Needles on Planes

In a few days I will be boarding a plane to Portugal for a lovely week long vacation in the Algarve. It is a LONG flight. I normally sleep on flights making me a very boring companion, but since I have a couple of projects that I need to complete soon, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity.

The problem is I am not sure if I will be allowed to bring needles on board the flight. So far this is the information I have found:

(Courtesy of Transport Canada website)

Below is Transport Canada's list of items not permitted in carry-on baggage on board aircraft. For more information on carry-on baggage items, you may consult the list of dangerous goodsCanadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) website. Screening authorities retain the right to refuse any additional items they perceive as a possible threat to the security of air travel. and

Information for passengers travelling by air to, from, or within the United States - April 14, 2005

The list includes:

• Ammunition
• Automatic weapons
• Axes and hatchets (unless part of aircraft equipment)
• Billiard cues
• Billy clubs and blackjacks
• Bows and arrows
• Box cutters
• Brass knuckles
• Carbon dioxide cartridges and other compressed gases (except those required for medical purposes or to be used for aircraft maintenance or for aerodrome maintenance or construction)
• Caustic materials (including acids)
• Chemicals or gases that are disabling (such as incapacitating sprays, pepper spray, mace and tear gas)
• Corkscrews with attached knives
• Dangerous goods within the meaning of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, and the regulations under it, unless specific approval has been granted by a person authorized by the Minister to carry out an inspection under section 8.7 of the Aeronautics Act (such as wet cell batteries, dry ice, large quantities of matches and radioactive material, except those required for medical purposes or that are part of aircraft equipment)
• Darts
• Devices for shocking (such as stun guns and cattle prods, except defibrillators that are required for medical purposes or that are part of aircraft equipment)
• Explosives (such as blasting caps, detonating cord, dynamite, black and smokeless powder, gun powder, hand grenades, slurries and all products labeled as being explosive) and military explosives (such as C-4, DM12 and sheet explosives)
• Fire extinguishers (except those that are part of aircraft equipment or aerodrome safety equipment)
• Gas torches
• Golf clubs
• Guns (such as revolvers, rifles, shot guns, BB guns, pellet guns, compressed air guns, starter pistols, flare pistols and spear guns)
• Gun lighters
• Hockey sticks
• Syringes and hypodermic needles (except for personal medical use, and with the needle’s guard in place, and when accompanied by labelled medication)
• Ice axes and ice picks
• Ice skates
• Insecticides (except those to be used by crew members for disinfection purposes)
• Knives or knife-like objects of any length (such as hunting knives, scuba knives, swords, sabres, meat cleavers, straight razors and religious knives)
• Lacrosse sticks
• Liquids marked as flammable (such as gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid and turpentine)
• Liquids that are unidentifiable in unmarked containers
• Martial arts devices (such as throwing stars, kubasaunt, kubatons and numchucks)
• Oxygen tanks (except those required for medical purposes or that are part of aircraft equipment)
• Paint
• Paint thinner
• Parts of guns
• Penetrating objects (such as scissors with pointed tips)
• Pyrotechnics (such as fireworks, road flares, flare pistol cartridges and starter pistol cartridges)
• Razor blades (not in cartridges)
• Replica weapons
• Restraining devices (except those used by peace officers or crew members or by escort officers escorting prisoners)
• Scuba tanks
• Ski poles
• Sling shots and catapults
• Sporting bats (such as baseball bats and cricket bats)
• Tools (such as hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, drills, saws, crow bars and heavy tools, except those to be used for aircraft maintenance or for aerodrome maintenance or construction)
• Toy weapons including toy transformer robots that form into toy guns

August 2005

You'll notice that it doesn't say anything about knitting needles. I don't think crochet hooks would be considered as equally threatening, although I could be wrong. The list above also doesn't say anything about International flights...

On this site I did find this chart (the columns represent Carry-on and Check-in):

DANGEROUS ARTICLES / SHARP OBJECTS
Axes	No	Yes
Belt buckles sharped like a gun and any similar items	No	Yes
Box cutters	No	Yes
Cigar cutters without removable blades	Yes	Yes
Corkscrews, other than those with attached knives	Yes	Yes
Cutting instruments (e.g. paring knives)	No	Yes
Cuticle cutters	Yes	Yes
Disposable razors	Yes	Yes
Digital meat thermometer	No	Yes
Hatchets	No	Yes
Items that look like weapons (e.g. perfume bottles shaped like a grenade)	No	Yes
Kitchen forks (plastic and metal)	Yes	Yes
Knitting needles	Yes	Yes
Laser pointers	Yes	Yes
Meat cleavers	No	Yes
Nail clippers	Yes	Yes
Nail files (of all types)	Yes	Yes
Pins for attaching all medals and pins on broches	Yes	Yes
Penetrating objects (including scissors with pointed tips)	No	Yes
Razor blades (not in a cartridge)	No	Yes
Razor blades cartridges	Yes	Yes
Restraining devices (including handcuffs or other devices used by air carrier crew or police officers)	No	Yes
Sewing kits containing small sewing needles	Yes	Yes
Straight razors (including cigar cutters that when pulled apart have an exposed blade)	No	Yes
Tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, drills, saws, crow bars and heavy tools	No	Yes
Toy transformer robots in the form of a firearm	No	Yes
Toy weapons (e.g. water gun, squirt gun, toy grenade)	No	Yes
Tweezers	Yes	Yes

According to this it looks like I should be able to bring them on board.

On an American site they suggest you use circular needles made of bamboo. They actually have a whole page dedicated to travelling with knitting needles. They also suggest these handy tips:

• In case the screener does not allow your knitting tools through security it is recommended that you carry a self addressed envelope so that you can mail your tools back to yourself as opposed to surrendering them at the security check point.
• As a precautionary measure it is recommended that you carry a crochet hook with yarn to save the work you have already done in case your knitting tools are surrendered at the checkpoint.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!