Do I have to drain my batteries before going on an airplane flight?

[jmorse62]

I have read that the Mavic batteries can go in a carry on bag fully charged. This thread seems a lot different?

 

[msinger]

I have read that the Mavic batteries can go in a carry on bag fully charged.

That's correct. I've never heard of an airline that restricts fully charged batteries.

 

[BorisTheSpider]

There's really no practical way for airports and airlines to check your lithium batteries charge state, and if they said they had to be below a certain threshold that wouldn't make sense for small batteries in things like mobile phones, but please do discharge your large lithium batteries like those for the mavic if you're flying as a lithium battery fire on an aircraft would be no joke - discharging to 50% makes them less likely to fail in a dangerous way if they get damaged and reduces the amount of energy being released if they do fail.

 

[Gary cato]

The FAA has that same requirement. See more details here.

I had no time to discharge mine. Everything in DJI bag then in my backpack.

Hand luggage no issues insecurity they asked if i have a laptop isaid no i have filming equipment. They said ok leave it in backpack

Went through all fine

No issues after thirtenn hour fllight at other end

I left one on drone and two in case pockets

I normally discharge to 50 but had no time on rhis occasion

 

[mark_t]

There are requirements on charge state for packs being shipped as cargo, but they do not apply to packs carried by passengers.

This is why you'll find pretty much every DJI pack you purchase new will only have one light (or at most one + one flashing) when you get them, and also why you are seeing more reports of dead packs on slower moving stock like the P4 packs.

 

[msinger]

I had no time to discharge mine. Everything in DJI bag then in my backpack.

Hand luggage no issues insecurity they asked if i have a laptop isaid no i have filming equipment. They said ok leave it in backpack

Went through all fine

No issues after thirtenn hour fllight at other end

I left one on drone and two in case pockets

I normally discharge to 50 but had no time on rhis occasion

You quoted me on a different topic, but I agree with what you said. There is no need to attempt to discharge your batteries before flying.

 

[rcg917]

06/26/2018 I just flew on American Airlines (DFW to Memphis and then back a few days later) and carried my DJI Mavic Pro with 3 fully charged batteries inside my carry-on. They never asked me anything at all. I had it packed in a little semi-hard shell zipper backpack (purpose built for the DJI Mavic Pro) and that was inside my roller bag. It went through the scanner and came out the other side just like normal. I picked it up and walked off, no questions asked.

The TSA reg's are pretty vague and mostly just says "Check with your Airlines". They do however have this stated, "The final decision rests with the TSA officer on whether an item is allowed through the checkpoint."
Drones

America Airlines states that you can carry on a drone if it meets these requirements-
1) Your drone's battery must not exceed 160 Wh (NOTE: My DJI Mavic Pro batteries show 43.6 Wh on the back of them. Again, I took 3)
2) Drone can be carried on if it or its box is less than 22 x 14 x 9 inches / 56 x 36 x 23 centimeters
Restricted items − Baggage − American Airlines

 

[Fried Eagle]

I believe it is good practise to have them at about 25-30% charge to prove they work but are not fully charged in case of a fire

That will only make you feel good. It will have no influence on TSA or the airline.

 

[Mr Banks]

Please do discharge them to 30% - 50%, a fully charged lipo is much more volatile than one with less energy in it.

A lipo just sitting there isn't going to do anything bad, however if there's an accident and one is dropped, something spills on one in bad turbulence etc... An inflight fire is about the worst thing that can happen on an aeroplane and it doesn't hurt to minimise the risk of transporting them by air.

You'll need to cover the terminals, just taping then up is fine. Lipo bags are nice to have too.

Incidentally, you know they're not allowed in the hold right? They must go with you in hand luggage.

But the drone itself must go in the hold, and cannot be brought on board in hand luggage - atleast by my airline

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[2020HeinSite]

Or can I leave them fully charged?

As others have said here I don't think it makes any difference, and it's unlikely the airline is going to inspect them or know how to determine the charge. But it's always made me feel better to fully discharge mine the night/day before I fly and pack them in LiPo bags.

 

[Fried Eagle]

But the drone itself must go in the hold, and cannot be brought on board in hand luggage - atleast by my airline

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I assume that is a UK airline. There is no requirement in the US to check a drone. You can carry it on board.