Flying with your TeamO lifejacket
Flying with a lifejacket can sometimes be complicated because each airline has its own rules about what it will allow on its airplanes. Many sailors and international jury members travel with their own lifejackets however and we are often asked how to fly with a TeamO, so the aim of this blog post is to help you to prepare for your flight with your BackTow lifejacket.
Aviation industry official line:
According to the International Air Transport Association (Dangerous Goods Regulations; 27th Addition, published 2016, section 2.3.4.2.1 ) "small cartridges fitted into a self-inflating lifejacket must be for inflation purposes. No more than two small cylinders of carbon dioxide or another suitable non-flammable non-toxic gas fitted in the lifejacket per person and a maximum of two spare cartridges." In addition to this, you are not allowed to carry more than one personal safety device per person, and the personal safety device must be packed in such a manner that it cannot be accidentally activated.
In practice, this means that CO2 cylinders may be carried as either carry-on baggage or checked (hold) baggage, but we highly recommend getting prior approval of the airline you will be travelling with.
TeamO CO2 Cylinder Specifications:
All of our CO2 cylinders are guaranteed to meet the following specifications:
- Weight: our 170N lifejackets carry a 38g CO2 cylinder. The 275N lifejackets carry a 60g CO2 cylinder.
- Burst pressure: minimum 560 Bar
- Internal pressure: 5,70MPa (at 20°C)
Useful Links (In Multiple Languages for Multiple Countries):
In additional you may like to download and print the IATA guidelines mentioned above. The link to their official guide is here, and contains the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations Table 2.3.A in five languages (English, German, French, Spanish and Russian) and a detailed description of the CO2 cylinder. We suggest you print a copy of this and put it together with the TeamO letter above and keep it with your lifejacket.
For US travellers you may also want to print out and carry a copy of the TSA 'Prohibited Items' document (link available here) that explicitly permits two CO2 cartridges to be carried with a PFD.
We hope this short guide is useful for sailors traveling with their TeamO lifejacket. If there are any questions we can answer drop us an email at info@teamomarine.com.