (your outbound flight from DFW) doesn't charge for handling firearms, but Lufthansa does. Since Lufthansa was the first airline with which you had contact when departing JNB, their policies (and fee) applied.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I don't think that the requirement ever went away. It might not have been uniformly enforced, but it's still there. Having the rifles checked-through all the way to Johannesburg is likely why it never came up in your case. When I flew through Munich, it was absolutely required. Different office though, as the permits were issued from the Landratsamt associated with the specific airport (Munich being a different office for example, than Frankfurt). As a practical matter it didn't come into play unless you had to take possession of your firearms (e.g., missed / rescheduled connecting flight, change of airlines, extended layover, etc.) You were lucky.

The suggested application time was 30 days in advance, in order to allow for processing time. But I've had the permit in-hand within a couple of weeks. Of note, they send you the permit in the mail and you are expected to bring that original with you.

The $200 fee is based on the policy of the first airline on your route. United (your outbound flight from DFW) doesn't charge for handling firearms, but Lufthansa does. Since Lufthansa was the first airline with which you had contact when departing JNB, their policies (and fee) applied.

Wow, United doesn't charge a gun handling fee! That's the only good thing I've heard about that airline. I'm not sure if Alaska Airlines charges a fee. Probably not. But everyone else does. Usually ranges from fifty bucks to just over $200 for Lufthansa. I think British Airways is even more but who wants to fly with them! Ugh! Swiss Air was very cheap gun fee as I recall. Does Air France even allow guns now? They were always the worst. Terrible reputation.