Can we carry a drone in the cabin luggage?

skan · Jun 3, 2018

Can I travel by plane with my drone?
In my cabin luggage?
Check-in?

LuvMyTJ · Jun 3, 2018

Absolutely. I always carry all of my electronics in a carry on bag. Also, you can not put any batteries in checked bags. I usually am flying within the US so check your airline rules and the country you will be traveling to so you are clear on the rules.

adriel · Jun 4, 2018

skan said:
Can I travel by plane with my drone?
In my cabin luggage?
Check-in?

Rechargeable lithium ion batteries must always be carried in carry-on baggage. This includes your drone batteries. Do not check your batteries with the drone. It's also recommended that you protect the battery terminals; you can simply cover them with tape.
The airlines would like you to carry them onboard, protected from puncture/damage.
I flew with them and didn’t have any issues.

I also made sure to scream “I’ve got drone batteries!” at the top of my lungs just before walking through the security checkpoint.
Kidding, but I did make sure to notify the TSA officer that I had drone batteries in my bag before passing through so they were aware of it and they were all really cool about it.

Fly on [emoji41]

gnirtS · Jun 5, 2018

Less chance of it getting stolen or damaged in carry on so yes, always the best option.

Simmo · Jun 5, 2018

Recent reports say that certain airlines may be changing their policies totally. Malasia airlines I heard will not allow drones on board. (This cant be about batteries because that means banning the laptop or phone etc...I dont know the truth behind this..)

gnirtS · Jun 5, 2018

Given i've flown with Malaysia 3 times in the last week with a drone and spare batteries in carry on at all times i somehow doubt that's true.

ElGuapo · Jun 6, 2018

you absolutely can fly with your drone in the cabin. I fly quite a bit within the U.S., and internationally with the Mavic without any issues. I just came back last month from a trip to Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. And last March I flew to Atlanta and Minnesota. When the Mavic goes thru the X-Rays machine at various security check points goes smoothly. Never had TSA or U.S., Customs Border Agents ask question about the drone.

Enjoy your trip and fly safely,

zammo25 · Jun 9, 2018

I flew from the UK to the Netherlands and then on to Hong Kong, from there to Vietnam and then all over Vietnam and back again with various airlines and never had a problem with my Mavic Pro and batteries in carry on. Also flown all over Europe on various airlines without a problem.

I carry everything apart from the props with me as carry on. I guess they could somehow claim they are an offensive weapon so I leave them in checked luggage. Plus without them, you couldn't actually have some idiot attempting to fly a drone in the cabin.

Gsmithwa · Jun 9, 2018

Had no problems flying with my drone and 2 spare batteries in carry on. I carry the batteries in Lipo bags and apply tape over the terminals.

I always remove the props and put them in my checked luggage - this way I can't be accused of carrying sharp objects and of course the drone won't fly. I take the drone and batteries out of my backpack when going through the X-ray (just as you do with laptops) to show I'm not hiding anything.

I was asked once "Is that a drone?" on the way to the UK by a security guy. When I said "yes" he asked what model and what was it like to fly - he was thinking of buying one himself!!

NIDGE · Jun 9, 2018

Gsmithwa said:
Had no problems flying with my drone and 2 spare batteries in carry on. I carry the batteries in Lipo bags and apply tape over the terminals.

I always remove the props and put them in my checked luggage - this way I can't be accused of carrying sharp objects and of course the drone won't fly. I take the drone and batteries out of my backpack when going through the X-ray (just as you do with laptops) to show I'm not hiding anything.

I was asked once "Is that a drone?" on the way to the UK by a security guy. When I said "yes" he asked what model and what was it like to fly - he was thinking of buying one himself!!

Just returned from Morrocco they asked me the same question and confiscated mine.[emoji24]

JohnChap · Jun 9, 2018

The Moroccan security guy wanted a free drone! What basis would he have for taking it as it is not a sharp object. At least confiscation usually means you get it back.

charlas · Jun 9, 2018

Just been to Spain with mine, have to carry any battery onboard anyhow, so my Air went in my backpack with my other camera stuff and laptop/cables/chargers etc. No issues whatsoever from anyone.

Did a quick VLOG of my experience traveling with it.

ssvdh66 · Jun 9, 2018

Simmo said:
Recent reports say that certain airlines may be changing their policies totally. Malasia airlines I heard will not allow drones on board. (This cant be about batteries because that means banning the laptop or phone etc...I dont know the truth behind this..)

I was made to put my mav in my checked baggage by Emirates last week.Batteries in carryon but no drones in cabin.I was told some idiot decided to put their drone up mid-flight in economy

ScubaBob · Jun 10, 2018

skan said:
Can I travel by plane with my drone?
In my cabin luggage?
Check-in?

