Our son passed away in February and we are wanting to scatter some of his cremains over Prague. Do you know anything about taking cremains into Europe and if it would be possible to do this? I have contacted a tour company (plane) and they say it is okay. Thanks.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
I'm very sorry for your loss. I know I have seen the issue of cremains addressed on at least a couple of airline websites, and they were allowed. TSA doesn't list them as something that cannot be carried on an aircraft, either, so it looks like you are OK. You might want to check with your airline just to be sure about their policy.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Each country also has regulations governing the disposal of human remains. I would urge you to check with the Czech embassy in Washington for their input.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
Good point, Norm. I was assuming that the tour company she contacted was the one they intended to use to scatter the ashes, and would know the law there. But it's a good idea to check, anyway.
Posted by
Land of La
9084 posts
I did this in 06 with some of my best friend's remains. We'd known one another for 50 years. Her heritage was Italian but she'd never made the time to travel to Italy to visit the towns where her parents were from. A week before I left I was told by a person in the Italian consulate that I needed to have a death certificate. Didn't have one, wouldn't be able to get one. I take only a carry on when I travel and started to panic. Looked on line and saw that people do it all the time. I'd promised this to her. She was going to Italy. I took our kindergarten picture (we were sitting next to one another), the funeral program with her picture on the front and the most recent picture of the two of us. If anyone stopped me and asked "what was in the bag" I was going to tell them, "I'm taking my best friend home." NEVER had a problem. Sorry for your loss but what a beautiful thought to scatter some of his remains in Prague.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Yes, I guess you could just go ahead and do it, and hope you don't get caught. But if you do.....
Posted by
Roanoke, VA, USA
1 posts
I did this last year when a dear friend of mine passed away before she was able to join our daughters and me on our trip to London. British Airways told me to pack the ashes in a clear plastic bag, along with the death certificate. I put both in a medium sized velvet jewelry box. I carried it on board and told TSA what it contained at security, where they had me send the box through XRay separately. We discretely scattered the ashes in the River Thames and said good-bye. Hope this is helpful.