# Will I have trouble travelling with cremated remains? Mysterious powder.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942 "2005-07-03T20:01:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/1 "2005-07-03T20:01:25Z")
I’m visiting my Mom next week, and I might come home with my Dad’s cremated remains to disperse in the ocean or intra-coastal waterway here in Florida. I could pass for middle eastern. Will I have trouble travelling with a box of powder? Maybe it’s better if the cremains were mailed to me. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/2 "2005-07-03T20:15:55Z")
And I forget to mention the vital point that I will be flying, on a major airline. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/3 "2005-07-03T20:31:11Z")
Contact the airline. I’m guessing you’ll probably need the death certificate and maybe some proof from the cremator. Do it soon so they can verify stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/4 "2005-07-03T20:34:28Z")
He died a few years ago, and the cremator is actually out of business. But I might be able to get a death certificate. I’ll call the airline either way, thanks. I’m likely going have my Mom mail me remains, who needs more hassles when flying. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/5 "2005-07-03T22:03:51Z")
Well, looks like I need the death certificate, which we likely have, and a “crematory certificate”, which if we don’t have we likely cannot get, since the place that cremated him doesn’t exist anymore. Looks like the good 'ol post office will carrying my Dad’s remains to Florida. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/6 "2005-07-03T22:18:55Z")
What about putting it in your checked baggage? (Ignore this suggestion if you only plan on having carry-on.) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/7 "2005-07-04T00:22:46Z")
I am going to have only a carry-on, but I _think_ the person I spoke with did not differentiate between checked-in and carry-on, so there might be trouble even in checked-in piece (if they decide to search it). ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/8 "2005-07-04T01:48:01Z")
Cremated human remains are just about as clean and inert as stuff gets, considering the fires they were exposed to. Therefore, they are pretty “clean”. I have two words for you. **Federal Express**. A bag within a bag within a bag. Voila. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/9 "2005-07-04T02:02:21Z")
Why even FedEx the cremains? It’s not like he’s in a hurry anymore. I think post office will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/10 "2005-07-04T04:04:58Z")
My Dad’s remains came to Missouri, from Florida, via UPS. They were shipped by the funeral home, but there were no special markings on the outer wrapping to indicate the contents. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/11 "2005-07-04T08:53:50Z")
When I took my step-father to Australia in 1999, I just needed the death certificate and to declare it when I went through customs. Only time I had any problems was when my backpack went through the x-ray at the Parliament House. Metal tubes (my portable tripod), some coiled wires (remote shutter for my camera), and an amorphous shape (the remains) combined to present a somewhat threatening appearance when viewed by x-ray from the wrong angle. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/12 "2005-07-04T09:00:29Z")
A relative brought her mother’s cremated remains here to Beirut to scatter in the Mediterranean, and she didn’t have any troubles. I think she put the box in her checked bag, though. I would think a person on a flight to Beirut would be more likely than the average passenger to be hassled. ---
**Author:** ![Savonarola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Savonarola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savonarola)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/13 "2005-07-04T17:41:52Z")
I shipped my parents’ remains to Arizona in the winter without problems. I returned with a bit of dad’s ashes in a small tupperware container that I was going to spread in NYC in Central Park. I had no problems. I suspect that I could have carried dad’s ashes through on the plane as they were just packaged in a plastic box. Mom’s, though were in a stone box/urn of some sort and, I suspect, would have led to some difficulty. The postal service works wonders, these days, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/14 "2005-07-04T21:29:32Z")
Look at the bright side, if you insure the package with USPS, and they lose the box, you can get money to get a new dad! Can’t beat that! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-i-have-trouble-travelling-with-cremated-remains-mysterious-powder/310942/15 "2005-07-05T16:42:50Z")
New and Improved Dad !! Just add water and agitate ! 😃 :eek: (blame **Shirley**. She’s a troublemaker, she is)