Yesterday was an anniversary for Valerie and myself. As I had been out of town all week, I wanted to surprise her with flowers when I got home. I’ve done this a few times. It’s not difficult, just like carrying on anything else. I’ve brought my share of weird things onto planes, onions, celery, oil filters, and even a whole chicken. Flowers are not weird and the process is easy within the 49 Continental US states.
Bottom Line: Yes, you can carry fresh flowers onto a plane. They cannot be in a vase with water, but a regular bouquet is perfectly acceptable to carry on. To keep them safe, I suggest keeping them inside a paper bag and handling them with the bag and not by the stems. It’s also best to put them under the seat in-front of you so that you don’t end up with them crushed by someone’s bag.
Package Fresh Flowers to Carry On
The most important thing to remember when carrying on flower is how they are packaged. You don’t want to be carrying them by the stems like a bride through the whole airport. You also don’t want to stuff them into a bag where they’ll be crushed. For this trip, the flowers are my personal item and my backpack is my carry on.
I’ve done this more than a few times, the best way to carry flowers is to put the whole bouquet into a paper bag that has handles you can carry. If you try to carry the flower bouquet by the stems you’ll end up beating up the flowers. You also want that extra layer of protection for when you put the flowers under the seat in-front of you.
TSA Security With Fresh Flowers
The TSA allows you to bring flowers through security and onto planes(TSA Webpage guidelines). As always, you cannot bring liquids more than 100ml onto planes so you cannot pack the flowers in a vase with water. You need to just have a loose bouquet.
Like everything, the flowers need to go through the X-Ray Scanners. This is another area where packing them into a paper bag provides a little protection from the heavy flaps on the X-Ray tunnel. Flowers are easily bruised, every up and down is a potential for damage, help them out.
Place Flowers Under The Seat
The best place for a bouquet of flowers is under the seat in front of you. Obviously you need to be mindful of your feet, but it’s much safer than in the overhead bin where others are trying to place their bags. This is again why you want to have flowers in a paper bag, it gives them a little protection when you move them around. As always, the carry on rules for the airline apply. The flowers are my personal item and my backpack is a carry on.
Flowers on a Plane Restricitons
Flying with flowers within the 49 Continental US states is perfectly acceptable in all cases, there are no restrictions. The same rules do not apply to Hawaii. Hawaii has special requirements for some types of flowers but for the most part they are accepted. When in doubt, always declare and pass through inspection.
When flying internationally, transporting plants is often restricted depending on your origin and destination. Check the rules for the countries involved. Again, if there’s any doubt, declare your goods at the agricultural inspection.
Flowers on a Plane Final Thoughts
Bringing flowers onto a plane is easy and is explicitly allowed by the TSA. The most important thing is to package them correctly. I like to put them into a paper bag with handles so that I am not handling the flowers all the time and they have a little more protection.
Flowers are allowed through TSA security as long as they are not in a vase with water. It would also be a pain to carry flowers with water so a plain bouquet is the way to go. I also put them under the seat in front of me so they don’t get crushed by by someone putting their bag in the overhead bin. Just keep in mind you’re flowers are your personal item, don’t bring to many bags with out onto the plane.
If you’re out of town and want to bring someone some flowers, go right ahead. It’s not difficult and it’s always a nice surprise.