Absolutely in carry on luggage. No problems. Just remove the battery for safety. I even bring my Goggles as carry on. In the US TSA seem pretty familiar with drones and Goggles and they have never hassled me. Even bringing the gear into Mexico didn't cause any concerns from their customs people.

ssvdh66 · Jun 10, 2018

ScubaBob said:
Absolutely in carry on luggage. No problems. Just remove the battery for safety. I even bring my Goggles as carry on. In the US TSA seem pretty familiar with drones and Goggles and they have never hassled me. Even bringing the gear into Mexico didn't cause any concerns from their customs people.

from the Emirates website as of June 1st
Drones are not allowed as cabin baggage
For safety reasons, we can’t allow drones on board as cabin baggage. Drones can be accepted as checked-in baggage only. If you have a drone in your checked-in baggage you’ll be asked to either secure the Lithium batteries within the drone or remove the batteries and carry them in your cabin baggage. This regulation still applies even if you’re connecting to our flights from an airline that has accepted drones as cabin baggage.

Items containing explosives are not allowed on board
All fireworks and any other items containing explosives, for example Christmas crackers, firecrackers, bottle rockets, poppers and sparklers are forbidden to be carried either as carry-on baggage or as checked baggage on our flights.

CESTA-Enterptise · Jan 13, 2019

Can I bring a drone through Indian airports after the new drone rules?

CESTA ENTERPRISE, Co-founder
Answered 15h ago

Yes you can, We provide aerial services across India and we always carry drone with us. You Can carry any drone on a domestic flight. But only thing which is not allowed is the battery if it is more than 100 watt/hour or more than that. As per my knowledge you can carry any kind of drone i.e. nano, micro or small.
How to Carry:

Before your trip it is good to drain all your Drone batteries to 10%, take all the drone batteries separately in a clear poly-thin bags and seal the battery connector point with Taps. Now you are perfectly ok to carry all your battery with you in cabin luggage.
Take all the accessories excluding the Drone(Without Batteries) and Remote controller in your check-in luggage.
Now you are left only with your Drone and Remote controller in one bag and the batteries taken separately in a poly-thin bag. Note if your Drone is bigger in size i.e: Inspire or matrice 600 than you have to give it in check-in luggage not in cabin baggage. In that case just keep the batteries as I said in earlier and the Remote controller with you in cabin luggage.
Now Your drone accessories (Propellers, cable, charger, Hub etc.) are gone in check in luggage and at the time of security check-in put the batteries which are in polythene bag in the tray along with the drone bag (Drone and Remote Controller only).
At the time of security chcke-in Airport Authorities will ask (a) what are these batteries for?, you just tell them these batteries are for Drones which are below 100 Watt/Hour and already drained and connector are properly tapped. (b) Open the Drone Bag?, you just open the bag and tell them that there is no battery in the drone and just have the drone and controller in it. They will cross verify with the detector’s and let you go.

————-In short you segregate your Drone accessory, Batteries and Drone and RC in three Part so that you can send the accessories in Check-in Baggage and other two i.e. Batteries and Drone & RC in Cabin baggage. It is very simple if you know prior to your journey what is the procedure. I am assuring you if you follow the above point you can carry any drone with you in any domestic and international flights. The only thing you cannot carry is a battery which is 100 watt/hour or more , neither in cabin luggage nor in chck-in luggage.

Thanks & Regards

Ashim Dey

balakrishmit · May 9, 2019

CESTA-Enterptise said:
Can I bring a drone through Indian airports after the new drone rules?

CESTA ENTERPRISE, Co-founder
Answered 15h ago

Yes you can, We provide aerial services across India and we always carry drone with us. You Can carry any drone on a domestic flight. But only thing which is not allowed is the battery if it is more than 100 watt/hour or more than that. As per my knowledge you can carry any kind of drone i.e. nano, micro or small.
How to Carry:

Before your trip it is good to drain all your Drone batteries to 10%, take all the drone batteries separately in a clear poly-thin bags and seal the battery connector point with Taps. Now you are perfectly ok to carry all your battery with you in cabin luggage.

Take all the accessories excluding the Drone(Without Batteries) and Remote controller in your check-in luggage.

Now you are left only with your Drone and Remote controller in one bag and the batteries taken separately in a poly-thin bag. Note if your Drone is bigger in size i.e: Inspire or matrice 600 than you have to give it in check-in luggage not in cabin baggage. In that case just keep the batteries as I said in earlier and the Remote controller with you in cabin luggage.

Now Your drone accessories (Propellers, cable, charger, Hub etc.) are gone in check in luggage and at the time of security check-in put the batteries which are in polythene bag in the tray along with the drone bag (Drone and Remote Controller only).

At the time of security chcke-in Airport Authorities will ask (a) what are these batteries for?, you just tell them these batteries are for Drones which are below 100 Watt/Hour and already drained and connector are properly tapped. (b) Open the Drone Bag?, you just open the bag and tell them that there is no battery in the drone and just have the drone and controller in it. They will cross verify with the detector’s and let you go.

————-In short you segregate your Drone accessory, Batteries and Drone and RC in three Part so that you can send the accessories in Check-in Baggage and other two i.e. Batteries and Drone & RC in Cabin baggage. It is very simple if you know prior to your journey what is the procedure. I am assuring you if you follow the above point you can carry any drone with you in any domestic and international flights. The only thing you cannot carry is a battery which is 100 watt/hour or more , neither in cabin luggage nor in chck-in luggage.

