So many people have air vests these days, and that means that a lot more people are trying to travel with those vests as well. This brings up a question that we very frequently get, and that is, can you fly with your air vest?
The short answeris yes, your vest can fly, but the complicating factor is the gas canisters. The rule of thumb is that your gas canisters can fly if they are under 50 cc's and you are allowed to take a maximum of four canisters that are up to 50 cc's each and they must be declared at check in. That means that if you use a vest that has a fill weight of 60 cc's or 85 cc's, the canisters cannot fly. Now, what makes this even more confusing is that per the FAA, their guideline says that those gas canisters can go in carry-on or checked luggage. But then there's a little caveat that says that per TSA guidelines, they cannot go in carry-on, they must always be in checked luggage.
If you try to go rough TSA security with your gas canisters in a carry on bag, in all likelihood, they are going to be confiscated. A better practice is to send your air vest or at least your canisters shipping with the horses if the horses are going by ground. That's the most proactive thing to do. Also know who the retailers are going to be at the location that you're going to, so that you can buy your gas canisters on site.
It’s wise to separate the gas canister from the air vest because while again, by policy your vest and your gas canisters should be able to fly, if you happen to get an inspector that is unsure and wants to be on the safe side of things and wants to confiscate something, you'd really rather them confiscate a canister versus the entire vest because they can't figure out how to get the canister off of the vest or having them damage the vest in the process of trying to remove the canister.
To recap, you can fly with up to four canisters, 50 cc's or under each in your checked luggage and make sure that you declare to your check-in agent that you've got those canisters in your luggage.
Happy flying and happy riding!
