# Travel >> Travel Preparation >> Travel Regulations

How To Take Guns on International Flights

The United States Department of Homeland Security ensures airline safety through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The TSA places regulations stating how items such as firearms may be taken on a plane. If you wish to carry a gun on an international flight, the TSA requires that it and any ammunition be properly stored. All guns brought on flights departing from or arriving into the United States must be checked in at a ticket counter. They are not allowed as carry-on luggage.

Hard-sided locking case
Pouch, holder, holster or lanyard
Cardboard fiber, wood or metal box

Instructions

- 1
  Make sure your gun or firearm is unloaded.
- 2
  Place the gun in a hard-sided container or case with a locking mechanism. The container must not be able to be pulled open and can only be accessed by you via a combination or a key.
- 3
  Place any ammunition clips in a pouch, holder, holster or lanyard. Loose bullets or shells must be packed in cardboard fiber, wood or metal boxes.
- 4
  Place the ammunition in the hard-sided case and lock the case.
- 5
  Go to an airline ticket-counter check in desk.
- 6
  Declare to the ticket counter clerk that you have a firearm you are transporting.
- 7
  Provide the key or combination to the gun's hard-side case to the ticket counter clerk so she may inspect the contents.
- 8
  Check the baggage with the ticket counter clerk. You cannot take it on the airline as carry-on luggage.