Thanks & Regards

Ashim Dey

Thanks for the info. The same applies while coming into India?
I'm travelling to UK and returning back to India. Guessing there shouldn't be a problem while going out. But read somewhere indian customs have over 1000 drones confiscated in airports.

Mavic Maveric · May 11, 2019

CESTA-Enterptise said:
Can I bring a drone through Indian airports after the new drone rules?

CESTA ENTERPRISE, Co-founder
Answered 15h ago

Yes you can, We provide aerial services across India and we always carry drone with us. You Can carry any drone on a domestic flight. But only thing which is not allowed is the battery if it is more than 100 watt/hour or more than that. As per my knowledge you can carry any kind of drone i.e. nano, micro or small.
How to Carry:

Before your trip it is good to drain all your Drone batteries to 10%, take all the drone batteries separately in a clear poly-thin bags and seal the battery connector point with Taps. Now you are perfectly ok to carry all your battery with you in cabin luggage.

Take all the accessories excluding the Drone(Without Batteries) and Remote controller in your check-in luggage.

Now you are left only with your Drone and Remote controller in one bag and the batteries taken separately in a poly-thin bag. Note if your Drone is bigger in size i.e: Inspire or matrice 600 than you have to give it in check-in luggage not in cabin baggage. In that case just keep the batteries as I said in earlier and the Remote controller with you in cabin luggage.

Now Your drone accessories (Propellers, cable, charger, Hub etc.) are gone in check in luggage and at the time of security check-in put the batteries which are in polythene bag in the tray along with the drone bag (Drone and Remote Controller only).

At the time of security chcke-in Airport Authorities will ask (a) what are these batteries for?, you just tell them these batteries are for Drones which are below 100 Watt/Hour and already drained and connector are properly tapped. (b) Open the Drone Bag?, you just open the bag and tell them that there is no battery in the drone and just have the drone and controller in it. They will cross verify with the detector’s and let you go.

————-In short you segregate your Drone accessory, Batteries and Drone and RC in three Part so that you can send the accessories in Check-in Baggage and other two i.e. Batteries and Drone & RC in Cabin baggage. It is very simple if you know prior to your journey what is the procedure. I am assuring you if you follow the above point you can carry any drone with you in any domestic and international flights. The only thing you cannot carry is a battery which is 100 watt/hour or more , neither in cabin luggage nor in chck-in luggage.

Thanks & Regards

Ashim Dey

Awesome to read since I will be taking my drone on a flight at some point.

Mavic Maveric · May 11, 2019

CESTA-Enterptise said:
Can I bring a drone through Indian airports after the new drone rules?

CESTA ENTERPRISE, Co-founder
Answered 15h ago

Yes you can, We provide aerial services across India and we always carry drone with us. You Can carry any drone on a domestic flight. But only thing which is not allowed is the battery if it is more than 100 watt/hour or more than that. As per my knowledge you can carry any kind of drone i.e. nano, micro or small.
How to Carry:

Before your trip it is good to drain all your Drone batteries to 10%, take all the drone batteries separately in a clear poly-thin bags and seal the battery connector point with Taps. Now you are perfectly ok to carry all your battery with you in cabin luggage.

Take all the accessories excluding the Drone(Without Batteries) and Remote controller in your check-in luggage.

Now you are left only with your Drone and Remote controller in one bag and the batteries taken separately in a poly-thin bag. Note if your Drone is bigger in size i.e: Inspire or matrice 600 than you have to give it in check-in luggage not in cabin baggage. In that case just keep the batteries as I said in earlier and the Remote controller with you in cabin luggage.

Now Your drone accessories (Propellers, cable, charger, Hub etc.) are gone in check in luggage and at the time of security check-in put the batteries which are in polythene bag in the tray along with the drone bag (Drone and Remote Controller only).

At the time of security chcke-in Airport Authorities will ask (a) what are these batteries for?, you just tell them these batteries are for Drones which are below 100 Watt/Hour and already drained and connector are properly tapped. (b) Open the Drone Bag?, you just open the bag and tell them that there is no battery in the drone and just have the drone and controller in it. They will cross verify with the detector’s and let you go.

————-In short you segregate your Drone accessory, Batteries and Drone and RC in three Part so that you can send the accessories in Check-in Baggage and other two i.e. Batteries and Drone & RC in Cabin baggage. It is very simple if you know prior to your journey what is the procedure. I am assuring you if you follow the above point you can carry any drone with you in any domestic and international flights. The only thing you cannot carry is a battery which is 100 watt/hour or more , neither in cabin luggage nor in chck-in luggage.

Thanks & Regards

Ashim Dey

Question: How do you personally drain your batteries other than simply flying the drone?

MAvic_South_Oz · May 11, 2019

Mavic Maveric said:
Question: How do you personally drain your batteries other than simply flying the drone?

A bit of planning.
You can start up with each battery and set for 1 day discharge for example a day or two before leaving town . . . of course this only takes level down to ~ half, but I’ve never been asked what the levels are in mine (4) when travelling.

Another way, many people drain batteries is to have made a little battery draining tool like a light, numerous posts on the forum about that.