It is a common thing for people to travel to various places for different celebrations, and if you are the reason to celebrate, then you may end up with a lot of presents to take back with you.
When you have anniversaries or birthdays to celebrate, you may often end up with balloons as your present, and you do not want to leave them behind.
So, can you take balloons to airports, and fly with them on the plane?
Inflated balloons are not allowed to be carried by passengers on a plane. You can take them with you, in your carry-on bag, but they need to be deflated, or you will be asked to leave them at the airport. Cargo holds will not work since the pressure does not work well with balloons.
Coming back from a celebration by plane can leave you with a lot of presents, including balloons.
You will surely want to take your balloons back at home, but you need to know what options you have.
- In this article, I will talk about balloons and how you can safely transport them in an aircraft, and that way take your presents home with you.
Can You Take Balloons To Airports?
While carrying the balloons at the airport would not be a problem, taking them on the plane with you might.
No one will prohibit you to take balloons at the airport since they are not regarded as harmful objects, so you do not need to worry about that part. You have probably seen a lot of children carrying balloons at airports all the time.
When it comes to boarding the plane, an issue might arise.
Generally, balloons are not allowed to be taken on an aircraft, at least not inflated. Usually, airline companies do not allow boarding the plane with inflated balloons for safety reasons and considering the space in the plane itself.
Nonetheless, you have the option to take your balloons with you as long as they are deflated.
You can put your balloons either in your checked suitcase or in your carry-on luggage, but you must not carry them with you in an inflated condition. You might wonder whether the type of balloons plays some important role, however, this is a rule that refers to all balloons generally.
Therefore, your balloons can be latex or helium, but you still cannot take them if they are not deflated.
The size is also not important since when they are in a bag, that does not make any difference. Balloons are regarded as any other object that you pack in your bags, and they do not impose any harm, meaning that packing them in your suitcases is absolutely allowed.
This policy about balloons is disliked by many people, especially children, but that is how things are. If you want to board the plane, you must obey all the rules and regulations. Therefore, you can either deflate your balloon and put it in your bag, or you can leave it behind at the airport.
Can You Check Balloons In The Cargo Hold?
If you are just returning from a celebration, and you have received balloons of flowers tied to balloons as presents, you would like to take them with you back at home.
Now, since you know that taking them with you as carry-on luggage is not an option, you might consider checking them as cargo. When presents are important to you, you will consider all of the options just to get to the solution that will give you the wanted results.
While most airlines allow balloons in the cargo hold as long as they are properly packed, you might be faced with some other issues. For instance, different types of balloons do not behave as you expect when they are around 30,000 feet in the air. You do not just fill balloons with air and that is it, i.e. there are factors that allow them to stay in a good inflated condition.
The factors in question are pressure and temperature.
Firstly, it is important to consider that the temperature in the airplane is not the same as it is on the ground, and that may significantly impact the condition of the balloon. In addition, there is a significant amount of pressure when you are up in the air, which might cause deflation or popping of the balloon.
Even if your balloons fly in the cargo hold, you have to bear in mind that the temperatures there are not always controlled. Therefore, the cargo hold can get really cold, the air will start to shrink, and the final result would be deflation of the balloon.
On the other hand, you have to consider the air pressure which will be lower in the plane than it is in the balloon. As the pressure rises, the balloon will start expanding, meaning that it can easily get to the point of popping. According to some studies, this usually happens when the airplane is at 28,000 or 30,000 above the ground.
However, as I mentioned, these factors are not static, meaning that the amount of pressure and the degrees of temperature will depend on the plane. In other words, in some planes the temperatures in cargo holds are controlled, so they might not get so cold.
Also, the plane might not get as high above the ground, so the balloons might survive without popping.
- Therefore, you may check your balloons in as cargo, but you should expect that there might be some changes in their shape.
As you can see, you can take your balloons to the airport, but you may not take them with you on the plane if they are inflated. If you are in no condition to deflate your balloons, then you may want to choose the cargo option.
