Before I moved to Germany permanently, I flew from Sri Lanka to Germany many times, and I always brought my badminton rackets and my badminton shoes and badminton sports clothes with me because badminton is part of my life.
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Is badminton racket allowed in flight?
Yes, badminton rackets are allowed on flights. You can bring your badminton rackets with you, but it always depends on the airline, and it depends on which bag you have chosen to bring your rackets with (hand luggage or main luggage). Reading this blog post, you will understand the limitations and bypass them without any problem.
I remember asking one of my friends, “is badminton racket allowed on flight ?” when I was booking my first flight. Because I had no idea, no way I can stay a little bit longer in any country without playing some good badminton. Yes, I’m guilty. I’ve been addicted to badminton since I was nine years old (oh boy, that’s a long time).
I have brought my racket around 20 times on the flight. How did I do it?
As you know, there are some limitations when we bring something unique with our hand luggage. So I didn’t want to have any problematic situation. I always used my main luggage to bring my badminton rackets because sometimes I heard stories that people have problems when they bring their badminton rackets in their hand luggage.
Follow these steps if you would like to bring your racket with your main luggage like me. And I will give you a few tips if you want to bring your racket with your hand luggage, which I don’t recommend.
Bring your badminton racket with your main luggage.
STEP 1
Make sure your bag is big enough to put your badminton rackets, and make sure your rackets will not fit inside your luggage too lightly.
I had to buy 2, 3 baggage because my luggage was broken after one or two times since I bought cheap bags in the beginning.
I will give you a funny tip, but it makes sense. I brought one racket to the shop when I bought new luggage because it helps to choose the size you want to go for. I usually bring one of my oldest rackets (which is one of my beginner rackets). Put your racket inside and see whether it has enough space. I know it’s funny, but it helped me choose the correct size luggage.
STEP 2
Make sure your main luggage is strong. Don’t buy a cheap bag that is not that strong. We all know that airport workers throw our bags here and there, which is no secret anymore. We have all seen those video clips on social media.
You don’t want to break your favorite badminton racket and buy another one, right? Therefore make sure your bag is strong enough, and it has some pressure and shock capabilities. Good luggage is expensive, but you can use them for a long time as well, and that’s the good side of it.
STEP 3
Wrap your racket with something soft and which can absorb some pressure and shock. You can use bubble wrap for it. Remember, your rackets will be more oversized, and they need more space when you wrap your rackets. That’s why I said mentioned buying a little bit bigger bag in “step 1”.
STEP 4
After wrapping your rackets with something soft, make sure your rackets fit in your bag nicely. Make sure your rackets are too loose in the bag, and they move a little bit when you carry your bag here and there. It’s not going to be a big issue since we pack our clothes.
Bring your badminton racket with your hand luggage.
First of all, I don’t recommend this method because some people had problems in the airport when they want to bring their rackets with their hand luggage. Because some airlines consider sports equipment as weapons, I heard.
I remembered in 2017, Indian badminton player Sindu had a difficult situation when she wanted to bring her badminton racket in her hand luggage. You can check that news here.
So do you still want to badminton racket in your hand luggage? If so
STEP 1
Contact your airline and ask whether you can carry your racket with your hand luggage. You might even need to mention the size of your hand luggage. Remember, all airlines have different rules. You can even Google it.
STEP 2
Let’s say your airline said, “Yes, you can bring your badminton racket with your hand baggage,” and what should you do or what are your option if they say “No, you are not allowed to do that”? Oh boy!
Hope for the best and plan for the worst. Therefore make sure you have extra space in your main luggage to put your racket if airport workers; say you need to remove your badminton racket from your hand luggage.
My conclusion
Like I told you before, I brought my badminton rackets more than 20 times on the flight to Sri Lanka and Germany. I never had a problem. I think that is the best option if you Google “Is badminton racket allowed in flight?” and looking for the correct answer.
Just follow my steps and bring your badminton rackets with the main luggage and it will be fine.