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Defad

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I will be travelling to Sankt Anton Austria via Frankfurt airport. I will be taking with me my Mavic Air with 3 batteries. Any security issues at the airport? Am i supposed to have a document for the drone? Is it better to have the drone in the hand luggage or in the check in luggage?
Assuming i put the drone in my hand luggage, when departing from Frankfurt, the hand luggage go through security after check in, meaning if they refuse the drone i have to throw it.
ANyone passed Frankfurt airport with a drone?
 
I will be travelling to Sankt Anton Austria via Frankfurt airport. I will be taking with me my Mavic Air with 3 batteries. Any security issues at the airport? Am i supposed to have a document for the drone? Is it better to have the drone in the hand luggage or in the check in luggage?
Assuming i put the drone in my hand luggage, when departing from Frankfurt, the hand luggage go through security after check in, meaning if they refuse the drone i have to throw it.
ANyone passed Frankfurt airport with a drone?
Have a look at these YouTube videos:
and
 
The Lipo Batteries are required to be taken into the cabin and either stored overhead or underneath the seat in front of you as carry on baggage. The drone can be in checked luggage as long as there are no batteries in that checked baggage.

I would contact Frankfurt Airport directly regarding the potential for confiscation. Its unlikely , but better safe than sorry.
 
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I will be travelling to Sankt Anton Austria via Frankfurt airport. I will be taking with me my Mavic Air with 3 batteries. Any security issues at the airport? Am i supposed to have a document for the drone? Is it better to have the drone in the hand luggage or in the check in luggage?
Assuming i put the drone in my hand luggage, when departing from Frankfurt, the hand luggage go through security after check in, meaning if they refuse the drone i have to throw it.
ANyone passed Frankfurt airport with a drone?
I would not check my drone in luggage, carry-on only. If you are concerned about confiscation, bring a pre-labeled box to ship it back home with DHL, or Fed-ex.
 
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Ive got a 3 D printed box that I put my Mavic Pro. That coupled with lots of clothing around it and Hardsided luggage. No worries. I also have full coverage for the drone. No worries at all.
My new hard sided luggage barely had any scratches on it after my recent trip to Alaska. I was hoping for a bit more damage (scratches and dings) to give it "character" .
 
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I would not check my drone in luggage, carry-on only. If you are concerned about confiscation, bring a pre-labeled box to ship it back home with DHL, or Fed-ex.
Why would it be confiscated? Just make sure you check with the airline first. If they don’t allow drones, don’t take it!
 
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Any airport I've been through has treated my Mavic just as they would any other camera. I always take it on board as hand luggage and put it through the scanners along with my other electronics in a single rucksack. The only comment I've had was 'oh, a drone' from the security man when I was passing through Glasgow airport. I nearly always get stopped at security for a quick hand search of my bag , I assume because of all the batteries and wires (flashguns, cameras, chargers etc) though it could just be that they think I'm dodgy looking?
 
Yup, my Mavic and accessories always get pulled out of my carry on bag along with my Laptop. I like it as it gives me time to get my shoes and belt back on as well as restuff my pockets with everything I took out before the Backscatter X Ray machine. Sometimes I have women TSA agents approach me and want to start a conversation after they have viewed the backscatter Xray of my "package". LOL.
 
[QUOTE="Defad, post: 591883, member: 79284"Assuming i put the drone in my hand luggage, when departing from Frankfurt, the hand luggage go through security after check in, meaning if they refuse the drone i have to throw it.
ANyone passed Frankfurt airport with a drone?[/QUOTE]
Airport security won't even blink when they see it on the X-ray scanner.
They see drones every day of the week nowdays.
 
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I would not check my drone in luggage, carry-on only. If you are concerned about confiscation, bring a pre-labeled box to ship it back home with DHL, or Fed-ex.
Thanks for the hint. I will take a box with me.
 
If you are going to St. Anton and landing in Frankfurt, that is a fair drive onto the Arlberg in Austria. Or are you connecting to another flight to take you farther south?

I flew to the UK last year and to Austria this summer via Munich and never have a problem with my Mavic Pro. Do NOT put it in your checked luggage though, keep it as a carry on and keep it with you in the plane. I take three batteries and each has a padded compartment in my little hard shell case for the drone. I also added a piece of electrical tape over the terminals of each battery, though did not need it and had the batteries at about 35% after flying with each first before leaving to run them down a bit.

I also have a lot of DSLR gear in another carry on and have never had a problem going through the x-ray machines, they don't even ask to open the bag. I lived in Austria for 14 years so know it well, when you are there, take a quick trip to Lech, it is close by and a very pretty village with great skiing.

