LIPO on a plane

MarcusCoburnicus · Jul 30, 2016

Hi people. I'm a Noob at the moment regarding everything so I'll just ask.
I want to take my P3P over to Tasmania via aeroplane and I'm concerned about the battery. I found this thread, Lipos on a plane, wasn't sure if I could have asked on that thread so I made a fresh one. Does the battery have to be in your hand luggage or can you leave it in the back pack it lives in and go on as luggage??

Meta4 · Jul 30, 2016

MarcusCoburnicus said:
Hi people. I'm a Noob at the moment regarding everything so I'll just ask.
I want to take my P3P over to Tasmania via aeroplane and I'm concerned about the battery. I found this thread, Lipos on a plane, wasn't sure if I could have asked on that thread so I made a fresh one. Does the battery have to be in your hand luggage or can you leave it in the back pack it lives in and go on as luggage??

Your batteries MUST be in your carry-on luggage.
You are not allowed to put them in your regular checked luggage.
Go to your airline's website and search for Batteries or Lithium.
They will explain in the dangerous goods page what their rules are.

MarcusCoburnicus · Jul 30, 2016

Meta4 said:
Your batteries MUST be in your carry-on luggage.
You are not allowed to put them in your regular checked luggage.
Go to your airline's website and search for Batteries or Lithium.
They will explain in the dangerous goods page what their rules are.

Excellent ! Thank you very much. Exactly the info I wanted.

robinb · Jul 30, 2016

Also they need to be discharged.

MarcusCoburnicus · Jul 30, 2016

robinb said:
Also they need to be discharged.

To what level? I've read completely discharging the Battery is detrimental?

robinb · Jul 30, 2016

Sorry I did not mean flat, but less than 50%

jtludwig · Jul 30, 2016

robinb said:
Also they need to be discharged.

If you take United Airlines as an example, there is no requirement to discharge the batteries.

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MarcusCoburnicus · Jul 30, 2016

I looked at the Virgin site and they didn't go into that much detail as far as I could see. At least they're keeping up with the technology.

Meta4 · Jul 30, 2016

robinb said:
Also they need to be discharged.

No airline that I've checked has that requirement and no airport security has asked about discharge levels.
The source for the idea seems to be DJI who recommend it and it is a requirement for shipping commercial quantities of lithium batteries as air cargo.

Lipos are in everyone's laptop, ipad, camera etc, etc and no-one is suggesting that they should all be discharged to travel.

Vertigo · Jul 30, 2016

Discharge them anyway. Or do you really want to take several of these potential firebombs on a plane:

konidair · Jul 30, 2016

I'm flying to Europe from Australia with Etihad this Monday and I'm planning to take my P3P with me. I have emailed Etihad and I got this reply 3 days ago:
"Dear Mr K#######,

Thank you for your patience while I checked with our airport staff..

This is acceptable, provided the spare batteries are carried as hand carry, separately and a maximum of 2 batteries per person.
Kind regards."

I will try to take my P3P in it's hardcase with me as a hand carry and I will report back on Tuesday ... fingers crossed

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robinb · Jul 30, 2016

Meta4 said:
No airline that I've checked has that requirement and no airport security has asked about discharge levels.
The source for the idea seems to be DJI who recommend it and it is a requirement for shipping commercial quantities of lithium batteries as air cargo.

Lipos are in everyone's laptop, ipad, camera etc, etc and no-one is suggesting that they should all be discharged to travel.

Maybe thats where I heard it, not sure.
The phantom batteries are different than most lipos in that they are very high power and not fixed inside equipment like laptops etc. Also the possibility of damage with sharp object to them is quite high with soft sides. Personally I would discharge them down before flying as it minimises the risk.

Deleted member 67790 · Jul 30, 2016

I just recently flew to Italy from the states with my P3A and 2 batteries. I discharged them to 25% and put them in their own separate zip-lock bag in my carry on and had no problem. I even had to go through security on 3 seperate occasions and each time never had a problem so you should be fine

MarcusCoburnicus · Aug 2, 2016

I just realised something. I got the Phantom off Ebay and it came from Hong Kong to Australia with 3 out of 4 lights on the battery! Duh!

konidair · Aug 2, 2016

I have just arrived in Rhodes island(Greece) from Sydney via Abu Dhabi and Athens. I had my P3P in it's hardshell backpack as a carry on and I put the 2 batteries in my sons carry on luggage in 2 zip lock bags. Although everyone was making comments about the drone because they could see the logo on the backpack no one really paid attention at the batteries

I had them both discharged down to 25% just in case.

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MarcusCoburnicus · Aug 4, 2016

Check this out...

Numone · Aug 4, 2016

Here's the very comprehensive BA information
http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/pdfs/lithium_battery.pdf

Vertigo · Aug 4, 2016

Im still baffled that almost no organization or company asks you to discharge lipo's. The risk potential is like day and night between a fully charged and discharged lipo.

I can understand its difficult to check state of charge on some batteries, I can understand its tough and perhaps overkill to ask people bringing laptop/tablets to use on the plane to not have fully charged batteries, but if you are bringing large spare drone/camera/whatever lipo batteries, why not at least plead for discharging them? I would mandate it too, there is no good reason to bring a fully charged phantom battery on a plane, and ample reason not to.

Numone · Aug 4, 2016

Vertigo said:
Im still baffled that almost no organization or company asks you to discharge lipo's. The risk potential is like day and night between a fully charged and discharged lipo.

I can understand its difficult to check state of charge on some batteries, I can understand its tough and perhaps overkill to ask people bringing laptop/tablets to use on the plane to not have fully charged batteries, but if you are bringing large spare drone/camera/whatever lipo batteries, why not at least plead for discharging them? I would mandate it too, there is no good reason to bring a fully charged phantom battery on a plane, and ample reason not to.

Yeah, I agree and will be discharging mine to 50/60% just to be on the safe-side. Hardly a PITA to charge them once you've reached your destination.

repsej · Sep 8, 2016

konidair said:
I have just arrived in Rhodes island(Greece) from Sydney via Abu Dhabi and Athens. I had my P3P in it's hardshell backpack as a carry on and I put the 2 batteries in my sons carry on luggage in 2 zip lock bags. Although everyone was making comments about the drone because they could see the logo on the backpack no one really paid attention at the batteries
I had them both discharged down to 25% just in case.

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Hi Sir, did the customs in Abu Dhabi stopped you for your p3p?

I will be heading to switzerland and transiting in Abu Dhabi too, hence a little concern with the customs at Abu Dhabi, as i have heard about the strict drone laws there.

Thanks