Diving and Flying : 5 things you need to know

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It is now so easy to fly to any country on the other side of the world in less than a day for a much accessible price than it used to be before. When you are a scuba diving traveller, there are a couple of things to know to make your trip safer and cheaper when flying and diving. The most important of all is of course the time you need to wait when flying after diving but you will also find tips about how to manage the weight of your diving bag with most airline’s companies.

Schedule your flight 24 hours after your last dive

diving flying - dive computer

In the case of scuba diving and health issues, I always rely on DAN. Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a non-profit medical and research organisation dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers. As they explain well on their website:

“The current position is: wait at least 12 hours after a single no-decompression dive and 24 hours after repetitive, multiple days or decompression diving. DAN’s recent results suggest that in the second case 17 hours will probably be safe, but the study is still going on, and the official recommendation has not changed yet.”

Here are the minimum requirements for flying and diving if you want to be safe:

  • Allow 12 hours minimum before going diving. Flying long hours from one side to another of the globe is tiring and dehydrating. Most people never think about it, but as you learnt during your open water, it is better a have a good night sleep and avoid alcohol before a dive the next day (alcohol is dehydrating). Here it is the same thing.
  • Do not forget that driving after scuba diving, especially when your trip includes a portion in higher altitude, will have the same risk. In areas such as Bali, Canary Islands, Hawaii or South Sinai in Egypt, it is frequently the case. Make sure to wait enough time after scuba diving before driving.
  • Up to 48 hours if you did at some point any decompression diving. This is why after my trip to Costa Brava when I did multiple deep dives for almost a week, I went back to Paris by train: problem solved!

So I understand you want to make the most of your scuba diving holidays, but it isn’t worth putting your life at risk. Just plan a day off and take it as an opportunity to go and discover what is around. What about this interesting museum? What about food sampling at the local market? Take inspiration from the destinations I cover on World Adventure Divers’ blog as I always include information about what do to discover above water.

Choose a scuba diver friendly airline company

diving flying - electronic weight scale scuba diving bag

Even if you follow all the tips I’m giving on this article to get rid of unnecessary kilos; we are not precisely travellers who travel light. So before you book your next flight, check what the allowance of check-in luggage is for at least one bag.

  • With low-cost companies, in Europe or Asia, this will always be an extra cost you need to add to the price of the flight ticket itself. Most of the time, you pay accordingly to the weight of your bag. So get organised and invest in a luggage scale (see picture above). Generally speaking, this additional cost is not necessarily too expensive if you can get an excellent deal on your flight. But the time of 5€ last-minute low-cost flight tickets has been over for a while now. So unless you can make an early booking, be sure to compare the total cost including the options.
  • With standard airlines companies, if you take an economy class ticket, you will almost always have checked-in luggage of 23kg the majority of the time. With the backpack I bring to the cabin and my scuba diving bag with both clothes and gear inside, I always managed not to go over 23 kg. Moreover, there is a general belief that these airlines are the most expensive. This is not always true. If you book less than 3 months in advance, can be a bit flexible on the schedule and take into account the cost to reach the airport, I often found the standard airline companies to have competitive pricing with better departure hours. Be careful, because of the rough competition with low-cost airlines, these companies have started to issue low-cost flight tickets with no luggage allowance, double check and be thorough with what is included in your fare.

I recently found out that some airline companies have special treatment for scuba divers. Always good to know. For example:

  • Etihad Airways gives free of charge an additional set of scuba diving equipment of 15kg maximum. Update: Etihad has changed its conditions from the 1st of June 2017.
  • Qatar Airlines gives a free bag of scuba diving gear of 10kg.
  • Sri Lankan Airlines also give an extra luggage allowance of 10kg for scuba divers.
  • Virgin Atlantic gives one piece of sports equipment at no charge, and for scuba diving, it is not less than a free bag of 23kg.
  • Garuda Indonesia also gives a free bag of 23kg for scuba diving gear.
  • Egypt Air is very scuba diver friendly, carrying many divers to the Red Sea they offer a total luggage allowance of 46kg.

My ultimate trick is to be loyal to an airline alliance. With Flying Blue (the loyalty program of the Skyteam alliance) from the Silver level only, you are already entitled to a free additional 23 kg piece of luggage. In my case, I don’t need more than one bag for the outbound flight. But I love to count on the second free bag for my inbound trip to bring back many goodies home!

Learn what scuba diving gear to put in the hold

diving flying - light travel regulators

To let in the baggage hold:

  • Dry/Wetsuit
  • BCD
  • Fins
  • Mask (to put in your fins to protect it and avoid carrying its box)
  • Diving knife (for obvious reasons)

Note: If in any case, you would like to take tanks with you, you need special authorisation at additional cost from the airline company.

