Travel With Drone

[Dronebamps]

Friends and I will be traveling through Italy, Austria, France, and Switzerland on motorcycles in July. I hope to use my Air 2S to follow us from time to time over selected mountain passes and video other locations.

How do I find out if there are restrictions or I need to get permits or the like?

How do I travel with the batteries? Should I ship them in advance?

Where is the best place to buy extra batteries?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Starz]

Depending on what method of travel you use to get across the water, there are some restrictions regarding batteries on airplanes. You would want to verify those rules with the airline you fly aboard.
Same if going by a big boat.
Someone across the water would probably be best to contact regarding guidelines in that area of the planet.
Maybe @old man mavic

 

[MARK (LI)]

The rules for flying and registering in the EU are here Drone Laws in the European Union | UAV Coach (2021)

 

[RoarRoar]

This is my real world advice from someone who travels often.

Regarding traveling with drone batteries: It's not as scary as everyone leads on. Lots of other electronics use LiPO. Your drone is nothing more than a moving camera not contraband.

Carry all your gear onto the plane just as you would with any other piece of electronic gear/camera gear. Various people pack various ways. I usually put all my drone gear in a camera/dslr bag with my other equipment. Or I bring a minimalist style case for my drone. For my air2s I have a PGYTech one that fits all my accessories as well as my drone and I slide that in my carryon bag or backpack.

If it was me and as someone that has and does travel internationally often I usually...

A. read up on laws/rules of where I am traveling. If that is a bit confusing I then..

B. Look on social media for drone groups or the places I am traveling. Usually people who live in these places have the best answers on where to fly, where it's frowned upon etc.

Then sometimes I

C. Search for YouTube drone videos of those locations. I will sometimes message or comment with my questions on the creators page. Usually I get my questions answered and sometimes I don't.

I find it much better and I get better piece of mind from people with actual experience flying in these places vs someone who just copy pasted something from a various website.

 

[MARK (LI)]

This is my real world advice from someone who travels often.

Regarding traveling with drone batteries: It's not as scary as everyone leads on. Lots of other electronics use LiPO. Your drone is nothing more than a moving camera not contraband.

Carry all your gear onto the plane just as you would with any other piece of electronic gear/camera gear. Various people pack various ways. I usually put all my drone gear in a camera/dslr bag with my other equipment. Or I bring a minimalist style case for my drone. For my air2s I have a PGYTech one that fits all my accessories as well as my drone and I slide that in my carryon bag or backpack.

It it was me and as someone that has and does travel internationally often I usually...

A. read up on laws/rules of where I am traveling. It that is a bit confusing I then

B. Look on social media for drone groups or the places I am traveling. Usually people who live in these places have the best answers on where to fly, where it's frowned upon etc.

Then sometimes I

C. Search for YouTube drone videos of those locations. I will sometimes message or comment with my questions on the creators page. Usually I get my questions answered and sometimes I don't.

I find it much better and I get better piece of mind from people with actual experience flying in these places vs someone who just copy pasted something from a various website.

I have seen your posts and realize you have little or no regard for the laws, the link that I copied and pasted has the regulations and tells him how and where to go about registering as necessary...not from some guy who may have actually flown without full knowledge of the regs, himself...and passing on bad or incomplete information...it is not a joke for an American to get in trouble oversees
The OP can also look at post #8 in this thread for more information Any advice, something to fix is welcome

 

[MS Coast]

There was a discussion last month on this topic.

Travel with Mavic Air2S USA to Italy Possible? Tips?

We are going to Italy and I want simply to fly drone for holiday fun along the way. Is traveling with the drone and 3 batteries as baggage OK? Do I need any special certificate as a recreational pilot to operate the drone (dont plan to use it in cities, just pretty rural sites and landscape...

mavicpilots.com

Here's what I posted there. The headings are linked to EASA website pages.
-------------------------

I just found a great resource for EU drone regulations from their overall civil aviation authority. The FAQ section for drones is a great place to start. It's official. And it's offered in English and each of the member country languages.

