Flying with CPAP machine

Hello fellow pappers, I just found out that my dad passed away. He was 89 and was active right up until he had a heart attack last week and then another one this afternoon in the hospital that he could not recover from. I will be flying back home for his funeral ( St. Paul MN to Buffalo NY). Has anyone flown recently with their machine, if so what should I expect at the airport and boarding the plane with my APAP. This will be the first time traveling by plane with my machine. Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Travis

My condolences on losing your father. It's always hard...

My husband and I have flown with with out machines a lot over the last five years and the rules have changed, of course. We flew this month, so that's what I'm basing my comments on. We have not found it to be any bigger a hassle than taking computers out of their cases or taking off our shoes.

Never check your xPAP. It can get damaged or lost and that would be bad. It doesn't count as one of your two carryons, so don't let airline people harass you about it. It has helped us that we have tags that say "medical device" on ours. You can buy those from places like CPAP.com or make one yourself.

Going through security, you'll have to take the machine out of its case and put it in a separate bin so they can do an explosives test. They take it away and bring it right back.

Others have been required to show that it belongs to them and is their necessary medical equipment. So we travel with copies of our prescriptions and a statement of medical necessity from out docs. We've never been asked for this, but figure it's good insurance just in case.

When we travel together, we put both in one rolling carryon bag and move the medical device tag to that bag. We have M series APAPs with humidifiers and they both fit in the bigger bag in their cases. We leave the cases mostly unzipped to facilitate getting them out during security checks.

We've talked about this once or twice in the last couple of months, so you might try searching the forum for those threads.

Go prepared and you'll be fine!

My condolences as well.

You can call your airline and see what their policy is regarding your machine. It may also be listed on their website.

I carry mine on board and every time have been singled out for it to be inspected. Make certain you have an empty water chamber before packing it so you won't damage the machine and so you aren't taking liquid through the security checkpoint. If you have a smart card, I recommend putting it in a small paper envelope and keep it in your personal bag instead of in the machine where it is subject to movement or tampering.

Another forum member mentioned they are hassled for taking it as a third piece of carry on baggage (which is allowed by many carriers but personnel hassled them before checking to see if it was an allowable extra). I haven't been hassled, but I recommended to them that they tie a medical tag in plain sight high up on the shoulder strap so airport security and personnel can see it is a medical piece of equipment.

I recommend putting a copy of your prescription and other pertinent paperwork both in your purse/briefcase or such and a copy in the machine. That way it is available to the inspectors and you have a copy for safekeeping on you.

Please let us know how your trip went and if you learned any tips on traveling with your machine that may help others.

My sympathies... had to do that myself a couple of weeks ago. But had to go out of the country to do it.

Flying... well I've never had to prove why I had the XPAP machine, and the security folks all know what it is (I usually carry it in the Respironics bag). But in the US they've always wanted to swab it, some crazy reason the Canadian security checkpoints haven't wanted to swab it but they do want it in a separate bin. I'm getting into the habit of asking them to change their gloves before they do that though. Just put it in a separate bin outside the bag (they'll only want the blower part not the humidifier).

cflame1 wrote:My sympathies... had to do that myself a couple of weeks ago. But had to go out of the country to do it.

Flying... well I've never had to prove why I had the XPAP machine, and the security folks all know what it is (I usually carry it in the Respironics bag). But in the US they've always wanted to swab it, some crazy reason the Canadian security checkpoints haven't wanted to swab it but they do want it in a separate bin. I'm getting into the habit of asking them to change their gloves before they do that though. Just put it in a separate bin outside the bag (they'll only want the blower part not the humidifier).

I forgot to mention that I always carry it in Respironics bag. I too have to put it in a separate bin.

Good idea to ask them to change gloves. I'd ask if it was possible, since it is a medical device, if they could change gloves.

Condolences on your loss.

I've posted this before, but my usual carrier is Continental and I've never had a problem with having a CPAP as a "3rd bag", at either check-in, security, or boarding. I do not fit the profile of a typical apnea patient (i.e. I am a relatively young, thin female) and I have never had to prove ownership or medical necessity either. If you are calling ahead to the airline to make arrangements for a "bereavement flight" (reduced rates on last-minute seats are often available) you could mention the CPAP at this point and perhaps they could make a note of it in their records as well.

Suggestions that have worked for me:
--carry it in it's assigned case. Security readily recognizes it on x-ray, but it may help speed check-in and boarding if attendants and ticket counter folk see a "Respironics" or "Resmed" branded bag.
--If it's small enough, place it in an extra-large ziploc freezer bag before packing it into its case. That way if you need to take it all the way out of the case for xrays you won't feel so uncomfortable about placing it in the same gray bin that just carried some guy's stinky shoes. Depending on the kind of case you have, I've gotten away with just unzipping it all the way and pulling back the flap so that the machine is still in the padded case, but fully visible. Note that US carriers will swab it for explosives residue after the x-ray. Make sure you pack cords, hoses, etc. in such a way that it is easy and quick to remove and then replace the actual CPAP unit at the airport.
--On-board storage: Under the seat behind you, if you can; otherwise place it in the safest position possible in the overheads, even if that means it's not directly above your own seat. This means some arrangement where it's not going to fall out when the bin is opened, and where no one is going to cram a heavy suitcase on top of it. Ask a flight attendant for help if necessary.
--Make sure the humidifier is bone dry if you're going to travel with it attached--you may even want to create an absorbent "plug" of paper towels or something to place where any stray droplet (no matter how small) could enter the machine.
--Masks can be fragile and therefore better stored in a separate carry-on, briefcase, etc. rather than the CPAP machine case.

Okay here is a brief synopsis of my trip. First off, thanks for all the suggestions they were very helpful. The trip went quite smoothly. I took the blower part out of it's carrying case and placed it next to the case in one of the grey trays that they use for x-raying. I asked the TSA people if they would put on clean gloves when they swabbed it down for explosives, apparently the x-ray machine cannot "see"
inside the blower part, they were more than happy to do so. They seem to be quite up to speed on what a CPAP machine is and how important it is to those who use one. So getting through
security was no hassle at all. Of the 4 planes that I flew on 3 times I placed it under the seat in front of me and on one of the flights the attendant stowed it with her gear and had it waiting for me
when I was getting off the plane. All in all it worked out great. BTW all flights were on Northwest. Cheers.

Travis

Hi Travis - I'm very sorry for your loss. It's not easy to lose your dad, I know.

Glad the flying part of your trip went well.