To take with you in the cabin:

  • Dive computer (too expensive, too small and too easy to steal)
  • Torchlight (not allowed by airlines in the hold luggage and the battery needs to be out)
  • Camera and its housing (let the housing open if possible)

The regulator issue

There is a whole debate about it. The only valuable argument about not putting it in the hold luggage is, according to many divers the high price of the equipment (same as for dive computers and cameras), and the fear that it might get damaged or stolen. In my case, I always wrap my regulators in the wetsuit and towel inside my BCD and never have an issue. I tried a couple of times to travel with my regulator in my cabin luggage: every time security has stopped me. I always asked if I needed to take it out explaining what it was. I would be told no, and after the X-ray check, they would ask me to take everything out! I got tired of this so I decided to let the regulators in the hold luggage.

Take time to thoroughly dry your diving equipment

diving flying - drying scuba diving gear at the end of the trip

It seems obvious, but I cannot count the times I heard scuba divers telling me how upset they were to have to pay for extra weight back at the airport whereas they carefully packed and weighed their luggage before going. They just forgot to dry their equipment correctly. A wetsuit can easily contain 1 – 2 kg of water. Have you thought about your BCD you didn’t empty properly when rinsing it?

While you take some time off diving before your flight (see point 1), think about putting your gear in a place ideally with sun and wind for quick drying time. If you are in a colder area, a heated room is what you need. I also always ask scuba diving centres if they have some space for me which is ideal for letting my gear dry before my flight. Nobody has refused so far!

Try flying with a carry-on only

diving flying - carry on luggage for diving gear

Ultimately if you become good at only taking what you need, you might be able to keep it as light as with cabin luggage only. Carefully check the dimensions and maximum weight allowed for cabin luggage. The low-cost companies are very strict about it, be ready for inspection. With a 3mm wetsuit, a light regulator, a back inflation BCD and short fins (which are usually the most complicated item to fit in cabin luggage) you should be able to make it. In the pictures above you can see the successful trial,I made with the Aqua Lung Explorer carry-on. Of course, it won’t be enough if you plan to dive in Iceland or Patagonia with a drysuit!

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Flying and Scuba diving 5 things you need to know
Flying and Scuba diving 5 things you need to know

Posted by Florine

  1. Great tips! I always have issue with packing my diving gear and underwater photography equipment. For diving trip, we usually book our flight through diving travel agency in the Netherlands, somehow they have great deal with the airlines so all scuba divers booked through them can have extra kilos even if we were flying with Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific..

    Reply

  2. Thank you so much for your input Indah, This is great to know that travel agencies can negotiate this!

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  3. Great post. one of the main things when I want to go scuba diving at a given location is the preparation for all equipment and accommodation. and most importantly, a waterproof camera. unfortunately I do not have this essential equipment. but this post is very interesting. thanks for the post.

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  4. Great article!!!! I’m like you, I have a miles relationship so I usually have no issues!

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  5. If you don’t have time to dry your wetsuit properly express post it home to yourself to save money on the extra baggage. I mailed my 7mm two piece home in an Australia Post express post pack for about $10 and it arrived only a day after I got home.

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    1. Awesome idea! Thank you Brenda for sharing!

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  6. Just an update, last year (2015) Garuda changed its policy: no more free/waiver for the extra weight of scuba diving gears. I had to pay extra weights last year.

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    1. That’s great to know! Thank you so much for sharing!

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    2. Hi Indah, I checked again and it is on Garuda Indonesia website that you have a free 23kg bag for scuba diving equipement : https://www.garuda-indonesia.com/jp/en/garuda-indonesia-experience/on-ground/baggage/index.page

      Do you have any update?

      Reply

  7. Interesting! I just found this article comparing 15 airlines luggage allowance for scuba diving and other water sports equipement: http://www.aph.com/community/know-before-you-go/aph-compares-airline-policies-flying-water-sports-equipment/

    Reply

  8. Important update: as of 1st of June 2017, Etihad has cancelled its policy to give free scuba diving bag allowance 🙁 http://www.etihad.com/en-us/before-you-fly/baggage-information/baggage-guide/

    Reply

  9. I’ve just been told that Easyjet no longer allow you to take your regs and mask in hand luggage – can anyone confirm!?

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    1. I think it sounds really strange, especially for the mask. They may try to make you pay for special sport equipment luggage but otherwise, I checked their website, and there is nothing about it:
      http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/baggage/cabin-bag-and-hold-luggage
      http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/baggage/sports-equipment
      http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/baggage/restricted-and-unusual-items

      Reply

  10. what about the pointing stick? do you think it would be allowed as a carry on?

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    1. That’s an excellent question! Based on my experience of going through security in airports with gear, I wouldn’t take it.

      Reply

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