I'm taking a trip to Kauai soon, and was wondering if there are any new koa wood uke customs for the tsa in hawaii. I remember there was a thread about this a while back, but I'm not sure if anything has changed.
I travel to Kauai via air frequently (always with a koa wood ukulele) and have never had a problem with TSA or the airlines, but admittedly I'm not going through customs. You wouldn't have to either unless you are on an international flight.
As an expat and one-time frequent flier, I agree, there's no US Customs for domestic flights. If you're leaving the US, then that's another can of worms. Also, aren't TSA and US Customs different animals? One is security, the other is about stuff you import and export. Having said that, I think we've all read, seen, or experienced TSA... being the TSA, so not trying to be all know-it-all that they can't take stuff away that had nothing to do with them all the time. And me saying this probably puts me on a list of some sort.
Hey...Last I heard Hawaii is part of the US.....LOL ha ha No issues that I know of with TSA or Koa wood for that matter...look at all the K brands that go out..ie Koa is Koa, whether it's
standard or curly.. that is another story it you have shell and going outside the USA .... the Lacey Act...
keyword: original purchase receipt. i was on the holding cell in san francisco international for 3 hrs last sept. for bringing in indegenous raw wood species for southeast asia to the US. they tested the woods for bugs. as far as carrying koa, i just got back from the big island and had $1000 worth of koa wood in my luggage with no problems ( as long as theyre milled and no barks on them)