diff --git a/checkpoint.go b/checkpoint.go
index 733a145c..e7664a13 100644
--- a/checkpoint.go
+++ b/checkpoint.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ var checkpointCommand = cli.Command{
 		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "ext-unix-sk", Usage: "allow external unix sockets"},
 		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "shell-job", Usage: "allow shell jobs"},
 		cli.StringFlag{Name: "page-server", Value: "", Usage: "ADDRESS:PORT of the page server"},
+		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "file-locks", Usage: "handle file locks, for safety"},
 	},
 	Action: func(context *cli.Context) {
 		container, err := getContainer(context)
diff --git a/libcontainer/container_linux.go b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
index d58624c6..7d9fa71a 100644
--- a/libcontainer/container_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
@@ -344,6 +344,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Checkpoint(criuOpts *CriuOpts) error {
 		LeaveRunning:   proto.Bool(criuOpts.LeaveRunning),
 		TcpEstablished: proto.Bool(criuOpts.TcpEstablished),
 		ExtUnixSk:      proto.Bool(criuOpts.ExternalUnixConnections),
+		FileLocks:      proto.Bool(criuOpts.FileLocks),
 	}
 
 	// append optional criu opts, e.g., page-server and port
@@ -463,6 +464,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Restore(process *Process, criuOpts *CriuOpts) error {
 			ShellJob:       proto.Bool(criuOpts.ShellJob),
 			ExtUnixSk:      proto.Bool(criuOpts.ExternalUnixConnections),
 			TcpEstablished: proto.Bool(criuOpts.TcpEstablished),
+			FileLocks:      proto.Bool(criuOpts.FileLocks),
 		},
 	}
 	for _, m := range c.config.Mounts {
diff --git a/libcontainer/criu_opts.go b/libcontainer/criu_opts.go
index 9e9563e7..bca81672 100644
--- a/libcontainer/criu_opts.go
+++ b/libcontainer/criu_opts.go
@@ -12,5 +12,6 @@ type CriuOpts struct {
 	TcpEstablished          bool               // checkpoint/restore established TCP connections
 	ExternalUnixConnections bool               // allow external unix connections
 	ShellJob                bool               // allow to dump and restore shell jobs
+	FileLocks               bool               // handle file locks, for safety
 	PageServer              CriuPageServerInfo // allow to dump to criu page server
 }
diff --git a/restore.go b/restore.go
index b186bbf4..e604895f 100644
--- a/restore.go
+++ b/restore.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ var restoreCommand = cli.Command{
 		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "tcp-established", Usage: "allow open tcp connections"},
 		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "ext-unix-sk", Usage: "allow external unix sockets"},
 		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "shell-job", Usage: "allow shell jobs"},
+		cli.BoolFlag{Name: "file-locks", Usage: "handle file locks, for safety"},
 	},
 	Action: func(context *cli.Context) {
 		imagePath := context.String("image-path")
@@ -109,6 +110,7 @@ func criuOptions(context *cli.Context) *libcontainer.CriuOpts {
 		TcpEstablished:          true, // context.Bool("tcp-established"),
 		ExternalUnixConnections: context.Bool("ext-unix-sk"),
 		ShellJob:                context.Bool("shell-job"),
+		FileLocks:               context.Bool("file-locks"),
 	}
 }