Taking ashes on a plane: airline and airport rules

Carrying a loved one’s ashes on a flight is allowed, common and, if the container is right, straightforward. The rules are the airport’s, the airline’s and the destination’s, and they are different rules, so this guide takes them in the order you meet them: before you leave, at security, at the gate, and at the border on arrival.

Before you leave

The container. Airport security X-rays ashes and will not open the container. If the scanner cannot see through it, the urn may be refused, or sent to the hold on an airline that allows that. Wood, cardboard, plastic, biodegradable materials and light ceramic scan clearly; metal, including brass and steel, and thick stone or marble do not. Many families carry the ashes in a plain travel urn and transfer them to the urn they have chosen on arrival. Choosing an urn lists which materials pass. Seal the container well; security will look at a container that could spill.

The documents. The cremation certificate from the crematorium, a certified copy of the death certificate, and a letter from the funeral director stating what the container holds. Carry them with the ashes, not in the hold. Taking ashes abroad explains each, and which countries want an apostille, a translation or a consular permit on top.

The airline. Each airline sets its own rule, and they differ on the hold and on notice. From the airlines’ own pages, November 2026:

For any other airline, Jet2 and Wizz Air included, read its own policy or ring before you book. Even where the hold is allowed, keep the ashes in the cabin with you: a hold bag can go astray.

At security

Put the container in a tray on its own and tell the security officer, quietly, what it is before it goes through. The container goes through the scanner, the officer looks at the image, and if it is clear the container comes out the other side untouched. If the officer cannot read the image, the container may be refused or sent to the hold, which is why the first section of this page is the one that matters. Have the documents to hand.

At the gate and on board

The container travels in your cabin bag or on your lap, under the seat or in the locker. Nothing needs to be declared to the cabin crew unless the airline’s policy asks for it.

At the border on arrival

This is where the documents are for. If the country’s customs form asks whether you are carrying human remains, answer yes and declare the ashes; if it does not, walk through the channel with the documents ready. A border officer who asks will want the cremation certificate first, the funeral director’s letter second and the death certificate third, and where the country required an apostille, a translation or a consular permit, those. Most families walk through without a question; the documents are for the family who is asked.

Sending them instead

If you cannot fly with them, ashes can travel as air freight with the same documents, and we send them, to or from the UK; every figure is an estimate until we know the destination. Royal Mail and Parcelforce do not carry ashes abroad. Once they have arrived, wherever they are going, what to do with the ashes covers the choices, and the local town hall covers the rules for scattering there.

Direct cremation step by step is where the cremation certificate in your hand luggage comes from.