Do you think that a flute packed in a carry on in a flute bag (copley in a soft case) would cause issues in the scanners (think that it is a pipe bomb) in say US airports and Australian airports? In general, any airport.
I am going to Austalia tomorrow and am concerned about this.
Experiences.
PS. I will be flying back on gues what date. But all in the US that day.
I would carry it as hand luggage and tell them beforehand.
Itās not hard unless you make it hard 
Aside from information you get here (and a search will find additional information) you may want to look at what the TSA says.
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1235.shtm
I have taken my flute through airport security many times. I take it in my carry on bag. When going through the scanner, I take it out of the carry on bag, open the case and lay it on top of the plastic bin with my jacket, wallet, keys, phone etc. Never had any issues.
Iāve never had a problem. Seldom had to chat about what it is.
Just carried my Copley to Los Angeles and back a couple of weeks ago with no problems and brought it to Ireland last March with no problems, either. If they ask, just tell them what it is and play a tune for them. Theyāre mostly NOT ITM fans, so you should probably play āDanny Boyā or āIrish Washerwomanā 
Pat
Just took my Delrin Somers in a soft case as a carry-on from NY to Italy and back with no problems with the TSA.
āTake me out to the ballgameā will melt the hardest heart.
Iāve flown with a flute in my carry-on bag countless times and Iāve never had a problem. Sometimes they ask what it is and sometimes they even want to see it, in which case they run an explosives swab over it and the test comes back negative. You shouldnāt have any problems.
Thanks all so far. The tsa site was great. I checked both quantas and southwest sites. Flying to lax and then to brisbane. Looks simple enough. I will let tsa know at screening what it is.
I want to take it. I want to show it to my grandson. He once sang twinkle, twinkle, little star to me on the phone. I think that we can manage that on the flute.
Besides, I really need to practice. 
My teacher says so anyway.
Its the golden graham cereal for my son and the coffee beans for me (coffee is not that great in Brisbane ā instant stuff ā yuck) that I have to worry about. They got dogs for that stuff. 
Just kidding. You have to just declare the stuff and security is happy. My son was an airport security in Brisbane once upon a time.
Again thanks all.
When travelling to Ireland this year I had three flutes and a u-pipes chanter in my carry-on luggage. Didnāt bother to take them out (I never do), I just put my laptop through separately. They only asked why I have so many flutes with me, and after telling them Iām a flutemaker, they were fine. They also said that theyād have me play a tune if shift changeover wasnāt a minute away.
I got hand checked once because of my flute. It was in a small backpack, with an ipod and headphones right on top of it in another pocket. They checked it with a little swab, and it wasnāt a problem getting it through. The guy told me it looked like three sticks of dynamite (flute sections) with a detonator (ipod) wired to it (headphones) when viewed in the x-ray. Just glad they didnāt shoot firstā¦
That was quite a few years ago. Havenāt had any trouble in recent travels.
-Jay
Have my flute with me in Paris at the moment. Got pulled aside in Amsterdam and asked to open the case. Only question for me was why I am traveling with such a rare and old flute.
Arbo
Iām currently travelling with a Seery delrin flute and an OāBrien Rover whistle set. Flutes and whistles havenāt raised any questions on this or any other national or international flight Iāve ever taken ā even when everythingās been hand-searched for other reasons.
I have several times been stopped in UK airports on the way out and asked to play every whistle that I have with me. I actually think thereās some logic to it. They could be handy little containers for something or other. Or disguised gun barrels or something. At least when itās happened thereās been a fiar bit of laughter and amusement at the busy security areas concerned.
I normally have a rake of whistles, bagpipes, uilleann, all sorts, never had a problem, one time I was carry a pair of high hat cymbals, they wanted to know what they were! Mind you they took the babys fork away In case I impaled a stewardess I suppose. I always wonder because the Low D could do a fair bit of damage !
I wanna be a world traveler and carry around an expensive flute and tell someone Iām a flutemaker too. Lucky ducks.
Actually, Iām enjoying myself right where I am. But itās nice to wish.
I fly often from Amsterdam to Cork with the flute in my handluggage. Never had a problem, never gotten it out, never been asked any problem. On the other hand if you come from the States they could suspect you of trading. So watch out with saying you are a flute maker in that case.
I took a Hammy Hamilton Practice flute down to Haiti onceā¦had it strapped to the side of my pack.
The Hammy as you may know is a black delrin headjoint on an aluminum tube. The TSA guy took it and was holding it by the head and slapping his hand with the pipe. āThis looks pretty formidableā he says āwhat is it?ā. I told him it was a flute and he had his supervisor come over. They were both talking about what a good club it would be. Finally the supervisor says āPlay a song on itā. So there I stand playing Fig for a kiss at the metal detector. After the tune, they let me right through.
Doc
I had a similar experience the very weekend after 9-11, except it was the headjoint lining that set them off, not any clublike aspect - which is only a patently ludicrous observation with flutes, particularly keyed, sectional ones, being what they are: hollow, structurally barely stable and too delicate for effective cudgelhood. The metal head lining, being tubular, made them think it might be a pipe bomb, never mind that it was hollow and empty. So after much posturing and āaha-I-got-youā glinty-eyed grilling by the suspicious head guard, and cordial answers on my part, he finally challenged me to play it (along with every thing else I had to offer to do that too), so I lit in to OāFarrellās Welcome Into Limerick. Immediately his attendants started dancing, and the main official got upset that I was nobody but a fluteplayer. Better luck next time, I guess.
But now in addition to all that, looks like weāre also going to have to worry about CITES certifications in more earnest than ever before, what with that latest raid on the Gibson company. Pain in the wazoo, that.