Munich Airport - Fly without Cry

I unintentionally flew into Munich airport with my prized Swiss Army knife in my carry on backpack. Of course it was rightly confiscated

They search baggage of those arriving at the airport??

Your correct. Good pickup. I was flying out of Munich to Sydney
Corrected version below.

Hi Travelers,
I have good news re this service at Munich airport. I unintentionally left my prized Swiss Army knife in my carry on backpack when departing Munich airport. Of course it was rightly confiscated and I was given the Fly without Cry receipt. On arrival home in Sydney I searched the internet to check them out and only one of many reviews was positive. Some calling it fraud, a rip off etc.etc. The main complaint was they had been waiting weeks and nothing had turned up. I decided to give it a go and paid the 22 Euro to a German bank account in late October 2025. To my amazement it turned up in a small package safe and sound just three weeks after I'd transferred the money. Patience is apparently a virtue however not needed in this case. Happy travels.

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Seh1

Your post is awfully confusing. Are you saying the security people at the Munich airport confiscate personal items and they give you a receipt from some organization called "Fly Without Cry" and once you get home you then send this organization, "Fly Without Cry" money and your confiscated item is shipped to you from Munich to Sydney for only 22 euro?

How much would it normally cost to ship your Swiss knife from Munich to Sydney? If this is all on the up and up, I would think it would be cheaper to get something confiscated at the airport and have "Fly Without Cry" ship it instead of a merchant or shipping it yourself.

Also, why doesn't Fly Without Cry have a website? Is this a German government owned enterprise? Why would anyone send money to a German bank account number for a business that has no contact information on the web? If this is such a great service, why isn't it at all airports in Germany or across the world?

So confusing! Can you help us out?

Ha ha ha the AI summary says

"FlyWithoutCry" is a service offered at airports, like Munich Airport, that allows travelers to have confiscated items shipped to them after a flight. It is used for items that are not allowed in carry-on luggage but that the traveler wishes to retrieve later. While some users report positive experiences and successful delivery, others have experienced long delays or considered it a scam, so the service can be inconsistent, according to Rick Steves Europe forum users.

And then gives this link
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/don-t-fall-for-munich-airport-shipment-of-confiscated-items

And then links this very thread
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/munich-airport-fly-without-cry

Another reason to never trust those AI summaries.

Not even for the comedic entertainments?

I dont trust anyone, and it is the same conversation I have with new staff at work. I don't care the opinion of your secondary source, what does the bibliography say and what do the primary sources say?

The AI and then especially the reactions to it are at least fun.

Thanks for getting it VAP. I am sure the forum analysts will research this outstanding travel business and do what they normally do.

https://www.munich-airport.com/frequently-asked-questions-376207

If this 'service' exists, it seems the airport authorities are unaware of its existence.

There are a number of airports where there are commercial services that allow you to send items you accidentally brought to the airport home. It sounds like this is one of those services. I am not sure why people are so skeptical about this. What does the OP have to gain? Most people won’t try to bring their pocket knife through security. If someone accidentally does this at the Munich airport, the OP is simply reporting that he was able to have his item shipped home successfully.

Right and with such services one can easily find and pull information about these commercial interests, like this one - https://www.mailsafeexpress.com/

I am not sure why people are so skeptical about this. What does the OP have to gain?

Not skeptical, just asking questions. Waiting for a response as to why "Fly Without Cry" cannot be located like other businesses on the web. Why would a security person, who confiscated a knife from a traveler, hand a traveler a Fly Without Cry receipt for this item?

Does this mean that the security person or the German government has a relationship with Fly Without Cry? Just trying to understand the business model. If there is no official German government relationship with Fly Without Cry, that would mean it is possible a security person has a relationship with someone claiming they will ship a product home to you for a price.

A shipment from Munich to Sydney was 22 euro? Seems pretty inexpensive door to door. The biggest question is why no information is available in 2025 for a business who takes your confiscated property and promises you they will send it to you if you wire them money to a German bank account.

Second thought, yes, I am highly skeptical. What does the OP have to gain? Take a wild guess?

What does the OP have to gain?

exposure and search engine optimization?

The whole thing (not least the name) just sounds very strange. And as others have said, the only reference I can find to this service is another thread from this website from 2022: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/don-t-fall-for-munich-airport-shipment-of-confiscated-items

exposure and search engine optimization?

I appreciate that folks are thinking critically, and I want to clarify that I've reviewed and I don't think we need to assume ulterior motives in this thread.

"Ha ha ha the AI summary says... And then links this very thread" Plus, it's a disservice to optimization for AI to eat it's own tail. :p

Back to discussing post-flight item-retrieval services...