Is it allowed to carry steel pipe in checked luggage in plane?

For checked bags, airlines basically care about only two things:

1. How heavy and/or unwieldy is it?

2. Is there a risk that it may catch fire (or explode) during transport, or damage other bags it's transported with?

Neither sounds like it will be a problem for you 3 kg steel pipe.

Police and/or customs at your destination might worry whether your pipe is intended to be used as a blunt weapon, but they don't care whether you carried it in hold or cabin luggage. And if you have a plausible explanation why you're traveling with it, the weapon angle shouldn't be a real problem.

The main concern is that it’ll look like a pipe bomb to the scanning equipment. Where possible, do not pack it in close proximity with any of the following:

• Anything looks like a detonator

  • cables or cords
  • alarm clock
  • cell phone
  • any type of batteries

• Anything that looks like shrapnel

  • nails, screws, washers, or bolts
  • try to keep the pipe’s end caps off

• Anything that looks like (plastic) explosives

  • peanut butter
  • meat
  • chocolate
  • X-ray impermeable material

If possible, just pack it in it’s own bag or box with nothing else around, beneath, or near it.

While one might say a reasonable response to a suspected bomb would be a hand inspection, it’s also reasonable to assume that destructive analysis (or blowing it up) is the safest way to neutralize and analyze a suspected bomb.

I doubt you'll have any problem. I've flown on a passenger flight (UK to USA) with Formula 1 teams before, and they picked up a lot of packages of F1 car parts off the checked luggage conveyor belt when we arrived.

The principle of weird industrial parts going as checked luggage rather than on a cargo flight is exactly the same.

As both WeatherVane and djr have pointed out in comments, in an x-ray scanner it may look rather similar to a pipe bomb. Expect the package to be subject to intense scrutiny, but probably only after you've checked it and its somewhere in the baggage handling process. I expect they'll get sniffer dogs on it, and there is a high chance of your luggage being opened to verify that it isn't a bomb. I'd recommend packaging that can easily be opened and resealed for this reason.

I have flown UK->Germany with metal pipes complete with electronics and wires hanging off them (motorised replacement parts for an optical system). I made the trip several times (only once carrying quite such bulky spare parts but often with smaller ones). Several other times I was sent from check-in to special baggage, where airport security scanned my tool case then hand-searched it quite throughly. I can't remember what I was asked at check-in/bag drop that propmpted them to send me that way; the case was within size and weight limits.

If you're carrying spare parts for a system, be sure to pack them in a way that they can easily be repacked sufficiently well with little or no effort. It won't do any harm to have the paperwork with them (copies of orders etc.) but it's not required within the EU. Check in/bag drop early (as others have said) to allow for slowness, and answer questions openly.

This sort of thing happens all the time -- a parcel company should be cheaper but if a service engineer is going, make them lug the part across half a continent

I've been in a somewhat siilar situation. When I finished living in Amsterdam and was moving back to the UK I put my bike lock in my hand luggage- a massive hefty solid chain.

I was stopped at security with this, they wanted me to leave it behind as it was dangerous. It took quite a bit of discussion for them to let me through with it after they believed by story about moving house, on the proviso that I promised not to get it out and wave it about.

Basically there are no laws about taking chains, lengths of metal pipe, etc.... but they are on the lookout for anything that can be used a a weapon and this might cause you trouble.

Make sure it's nicely packed up and looks actually useful for something to allay any fears if you run into over zealous security people.

As the steel pipe is just 0,5m and about 3kg with flanges, it would not be a problem to fit it into the checked-in baggage. And parts like washers and bolts can easily fit into the Checked-In Bag.

As of Wizzair Baggage Policy, each passenger can carry:

• one item of hand luggage, size no larger than 55x40x23 cm, maximum weight 10kg
• up to 6 items of checked-in baggage, weighing no more than 32kgs each
• duty-free items purchased at the airport after security checks
• Source: https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/travel-information/baggage

So, there seems no problem for you to carry/transport the steel pipe from Poland to Germany through WizzAir.