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Are children's toy guns allowed on a BA airplane?

  • One is a water gun and the other one is nerf gun
  • They are not replica guns, I am aware that replica guns are almost illegal in the UK.
  • Our flight is within the UK
  • They are carried by the child himself

I am almost sure they are allowed but when I was a child the security at a Moroccan airport took my shotgun of me and his exact words were "That's not what we agreed on". However children's toys in the Arab world follow no standards and a plastic bullet from that gun could really hurt.

I assume my child's guns are EU approved as I have bought them from Toys R Us.

By EU approved I mean the manufacturers follow the EU standards safety-wise and these toys present no threat to the children and the passengers and they can't be used to hijack or sabotage the plane.

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    I have no idea why my comment was removed. Deletion-Power-Hybris? So here my question again: Can you clarify what you mean by "EU approved" and put it in relation to the question? Because, e.g. my 30 cm kitchen knives are legal (EU approved?), too.
    – phresnel
    Sep 1, 2015 at 15:41
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    I'm confused by the downvotes. It seems like a fairly valid question, their page (as per the answer below) even answers this, and a google search shows others wonder this too.
    – Mark Mayo
    Sep 3, 2015 at 13:15
  • @MarkMayo It's because I am the one who asked the question, that's all..
    – Ulkoma
    Sep 3, 2015 at 20:52
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Ankur Banerjee
    Sep 4, 2015 at 8:50
  • I feel like this question should also be posted in Parenting, but from the perspective of BA. I can only see the items being used to disturb other passengers.
    – Aron
    Sep 4, 2015 at 16:26

2 Answers 2

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+50

The British Airways page on liquids, banned and restricted items has a link to a PDF document detailing the items which cannot be carried as cabin luggage. This document mentions toy guns as being forbidden in carry-on luggage (emhpasis mine):

PASSENGERS AND CABIN BAGGAGE

Without prejudice to applicable safety rules, passengers are not permitted to carry the following articles into security restricted areas or on board an aircraft, on either their person or in cabin baggage:

  1. guns, firearms and other devices that discharge projectiles – devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile, including:

    • firearms of all types, such as pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns
    • toy guns, replicas and imitation firearms capable of being mistaken for real weapons

It would therefore be safe to assume that since both nerf and water gun can be classified as toy guns, neither will be permitted as cabin luggage on board a British Airways flight.

To be extra sure you can contact British Airways and ask them directly.

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    grammatical ambiguity there. Does the clarifier "capable of being mistaken for real weapons" apply to "toy guns, replicas and imitation firearms" or just to "imitation firearms"? If the former, his will be allowed since his toy guns can't be mistaken for real weapons. If the latter, they will not be allowed since all toy guns are banned. I find it more likely it applies to all three, myself.
    – Kate Gregory
    Sep 1, 2015 at 14:19
  • @KateGregory I think that it applies only to replicas and imitation firearms. The comma separates the three into two distinct groups.
    – JoErNanO ♦
    Sep 1, 2015 at 14:36
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    if you're an Oxford comma person, yes. But if you're not (I like apples, pears and bananas) then it doesn't. Hence the ambiguity.
    – Kate Gregory
    Sep 1, 2015 at 14:42
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    @JoErNanO What you quote here is exactly what's written in the documents I linked to in my response. The 'capable of being mistaken for real weapons' clause clearly apply to the toy guns as well (just as I wrote a couple of hours before you). Assuming anything else would mean that 'toy guns' are generally forbidden, but 'imitation firearms not capable of being mistaken for real weapons' are allowed. That does not make sense at all.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Sep 1, 2015 at 16:37
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    (+1) Since this item is part of a list of “devices capable, or appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile” and toy guns usually aren't capable of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile, then they must “appear capable” of doing so to be covered. I don't think there is much ambiguity in this.
    – Relaxed
    Sep 1, 2015 at 21:49
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Within the EU, you can bring the water gun, but not the nerf gun in your cabin luggage.

The relevant EU regulation ban 'devices that discharge projectiles', which should cover the nerf gun. The water gun is ok as long as it is obviously a toy gun and is not 'appearing capable, of being used to cause serious injury by discharging a projectile'.

Categories of items banned in cabin luggage are listed in annex part B of Commission Regulation (EC) No 272/2009. You can also find a list of items considered to be covered by the banned categories here.

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    And it must not have more than 100mL of water in it.
    – Michael Hampton
    Sep 1, 2015 at 17:13
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    @MichaelHampton Not quite. If it contains water, then the volume of the gun must be no more than 100ml.
    – CMaster
    Sep 1, 2015 at 20:48
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    What kind of monster lets their children have a water gun in any crowded public area?
    – Billy left SE for Codidact
    Nov 19, 2019 at 18:25

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