By Lily | 07 January 2023 | 0 Comments
Why are people advised to not to carry fountain pens while travelling by air?
Why are people advised to not to carry fountain pens while travelling by air?
You are mistaken: fountain pens are allowed in airplanes.
Airlines sometimes just discourage you from taking fountain pens on flight.
The reasons are the following:
the air pressure in a pressurized aircraft is lower than the air pressure at the surface where you last used the pen;
if the cartridge or reservoir are not full, there is air trapped in them, and that air is at surface pressure (higher pressure than cabin at altitude);
if the pen cap makes a good seal, when you open the cap you will expose the feed to cabin pressure; pressure in the cartridge will then equalize by pushing air out of the cartridge, and ink with it;
that typically results in major inkage of persons and belongings.
You avoid this issue by using pens that have well designed caps (that make a good seal; add silicone grease if in doubt) and leave the damn cap on for the entire flight.
If you absolutely must write with a fountain pen while flying, then:
stockpile napkins
use a demonstrator pen where you can see where the ink is at all times
hold the pen vertical, nib up, for a few minutes to let the ink drop to the bottom of the cartridge as much as possible
slowly untwist the cap, while still keeping the nib up
prepare for consequences, as some ink that had remained in the feed will bubble up anyway.
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