With all the fees and restrictions on airline baggage, it’s nice to occasionally stumble on an unexpected touch of grace—such as being allowed to fly with your Christmas tree as a carry-on
I was checking Delta’s rules for an upcoming trip when I came upon the rule on Delta’s website under ‘Special Items.’ Here it is, verbatim:
Christmas Trees
Who are we to turn away holiday spirit? We allow cut Christmas trees as limited release baggage on all flights within the United States, including flights to/from Hawaii. However, all Christmas trees will be subject to baggage allowance and size guidelines, as well as some other rules:
- Trees need to be adequately packaged with the root ball or cut base and all branches wrapped and secured using a burlap type material.
- If you are traveling into Hawaii and checking a Christmas tree as baggage, you must include it on your declaration form and the tree must pass agricultural inspection
A couple of paragraphs later, after banning computers in checked bags, the airline also advises on Cremated Remains, which are allowed if you have a death or cremation certificate. It also has to reveal its contents to TSA scanners, because, it advises, “TSA is not allowed to open the container under any circumstance.” You bet.
