It is customary to present gifts to family, friends, and colleagues when visiting, especially during the holiday season. However, when visiting means using an airplane to reach your destination, you might have to reconsider gifting someone their favorite liquor as airlines have strict rules for bringing alcoholic beverages on a plane.
Yes, you can bring liquor on a plane, but you must adhere to the rules and regulations when bringing liquor on a plane as carry-on or checked luggage. Liquor has an ABV of between twenty-four and seventy percent, which allows you to take limited amounts on a plane.
Related: Can You Bring Alcohol On A Plane? (through TSA)
How Much Liquor May You Bring On A Plane?
You are only permitted to take containers of 3.4oz or less that fit into a clear quart size bag as carry-on and only one bag per passenger. You can pack five liters of liquor in your check-in bag, but the liquor must be in its original, unopened retail packaging.
May You Bring Homemade Liquor On A Plane?
Yes, you can bring homemade liquor on a plane, providing it has an alcohol content of less than twenty-four percent and is unopened or packaged in a sealable container.
May You Enjoy Your Carry-On Liquor During The Flight?
Unfortunately, the Federal Aviation Administration rules stipulate that passengers cannot consume alcohol during a flight unless the crew serves it. It is their way of ensuring that passengers do not consume too much alcohol, get intoxicated and cause problems during the flight. So no, you cannot sip on your carry-on liquor.
Who May Bring Liquor On A Plane?
People of the legal drinking age may bring liquor as carry-on or checked luggage on a plane.
It is crucial to confirm the legal drinking age of the countries or states you are traveling to if you consider taking liquor on a plane.
You may meet the legal drinking age of the country you depart from but may not meet the legal drinking age of the country you visit. For example, the legal drinking age in the USA is twenty-one, Europe and Canada allow alcohol consumption from eighteen, and so do many other countries.
Which Countries Prohibits Alcohol?
It is wise to familiarize yourself with the countries that prohibit alcohol, avoiding unnecessary complications when taking liquor on a plane. Therefore, take care when visiting India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and most other Muslim countries.
What About Liquor Bought At The Duty-Free Shop?
The TSA regulations stipulate that you can bring liquor bought at the duty-free shop on the plane if you adhere to the following rules.
If you are traveling to the United States of America on a connecting flight and the liquor was purchased at an international duty-free shop.
May You Bring Duty-Free Liquor Into The US?
If you are twenty-one and older, you can bring up to one liter of duty-free liquor into the United States. In addition, you can bring more than one liter of duty-free liquor into the United States when traveling from the Virgin Islands or any Caribbean country.
Additional quantities of liquor brought to the United States from the destinations mentioned above must be declared and will be taxed. The duty and Federal Excise taxes will be determined and collected at the port of entry.
How To Prove You Bought The Liquor At A Duty-Free Shop?
You need to be able to provide a receipt, not older than forty-eight hours, as proof of the purchase.
To clear the TSA screening, ensure the retailer packs the liquor in a tamper-evident, secure, transparent bag.
How To Pack Liquor Safely?
Please familiarize yourself with all the regulations and rules that govern alcohol on planes and abide by them before you pack any liquor in your luggage.
It is essential to pack liquor correctly to avoid breakage and damage during transport. You need to understand that checked bags are not handled carefully and may cause your liquor bottles to break if you do not take the necessary precautions.
Cover your liquor bottle with padding. Wrap the bottle in clothing, bubble wrap, or newspaper to protect it from breakage, wrap plastic around the padded bottle, and place it inside a sealable plastic bag. Covering the bottle in plastic and placing it inside a sealable plastic bag will eliminate damage to luggage contents in case of breakage.
Use bulky clothing, shoes, or towels as barriers between bottles to prevent them from smashing into each other. Lay down padding in the form of clothing on the bottom of the luggage, put the bottles on top, and cover again with clothing. Doing so will prevent breakage caused by heavy handling.
When To Consider Shipping Your Liquor?
Besides all the rules and regulations on the transport of liquor in your check-in luggage or carry-on, there is a real risk of breakage and damage. These regulations and rules dictate the type and quantity of alcohol permitted in check-in and carry-on luggage.
Packing liquor bottles in your carry-on or check-in baggage add weight and takes up a lot of space.
Consider using a shipping agent to transport your liquor instead of taking it with you on the plane. You can safely ship more liquor than what you are allowed to take on a plane. In addition, shipping eliminates the hassle of declaring your liquor at customs, and you can avoid buying your liquor at inflated prices from duty-free shops.
