I will be traveling from the U.S. to Europe this summer (not for the purpose of performing) and I’m wondering what the risk of taking a blackwood flute with me might be when I return to the states. The flute I was hoping to bring was made by (and bought directly from) a well-known maker around 2002, but I don’t have any documentation of the purchase. If there is some risk of confiscation I can just bring a delrin flute for the trip, but I would rather have access to my main flute during that period.
As Casey says, it’s your personal possession and you’re allowed to bring it across international borders. Just put it in your checked luggage (if it’s in your carry-on, you don’t need some over-zealous, bored security guard thinking it might be a pipe bomb ). You don’t need to declare it or fill out any paperwork. Also remember that the E.U. has free movement of CITES woods within its borders.
Paul
Yes, this is what happens in my country, you should only have problems if the customs agents think that you are selling instruments made with forbidden woods. You’re only going to carry one, so unless you find an agent who has a bad morning, the worst thing that can happen to you is having to play some tunes in the airport.
I’d be more worried about bringing it back into the U.S. than about travelling within the EU. Could you get some paper that the flute is already in your possession when you leave the country?
As to paperwork… You could go to a notary public and have him/her verify that the flute is yours on a stamped document stating that fact. Might be worth the few bucks the notary would charge just for piece of mind…
In Canada one can go to a customs office, show an official there the item, and receive documentation that the item was in your possession before you left the country. I would imagine a similar arrangement exists in the US. I usually go to a local airport (I live in a small city, but it does have flights to the US and hence has a customs office).
I do not share the confidence in the rationality, competence, professionalism
of customs officers and border police. I know from experience that what should
happen and what does happen in such situations can be different. Personally
I would have verification.
Absolutely DO NOT check your wooden flute!!! Changes in humidity and temperature can cause wood to crack (the neck on my Fylde bouzouki cracked this way). I’ve been flying with flute for over a decade, including internationally, and worst case scenario security will want to look at it and swab it with a cotton thing and test it for explosives. Usually they don’t even say anything at all.
As for CITES I wouldn’t worry about that either, unless you declare that you have CITES restricted items meant for commercial sale in your possession I would bet nobody is even going to notice that you have a flute made of blackwood.
I did this years ago with my Japanese camera. It only takes a couple of minutes at the airport and it proves you didn’t buy it abroad. It gives a little peace of mind, especially if your flute was made overseas. In my case nobody looked at the camera when I went through customs anywhere on the trip. I have flown domestically with my flute and security never even looked at it, either.
The difficulty, if I may say so, is that, even though it’s a good bet that there will be no trouble, there is a lot at stake if you lose. I’ve had bad experiences with customs police who were looking for ways to harass me. Not musical instrument related, but I’ve met my share of people who had a mistaken idea of the law or didn’t care about the law. If there is a simple way of protecting myself, I’d use it.
Earlier in this thread I suggested that you put the flute (your personal possession) in your checked luggage. Unseen suggests not doing this because of humidity/temperature changes. I forgot to mention the obvious: wrap your flute or flute case in plastic cling wrap to solve any humidity change. Significant temperature change is negligible in the cargo hold.
Paul
I always keep my flute in my carry-on. I fly 6-8 times per year and havenever had an issue with them even asking what my flute is…no one has ever thought it a pipe bomb except for in my federal office building.
Plus, TSA agents are not trained on woods or types of woods…they will just say it’s a flute. Customs will be fine, too. I fly out of country regularly and again…never an issue.
Does your flute have a serial number? When I traveled to England last April I was nervious about bringing my Rudall and Rose. I didn’t have any documentation about buying it. I found this information about getting a certificate of registration before traveling.
I had to take it to the Ship’s office which was by the exit from the arrivals area. It was pretty smooth. The stamp on the flute is really hard to read, so I was telling him “see, it says Rudall and Rose and Convent Garden and a number. Just look in the light and roll it back and forth a little.” And he said “okay, I’m taking your word for it.”
It is likely too late for this particular trip but the application for the “passport” supposedly takes 60-90 days in the US and will be a good insurance policy for anyone who travels. There is a story on concertina.net regarding a concertina that was confiscated at the Canadian border even though it was not new. That border was geographically close enough to the folks at the Button Box after a concertina event, and the person at customs did not believe that it was a personal possession rather than a purchase. This process is pretty new and not yet perfected.
I shipped a flute back and forth to its maker (from US to Ireland and back again) and enclosed a letter from the maker that it was my possession made in 2015, coming back for repair, and would stay my possession and be returned to me after the repair. I wrote a letter as well, and both of us quoted the personal possession musical instrument exemption. Neither of us were completely confident that it would work.
As for not having the paperwork-- Makers are pretty busy. I think a request for verification in the form of a letter which outlines for them what you feel their letter needs to cover, date of purchase, wood species, weight, etc. And the offer to pay them for their time might be helpful. They have to very careful about their reputation with the Cites folks so they can continue to ply their trade so they can’t exactly make stuff up on the fly, given that a letter might be impossible for some makers who may not have records themselves.
As for checked baggage: I have a question. If a flute is shipped as a parcel it is in a cargo hold. If it is luggage, is it not exposed to the same conditions as if it were a parcel?
Yes, same conditions, and not much different than if it was carry-on luggage. Cargo holds in modern passenger and cargo aircraft are pressurized and heated. The only difference compared to the passenger area, is the temperature will be a bit lower. One average I’ve heard is around 45 deg. F, but set warmer if there are live animals in the cargo manifest.
For shipment, the main risk (aside from theft or physical damage from handling) is extreme temperatures hot or cold for the truck carrying the goods in transit. If the instrument is packed well enough, maybe with some bubble wrap for insulation, that shouldn’t be a major issue.
). You don’t need to declare it or fill out any paperwork. Also remember that the E.U. has free movement of CITES woods