As a wise man once said
"I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!!!!"
Samuel. L. Jackson - Snakes on a Plane
Nah but seriously a question that im asked time and time again is,
"can i take my knitting on the plane"
and previously my response was, according to the .gov website knitting needles are permitted in hand luggage, however it can often be up to the person on security if they actually let you take them on or not.
You also hear and read all the advice like
- I go to the USA all the time and its never been a problem
- take wood over metal
- take a self addressed envelope and some cable stoppers or a stitch holder and post the needles back to yourself
- start the knitting so you can prove you are an actual knitter
and it can be super confusing.
Now i dont mean to rub it in your face, but i am off to New Zealand in December and we are coming home via Japan (honeymoon baby), so some very long flights ahead of me, and im like yeah baby PERFECT knitting time.
So this is my train of thought about the grand holiday knitting plan.
- I am all set and cool about leaving the uk knitting needles are fine
- HOWEVER we stop in dubai for a super quick change and the last time i passed through that airport there were alot of men with guns aimed at a woman because she wouldnt remove her head scarf- do i want a gun pointed at me over knitting needles?
- we then hit up Oz for a teeny stop (as if the plane was a bus) and up to Christchurch. Now i know the Ozzies and Kiwis are pretty chill about most things exept from food/nuts/dirt/animals...ok ok
So in my head im fairly ok EXCEPT for Dubai, and i was doing all the. will i get bamboo needles, will i just chance it? Where would i post my needles from? an i trust a guard in Dubai to post my needles? ill need backup needles in my hold case? WILL THEY TAKE MY KNITTING?? or will the just shoot me?
Then my brain got sensible (WHAT) and i googled knitting needles in Dubai airport.
Up pops Emirates website (the airline we are flying TO Dubai with) and according to their rules knitting needles are not permitted on their flights. Dude im bummed as thats like a whole 7/8 hour wad of knitting from my precious stash that i wont get (not to mention all the airport time) and with only a 2hour layover i wont get access to our hold luggage to stash my needles for securityGUTTED!
THANKFULLY, i can crochet.
So since I never even thought about looking at the websites of the airlines im using, i googled air New Zealand and they are TOTALLY fine with knitting needles on the plane...So going to Japan, (11/12 ish hours) i can bang on with some shawl knitting! WINNA.
Thank god for the chilled out Kiwis!
So i leave you with this advice,
dont stress about getting your needles confiscated, just.
