Air cargo

[Nebraska_cichlids]

I'll be traveling to Europe this Friday and bring some fish back to the U.S. I will need to check the fish with my luggage (styrofoam inside carboard inside suitcase). Obviously, it can get fairly cold in the plane's cargo area. Recently, I've heard many different opinions about using vs. not using heat packs for transport in the cargo compartment,. I've successfully tried both method in the past but am still not sure what's the safest approach. Any thoughts?

 

[Mike Wise]

For what it's worth, I shipped my fish from Peru trip in my luggage - in a cardboard box, not styrofoam. They changed planes 3 times. I lost only 3 fish out of ~150, 2 of which I expected would not make it. The baggage compartment is cool but is heated during the trip. Pets fly in the holds all of the time.

 

[tjudy]

The luggage hold of commercial airlines are heated. Not up to same temperatures as the cabin, but not cold enough to freeze liquids in luggage either. I use a heat pack in the Winter because of the temperatures on the ground while the bags are waiting to get onto the plane. In warmer months I do not use a heat pack.

When I came back from Austria in February, 2009, I did not have a styro to fit into my luggage. I wrapped the breather bags in laundry and mixed in a few 40 hour heat packs.