It appears that requirements for drones under 250 grams are pretty straightforward and simple, though if the drone has a camera, registration is required. Registration is done for one member country and is valid for all countries. For drones >250 g and <900 g, online training and an exam are required.

Drones (UAS) | EASA​

EASA | European Union Aviation Safety Agency: The European Union Authority for aviation safety
www.easa.europa.eu
Be aware that individual countries may add additional requirements.

Drones - National Aviation Authorities | EASA​

This list below states drone website references by country, as supplied by the respective National Aviation Authority (NAA). The overview ensures a quick access to information on drones and details for the registration process. For countries where the registration process is yet to be set up or...
www.easa.europa.eu

 

[RoarRoar]

I have seen your posts and realize you have little or no regard for the laws, the link that I copied and pasted has the regulations and tells him how and where to go about registering as necessary...not from some guy who may have actually flown without full knowledge of the regs, himself...and passing on bad or incomplete information...it is not a joke for an American to get in trouble oversees
The OP can also look at post #8 in this thread for more information Any advice, something to fix is welcome

It's my personal experiences and what I do when I travel. Just passing along the way I like to do things. To say I don't have any regard for laws is silly and rather unassuming. I think the majority of people in this hobby my self included take rules serious and realize their importance. My post wasn't to put yours down, it was saying that locals in these areas usually have more actual up to date information.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Welcome to the forum.

You shouldn't have too many problems getting your drone into the countries you are visiting.
Hopefully the EU rules will all give you compatible info to fly within that countries rules.

Batteries, loads of threads on this here, but basically the only important thing is take you batteries all in your carry on (cabin) bag, isolate the terminals with some sort of electrical / duct tape, or the little aftermarket terminal caps you can find online.
Most will leave their whole kit together on the aircraft in cabin carry on, but be aware Emirates for one (could be others) don't allow drones in carry on, that (edit - drone body only) must be in checked baggage (edit - batteries still in cabin).
Check with your airline.

Air2s batteries ? Google > DJI Air2s batteries
Add low price, best price, etc, see what comes up local for you.
You should get lots of hits to quickly scan.

Enjoy the trip, see lots of such motorbike travels on YouTube, very cool holiday.

 

[MS Coast]

It's my personal experiences and what I do when I travel. Just passing along the way I like to do things. To say I don't have any regard for laws is silly and rather unassuming. I think the majority of people in this hobby my self included take rules serious and realize their importance. My post wasn't to put yours down, it was saying that locals in these areas usually have more actual up to date information.

I'd agree that local flying clubs are a good source of information on regulations in a particular country.

But I can't agree that Youtube videos are a good reference on regulations (message #4). Youtube displays and promotes some of the most dangerous drone operations and disregard for safety regulations I've ever heard of.

 

[peterc4]

Regards the batteries and travelling by air, over the last 6 years i have travelled to many countries with my drones in my hand luggage with no issues including the Ukraine 3 times who are quite strict the last time being Italy in Nov 2021, i took in my hand luggage air 2s with 4 fully charged batteries, canon 7d mk2 with 3 fully charged batteries, DJI pocket 2 in charging case fully charged, gopro 360 max with 2 batteries fully charged and an Anker power bank fully charged with no issues both ways.

 

[bcfd29]

IF you fly:

PLEASE make sure to inform the gate agents you need to carry your gear on board and get their early. If the aircraft overhead bins become full and they want to GATE CHECK your gear, make sure to TELL THEM NO and clearly explain WHY.

We have had instances where customers with good intentions were unable to take their carry on aboard due to the bins becoming full, and their bags being gate checked into the cargo hold. This has resulted in fires, and other mishaps due to lithium batteries failing due to getting banged around in the handling process.

Working for a passenger air carrier in the safety department, this is a huge concern. Thanks for being advocates of UAV safety as both users/operators and when traveling with them.

 

[Xitor]

I bought a set of these for my batteries when travelling.