We sent out an E-mail Extra bulletin last month warning hunters with Delta tickets to South Africa about this inaccurate demand. And that bulletin made its way to Delta officials, who got back to us through travel agent Kathi Klimes of Wild Travel. Word we received is that Delta has no such policy in place and they were not aware of anyone being inconvenienced by inaccurate demands for firearms documents. At this writing, the problem one subscriber had is still being sorted out.
Our advice is to err on the side of caution here. Until Delta has unequivocally solved this problem, be sure you have all of the paperwork to import a firearm into South Africa in your possession when you go to the airport. Also, to help future passengers, be sure you let us know if counter personnel hit you with this inaccurate request. It is not Delta's policy to do so, and they want to sort out the problem.
Delta is very eager to sort the problem out, by the way, because the South Africa route has proven to be a winner for the airline. Apparently, they carried some 34,000 passengers in the first eight months of operation. That is so much business the airline is planning to upgrade the plane they are using. Starting October 27, Delta will be flying refurbished Boeing 767-400's, offering 22 more seats, seven of those in business class. Amenities will include on-demand in-flight entertainment for........(continued)
