Airplane traveling with batteries.

tommytavor · Mar 13, 2022

Is it better to travel with my Mini 2 batteries in the hub or stored separately in the same Harbor Freight apache case? I am trying to save space but also keep my drone and its contents protected from the baggage handlers in my carry on.

Thanks,
Tommy

brett8883 · Mar 13, 2022

tommytavor said:
Is it better to travel with my Mini 2 batteries in the hub or stored separately in the same Harbor Freight apache case? I am trying to save space but also keep my drone and its contents protected from the baggage handlers in my carry on.

Thanks,
Tommy

If it’s in your carry on I don’t see what baggage handlers would be touching your bag? You mean like at the hotel and the limo/cab drivers? Usually TSA doesn’t touch carry on unless there’s a problem.

I would definitely put them in your Apache case, not in the hub.

Yaros · Mar 13, 2022

I transported my Mavic Air 2 batteries in my fly-more combo case in carry on, no problem, they didn't touch it. Just make sure that the percentage in all the batteries is 30-50% but not more, for safety they need to be in "storage voltage".

Meta4 · Mar 13, 2022

Yaros said:
Just make sure that the percentage in all the batteries is 30-50% but not more, for safety they need to be in "storage voltage".

There is no need to have the batteries at 30-50%.
No airline or air safety authority sugest that and no-one at the airport will check it either.
If it was important, they would also want all iPads, laptops, mobile phones to also be at 30-50% ... but they don't.

Yaros · Mar 14, 2022

Meta4 said:
There is no need to have the batteries at 30-50%.
No airline or air safety authority sugest that and no-one at the airport will check it either.
If it was important, they would also want all iPads, laptops, mobile phones to also be at 30-50% ... but they don't.

The batteries we use on our drones are LiPo batteries which need proper care. When you go on a plane the pressure changes, and it is stressful for the battery. If the battery is at storage voltage it helps because the charge inside can fluctuate freely, but when it's fully charged it might become unstable and dangerous.
LiIon batteries you use on your phones and tablets aren't the same, they can't provide such huge currents, instead, they provide more capacity. These batteries aren't that dangerous to transport while charged.

While airlines would not check for this, it is still good practice to do it, even in the manual of the drone it says to "Discharge the battery to 30% for transportation, this can be done by flying the aircraft outdoors" or something similar.

Meta4 · Mar 14, 2022

Yaros said:
The batteries we use on our drones are LiPo batteries which need proper care. When you go on a plane the pressure changes, and it is stressful for the battery. If the battery is at storage voltage it helps because the charge inside can fluctuate freely, but when it's fully charged it might become unstable and dangerous.
LiIon batteries you use on your phones and tablets aren't the same, they can't provide such huge currents, instead, they provide more capacity. These batteries aren't that dangerous to transport while charged.

This is a myth perpetuated in drone forums.
As I said it's not suggested by any airline or any air safety authority.
You can do it, but there's no reason that you should.

And lots of laptops (and possibly other devices) use LiPo batteries too.

Yaros said:
While airlines would not check for this, it is still good practice to do it, even in the manual of the drone it says to "Discharge the battery to 30% for transportation, this can be done by flying the aircraft outdoors" or something similar.

DJI manuals have contributed to a number of myths, including this one.
Here's a little background to this one.

According to DJI's Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines ...

Travel Notice
1. Before carrying the batteries on an airline flight, they must first be discharged to a battery level lower than 30%

Extensive searching doesn't show any airline in the world asking for this.
The only place I find any mention of it is in the IATA's guidance document for shipping lithium batteries as air cargo:

Dangerous Goods Documentation

Documents and downloads complementing the current edition of the IATA DGR.

www.iata.org

So if you are shipping a pallet load as air cargo, then you have to discharge.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the international body that supports aviation with global standards for airline safety, security, efficiency and sustainability.

All airline lithium battery policies are based on the IATA standards.
And the IATA's guidelines for Passengers Traveling With Lithium Batteries: