Guidelines for Flying with Cremains

Help with transporting cremains by air is among the cremation services in Beltsville, MD that can get your deceased loved one back home, to a favorite destination, or to a place they wanted to visit.

Airlines will allow you to transport cremains on domestic flights as checked or carry-on luggage, but the urns that the cremains are placed in must be able to be x-rayed so that the airlines and TSA can clearly see the contents. The funeral director can help you select an urn that meets airline and TSA specifications.

TSA and airline personnel are not allowed to open the urn or pull the contents out, so if they’re unable to x-ray the contents, the urn won’t be allowed on the plane. Some people don’t realize this until they get to the airport. If this happens to you, try to find a box or paper bag to put the plastic bag of cremains in (put the urn in your carry-on luggage) so that they can be x-rayed and carried on to the flight.

Each airline may have specific requirements for transporting cremains, so be sure to check your airline’s website before flying domestically with cremains to make sure that you meet their criteria.

For example, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines (they require that arrangements be made 24 hours in advance of the flight) will only allow the transportation of cremains as carry-on luggage. United Airlines allows cremains to be transported as both checked baggage and carry-on luggage. Delta lets cremains be transported as checked baggage, carry-on luggage, or unaccompanied cargo.

For international transportation of cremains, British Airways allows them as both carry-on luggage and checked baggage. Air Canada only allows the transportation of cremains as carry-on luggage.

If you’re transporting cremains by air internationally, you’ll need to do some research about what regulations need to be followed for the country you are taking them to. The first thing that you should do is to confirm that the destination country will accept cremains. You can do this by contacting that country’s embassy here in the United States.

The funeral director can help you with international transportation requirements, including contacting the destination country’s embassy for their rules and regulations regarding cremains. They can also make sure that you have an airline-friendly container, if you tell them when you’re planning the cremation what you’ll be doing with the cremains.

The TSA’s guidelines for urns that can be x-ray excludes urns that are made out of metal, granite or stone, because they are too dense to see the contents inside. The best types of urns for transporting cremains by air are urns that are made out of wood, fiberboard, plastic, or cardboard.

If you decide that you don’t want to transport the cremains yourself, the funeral home can partner with the TSA to provide a Remains Transfer Service. The funeral director can give you more information about this service and any details you might want to know.

The funeral director can help get the paperwork required by the TSA – at a minimum, the cremation certificate and a copy of the death certificate – and can help you find a funeral director, if you’re transporting the cremains internationally, in the destination country, so that you don’t encounter anything that would delay or cancel your flight.

If you’d like more information about cremation services in Beltsville, MD, you can talk with our expert staff at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A. You can drop by our funeral home at 4400 Powder Mill Rd., Beltsville, MD, 20705, or you can contact us today at (301) 937-1707.