Urns with cremains pose security issue

Cremated human remains may not seem like a national security threat, but passengers carrying urns have become a sensitive hassle at airport checkpoints.

The problem: X-rays can’t penetrate some urns, and screeners with the Transportation Security Administration are not allowed to open the urns.

Metallic containers often fail the X-ray test, causing a bottleneck at the checkpoint and more grief for a passenger who already carries a burden of sorrow.

“It’s definitely an emotional issue,” said Catherine Burnett, a security agency liaison with commercial airlines at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. “Aunt Bertha is a part of their lives, and the air carriers are still having challenges with it.”

The issue is a convergence of two major trends: airport security and human cremation.

Cremations in North America have tripled in the past three decades, and in Arizona, up to half of the cremains wind up getting flown out of state.

Joe Livingston, funeral director at Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix, said people want to carry a loved one’s ashes onboard instead of in checked baggage to make sure they reach that final destination safely.

“It’s one thing to lose your underwear,” he said. “It’s another thing to lose an urn.”

For airport screeners, that spells trouble. Up to one-third of urns are made of bronze, copper, steel or lead-lined ceramic. The containers have become a hitch in the post-Sept. 11 system.

In April, the TSA announced new rules for transporting urns on commercial airlines, including a requirement that a container must pass through the X-ray machine or it will not be allowed as a carry-on item. Security screeners may not open a container, even if asked to do so by a passenger. And if the more powerful X-ray machine in baggage screening cannot view contents, the container will be banned entirely from commercial flights.

Marcia Florian, federal security director for the TSA in Phoenix, said she doesn’t know of an instance when an urn was used to smuggle explosives, but added: “We can’t look at it that way. It only takes one.”

If you are planning to carry a loved one’s cremated remains on board an airplane:

• Check with your mortuary or crematorium about Transportation Security Administration regulations. You may also contact the agency call center (866-289-9673) or check its Web site ( www.tsa.gov).

• If the remains are in a metal urn (or one lined with lead), obtain a temporary container for the flight. These are available at crematoriums and funeral homes.

• Contact your airlines in advance about specific rules. Some carriers do not allow human remains in the baggage compartment; some cargo flights require 48 hours advance notice for the shipment of cremated remains.

• Arrive at the airport early so there will be time to deal with any delays.

• Carry the cremation certificate and the certificate of disposition if you have one. (These should be provided by your funeral home.)