Diver Spare Air

This is the information from Continental Airlines now merged with United Airlines concerning SCUBA equipment:

Continental does accept one dive bag containing equipment used in the scuba-diving sport as checked baggage. Scuba equipment in addition to the baggage allowance will be assessed at the excess baggage charge applicable in the market for a single piece.

Dive bags weighing over 50 pounds (23kg) that contain other items in addition to or in place of appropriate dive equipment will be subject to the applicable overweight fee.

Dive bags measuring over 62 linear inches (157 cm) that contain other items in addition to or in place of dive equipment will be subject to the applicable oversize charge.

If applicable, the first or second bag fee applies to scuba equipment.

An empty dive tank will not be included in determining the Free Baggage Allowance and will be subject to a $100 service charge (each way) for flights within the U.S./Canada and a $200 service charge (each way) for international flights.

An empty dive tank or up to 3 rebreather tanks will not be included in determining the Free Baggage Allowance and will be subject to a service charge of $100. The empty dive/rebreather tank must have the regulator valve completely disconnected form the tank. The tank must not be sealed (i.e. the tank has an open end). The tank must have an opening to allow for a visual inspection by a TSA Security Screener.

Note: for Rebreather Equipment: Soda lime that is 4% Sodium Hydroxide or less will be accepted in checked baggage. Soda lime that is 4.1% Sodium Hydroxide will not be accepted in checked baggage.

An item of SCUBA equipment consists of one empty SCUBA tank, up to 3 rebreather tanks or one dive bag containing equipment used in the scuba-diving sport. The empty scuba/rebreather tank and a separate dive bag containing SCUBA equipment will be charged as two separate pieces.

Continental is not liable for damage to Scuba diving equipment.

Excess Valuation may not be purchased for Scuba diving equipment

You can see the permissions and restrictions on most sporting equipment at the Continental website.

You can also read the Flying with Spare Air Q & A: When carrying SPARE AIR on a commercial aircraft, the system must be empty and TSA prefers that the regulator be unscrewed from the cylinder so they can be sure that it is empty. For more information, visit our Traveling With a Spare Air page.

Flying at various altitudes should not produce any negative effects on the product. It has been used by the Navy, Air Force & private pilots for over 15 years now at various flight attitudes with no negative effects.