By the way, Austria has very strict rules/laws regarding flying, so do not fly it over the town of St. Anton or you may well have it taken away by the police and they have very stiff fines, with close by Switzerland being even worse. The laws are very, very restrictive, so if you want to fly, go outside in a remote place and fly away low from where you are then pop up and do your flying, away from crowds and then drop down away from your location at the end of your flight and bring it back low to where you took off. That way, if someone sees the drone and goes in search of the operator, they may be looking away from where you are, if they did not see it return low down to you. I also carry a DSLR around my neck so when I pack up and walk away, it looks like my backpack only may be a still camera pack.

Enjoy the Alps, whether your first time or going back, it will be stunning over there for you, lucky you.
 
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I will be travelling to Sankt Anton Austria via Frankfurt airport. I will be taking with me my Mavic Air with 3 batteries. Any security issues at the airport? Am i supposed to have a document for the drone? Is it better to have the drone in the hand luggage or in the check in luggage?
Assuming i put the drone in my hand luggage, when departing from Frankfurt, the hand luggage go through security after check in, meaning if they refuse the drone i have to throw it.
ANyone passed Frankfurt airport with a drone?

Do not put your drone into checked luggage! Every airline I fly on you must carry on your lipo's, do not put them into checked luggage, too many pressure changes. Make sure you discharge your batteries to 30-35% that way you have a smaller problem if the battery goes bad. Do not advertise that you have a drone, keep it in the case/bag, unless asked by security/customs to show. I just pull the drone out of my backpack in the small fly more bag and put it on the scanner. I fly a lot and have no questions asked about the drone.
 
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If you are going to St. Anton and landing in Frankfurt, that is a fair drive onto the Arlberg in Austria. Or are you connecting to another flight to take you farther south?

I flew to the UK last year and to Austria this summer via Munich and never have a problem with my Mavic Pro. Do NOT put it in your checked luggage though, keep it as a carry on and keep it with you in the plane. I take three batteries and each has a padded compartment in my little hard shell case for the drone. I also added a piece of electrical tape over the terminals of each battery, though did not need it and had the batteries at about 35% after flying with each first before leaving to run them down a bit.

I also have a lot of DSLR gear in another carry on and have never had a problem going through the x-ray machines, they don't even ask to open the bag. I lived in Austria for 14 years so know it well, when you are there, take a quick trip to Lech, it is close by and a very pretty village with great skiing.

By the way, Austria has very strict rules/laws regarding flying, so do not fly it over the town of St. Anton or you may well have it taken away by the police and they have very stiff fines, with close by Switzerland being even worse. The laws are very, very restrictive, so if you want to fly, go outside in a remote place and fly away low from where you are then pop up and do your flying, away from crowds and then drop down away from your location at the end of your flight and bring it back low to where you took off. That way, if someone sees the drone and goes in search of the operator, they may be looking away from where you are, if they did not see it return low down to you. I also carry a DSLR around my neck so when I pack up and walk away, it looks like my backpack only may be a still camera pack.

Enjoy the Alps, whether your first time or going back, it will be stunning over there for you, lucky you.

This trip will be my 5th to Sankt Anton. I was there in 2007 and 2008 then in 2016, 2017 and now in February 2018. The other years i went to Sölden and Ischgl. Sometimes we fly to Innsbruck from Frankfurt with Tyrol airlines and sometimes we drive there. But it is the first time i am going there with a drone. I know Lech very well. We go by ski from Sankt Anton. First Stuben then Zürs then Zug then Lech. It is heaven on earth. My plan is to take some shots from low altitude of my friends and myself while skiing. I know some quiet spots in St. Christoph and Zürs with stunning views. Your plan to fly low then climb/descend is great, i will be doing it.

I will have the drone with me in the cabin with electrical tape over the terminals. Thanks for the hint.

I hope you are going to ski this winter, it is a week in heaven.
 
I think BDOG nailed it...
"Contact Frankfurt Airport directly regarding the potential for confiscation. Its unlikely , but better safe than sorry."
 
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You can obviously do much more damage with a litre of liquid (any liquid) than you'll ever do with a drone, that's why they make you dump your bottle of mineral water at security
 
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Put a $1000 drone in checked-in baggage? Are you crazy! I wouldn’t trust any airport handling system with my drone! Carry-on is the only safe (and secure) option.
I have flown from Australia to Europe on several occasions with my Mavic packed in my check in luggage with no issues whatsoever. I had it packed inside its carry pack and in close to a hard edge surrounded by clothes. As for batteries, it helps to have them packed in a purpose made battery pouch (fire retardant) as well as a copy of the IATA regulations concerning Lithium batteries. I was challenged at one airport (puddle jumper) and I presented the IATA sheet to the person. Without hesitation, I was allowed to proceed.
 
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The Lipo Batteries are required to be taken into the cabin and either stored overhead or underneath the seat in front of you as carry on baggage. The drone can be in checked luggage as long as there are no batteries in that checked baggage.

I would contact Frankfurt Airport directly regarding the potential for confiscation. Its unlikely , but better safe than sorry.
WTF? check in a Drone? hell! Airline employees ask you to not check in valuable items... If you don't travel don't help!
 
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