IAM.GEN.VCA.160 Carriage of sporting weapons and ammunition

SPORTING WEAPONS

(a)In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 300/2008, sporting weapons may be carried on board an aircraft, in a place that is not inaccessible, if the required security conditions in accordance with national laws fulfilled and an authorisation has been granted by the State(s) involved.

(b)There is no internationally agreed definition of sporting weapons. In general, it may be any weapon that is not a weapon of war or munitions of war. Sporting weapons include hunting knives, bows and other similar articles. An antique weapon, which at one time may have been a weapon of war or munitions of war, such as a musket, may now be regarded as a sporting weapon.

(c)A firearm is any gun, rifle or pistol that fires a projectile. The following firearms are generally regarded as sporting weapons:

(1)those designed for shooting games, shooting birds and other animals;

(2)those used for target shooting, clay-pigeon shooting and competition shooting, provided the weapons are not those on standard issue to military forces; and

(3)airguns, dart guns, starting pistols, etc. A firearm, which is not a weapon of war or munitions of war, should be treated as a sporting weapon for the purpose of being carried on a VCA.