Flying with CPAP machine in hand luggage? (International)

[Felicis]

I have a Cpap machine which I will need to travel to the USA with when we fly over in September. It will have to go in my carry on. I know that my country is fine with it, but does anyone have any experience with bringing such a machine in to the country - will customs freak out? Is it going to cause a drama, do I need to have Dr letters, or will they not make any difference?

I have to have the machine in order to sleep and function, it is vital for my health (not to mention the people in the room with me). Is there any alternative to flying with one that I might not be aware of, not being an American??

Thanks for your help!

 

[bumbershoot]

No one freaks out. DH travels all over to different countries with his CPAP and no country has ever freaked out. Customs doesn't even see it unless they are already checking your bags for some reason... And they would almost certainly know what it is. When going back home and going through TSA, put it in its own bin. They might need to open it and swab it, so be prepared for that (give yourself plenty of time for security, especially if you're leaving from MCO).

Actually, there's more thorough info here: http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/02/traveling-with-cpap-machine.html DH never takes it out of the case, though.

 

[Felicis]

Thank you so much! That is really reassuring. I feel so much more confident now!

 

[nacho113]

I have a Cpap machine which I will need to travel to the USA with when we fly over in September. It will have to go in my carry on. I know that my country is fine with it, but does anyone have any experience with bringing such a machine in to the country - will customs freak out? Is it going to cause a drama, do I need to have Dr letters, or will they not make any difference?

I have to have the machine in order to sleep and function, it is vital for my health (not to mention the people in the room with me). Is there any alternative to flying with one that I might not be aware of, not being an American??

Thanks for your help!

TSA sees them all the time and they are not a problem.
The unit needs to come out of your bag and go through in it's own bin, but may still require additional screening.
Of special note, make sure the there is no water in the unit (if you have one that has the humidifier built in)

 

[dreiwhit]

I flew for years with my CPAP and never had any trouble. I also placed it in the very large (IIRC, 2.5 gallon) zip loc bags. I didn't want to chance picking up who-knows-what on my CPAP from the bins.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Yep, you'll be fine. I've traveled with a nebulizer and a cpap before.

 

[KurtC]

In the US, if you carry your CPAP in its own bag and put a Medical Device tag on it, it doesn't count towards your carry on limit.

 

[bumbershoot]

In the US, if you carry your CPAP in its own bag and put a Medical Device tag on it, it doesn't count towards your carry on limit.

I think that's everywhere, and FWIW DH has never needed to have any sort of special tag on it.

 

[shamrock30]

My husband has one, and it's never been a problem when he travels internationally. I've read elsewhere that some people keep it in their carryon when going through security, but he's had to remove his 100% of the time.

 

[Blackadder337]

I've flown from Detroit -> Myrtle Beach. Toronto -> Austin TX, Toronto -> Orlando, Houston -> JFK , NY, and never had any problems at the airports.

They do request that you take the machine part out of its bag (don't need to remove hose, power cables or mask) and put it in a separate bin for the security scanners, but that's it. I always put my machine in its own large ziplock back though to keep it safe. TSA are fine with the clear ziplock. They just want it out of your storage bag.

However for my own sense of relief, I do have photocopies of my original CPAP perscription as well as a photocopy of the operations manual that I keep in my cpap bag just in case. But I've NEVER been asked to show either.

 

[Pooh2]

I also put the cpap in large ziplock . A couple of times, they asked me to remove it from the ziploc and swabbed it.
I put the tubing and mask in a separate ziploc. Those do not have to be removed from the carry-on bag or place in a separate bin.