Can we carry a drone in the cabin luggage?

[HawkDriver]

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.

If you have the Fly More Kit, it (may) have come with the little clip-on accessory that turns it into a USB powerbank. You could use it to juice up your phone or other items.

 

[AMann]

True story a few years ago: My brother-in-law is a professional videographer and was wearing a home built NiCad battery belt pack that he was caring on the plane. Well it started shorting out on him right before he got to the gate, and there he was panicking while trying to pull off a sputtering, smoking belt he was wearing! Even for all the acid smelling smoke and panic, he said nobody said a thing to him the entire time. He pulled off the good batteries and threw away the rest of the belt and calmly walked onto the plane.

It was really not safe of him to not put fuses on it, he would’ve been shot had something like that happened today.

 

[Meta4]

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

It's completely unnecessary to discharge your batteries before flying.
Here's a little background to this common forum myth.
It seems to come from some poor documentation by DJI.

According to their 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

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:

Dangerous Goods Documentation

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

www.iata.org

.... makes absolutely no mention of discharging batteries before traveling by plane.

The fact is that no airline recommends discharging before flight.
Neither do the FAA, CAA, or other air safety authorities.
It's only in forums like this that the myth gets spread.

If it was a thing, you would see the safety scanners at the airport checking every laptop, mobile phone, camera, iPad etc to make sure their lithium batteries were discharged (and you don't)
But you do see planes with power outlets to keep your devices charged on long flights!!

ps .. no airline suggests Lipo bags either and no airport security checkin people are looking for battery charge levels or Lipo bags either.
It's all a forum myth.

 

[srwyss]

Earlier this year I approached Qantas Dangerous Goods and received this reply

"No dangerous goods approval is required for the battery as it is no more than 100wh.
When the battery is contained in the drone it is permitted in checked or carry-on baggage provided the drone is turned off.
All spare batteries must go in carry-on baggage only.
You are welcome to use this email as verification the items are permitted to travel."

I asked about a Mavic Pro and 2 spare batteries

Cheers
Steve

 

[Mavic Maveric]

It's completely unnecessary to discharge your batteries before flying.
Here's a little background to this common forum myth.
It seems to come from some poor documentation by DJI.

According to their 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

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:

Dangerous Goods Documentation

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

www.iata.org

.... makes absolutely no mention of discharging batteries before traveling by plane.

The fact is that no airline recommends discharging before flight.
Neither do the FAA, CAA, or other air safety authorities.
It's only in forums like this that the myth gets spread.

If it was a thing, you would see the safety scanners at the airport checking every laptop, mobile phone, camera, iPad etc to make sure their lithium batteries were discharged (and you don't)
But you do see planes with power outlets to keep your devices charged on long flights!!

ps .. no airline suggests Lipo bags either and no airport security checkin people are looking for battery charge levels or Lipo bags either.
It's all a forum myth.

Excellent. Thanks for this well thought out and researched information. I will keep this for future use!

 

[syzygos7]

I always travel with me 2 or more drones..
last month in Batanes, Ph with
4 drones(zoom, Air, spark& p3p + 18 extra batteries, chargers + powerbanks + 4 cellphones + mirrorless with gimbals, 2 gopros, 360 camera. With no problem in the airports. My main concern is the drone permit from a protected national park areas Which i payed $115 for the 3 islands.

 

[Thomas B]

Excellent. Thanks for this well thought out and researched information. I will keep this for future use!

Be sure to check with your airline. For example, Emirates doesn’t allow the drone in the passenger area.

 

[paulrawlingson]

It depends 100% on which airline you will take...

Generally speaking, most airlines will follow the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidance & rules. When it comes to drones, your main component to worry about is the battery(ies) it uses to fly as these will be under the eye of your airline carrier. TSA identifies & recommends 3 main categories based on your drone battery's power:

• Up to 100-watt-hour = usually allowed (up to 20 items).
• From 100 to 160-watt-hour = usually airline approval is required (up to 2 items).
• From 160-watt-hour = usually forbidden.

This is exactly what most airlines will apply, such as the example below from KLM.


? If your drone battery power is written in milliamp hour (mAh) & voltage (V); then the formula to convert is (mAh)*(V)/1000 = Watt-hour (Wh). For example, if you have a 500mAh battery rated at 5V, the power is 500mAh * 5V / 1000 = 2.5Wh.

Thing is some airlines have their own rules: Emirates for e.g. will not accept any drone in cabin (except batteries).
I've been lucky to travel a lot with my drone and decided to compile all airline drone policies into one post to help us all here.

Hope this gives a little more context, safe flying!

 

[Simmo]

I think airlines would follow rules set down by IATA International Air Transport Association - Wikipedia
However nothing really could stop them increasing the governance if they wished.
Emirates I believe lifted the bar because someone decided to fly their drone in the Cabin....

 

[Meta4]

Generally speaking, most airlines will follow the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) guidance & rules. When it comes to drones, your main component to worry about is the battery(ies) it uses to fly as these will be under the eye of your airline carrier. TSA identifies & recommends 3 main categories based on your drone battery's power:

• Up to 100-watt-hour = usually allowed (up to 20 items).
• From 100 to 160-watt-hour = usually airline approval is required (up to 2 items).
• From 160-watt-hour = usually forbidden.

? If your drone battery power is written in milliamp hour (mAh) & voltage (V); then the formula to convert is (mAh)*(V)/1000 = Watt-hour (Wh). For example, if you have a 500mAh battery rated at 5V, the power is 500mAh * 5V / 1000 = 2.5Wh.

No need for all of that.
Mavic batteries are all <100Wh and their capacity is printed on the battery itself.

 

[paulrawlingson]

I think airlines would follow rules set down by IATA International Air Transport Association - Wikipedia
However nothing really could stop them increasing the governance if they wished.
Emirates I believe lifted the bar because someone decided to fly their drone in the Cabin....

Yup.. this guy ?

 

[paulrawlingson]

No need for all of that.
Mavic batteries are all <100Wh and their capacity is printed on the battery itself.

I wish this was always the case... If you go to Budapest airport your Mavic won't make the cut regardless Mavic or not for e.g. and will be forced to go in a suitcase (batteries aside as always). I visited a lot of airports now (need to grow a forest to compensate carbon print here) and can safely say you're right 95% of the time..

But I've encountered some weird cases and have also listed other situations that happened to me to aware others:
- Peru for example will authorise you to travel with your drone but you will have to pay 18% value upon arrival as a 'deposit' that will be returned to you upon your departure flight. This is to avoid smuggling in products.
- Morocco will have a "drone deposit" room in the airport with a guardian fee as you're not allowed to take it in the country
- Jordan kept my drone forever...
- Vietnam is a nutcase as some airports stored my drone whilst others didn't care ?

There is a lot to know out there based on where you're going and which airline is taking you there

 

[Meta4]

I wish this was always the case... If you go to Budapest airport your Mavic won't make the cut regardless Mavic or not for e.g. and will be forced to go in a suitcase (batteries aside as always). I visited a lot of airports now (need to grow a forest to compensate carbon print here) and can safely say you're right 95% of the time..

I was only commenting on converting milliamp hours to watt-hours

 

[gnirtS]

The rules are pretty standard worldwide. The mavic batteries being around 60Wh are small enough to have no issues travelling provided batteries are carried on.
Some airlines have odd rules about the drone itself such as Emirates but also some countries have rules about important drones (Egypt for example its getting confiscated,you're never getting it back and youre likely to spend a few days in jail).

 

[razoraerial]

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,

I’m kinda thinking I would like your job. Lol. Very cool to go all those places. Just kidden So all those xrays wonder if it’s affecting any part of the drone?

 

[gnirtS]

Low power x-rays arent going to affect anything on the drone (nor do they affect camera, computers or anything else in the bag).

Ive done 26 flights so far this year with the drone, roughly double that last year. Not once has anyone been interested in it or even asked me to open the bag.
Its not an issue in the slightest.
(And why would it be?, its just a camera with some electric motors)

 

[rjciera]

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,

How about the mavic air 2 remote control? Can I leave it in my checked in bag?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

How about the mavic air 2 remote control? Can I leave it in my checked in bag?

Yes, the battery is fitted in the controller.
No doubt lots of people put their laptops into checked bags.
You can check your drone with a battery fitted to the drone too.

Personally I just take my drone bag in cabin. complete with all batteries and gear.
Sometimes due to weight restrictions, I'd put chargers etc into checked.

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

In the U.S. at least it’s no issue. I just did it on American. Check the airline sites and TSA for updated requirements. I had a lower end drone at the time… (Holy Stone 720e) in the case, inside a backpack. I put the batteries in battery carry bags. Security didn’t even bat an eye. Even in Philadelphia! ?. I

 

[Mid-AtlanticDroneServices]

In the U.S. that is really the only way to do it. Check the airline website for limits on battery capacity. i took my little Holy Stone drone and 4 batteries in early August…no issues at all.