Carrying in Check in Baggage - P4P

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Hi, in my country, drones like Phantom are not allowed to carry as hand baggage.
So, I have been using my Mavic only.

I got a p4p obsidian now, and I wanted to carry it for my next travel.

Im thinking to simply put the whole DJI box inside the check in luggage itself and just batteries in my hand baggage.

Anyone who does the same ?
 
That's pretty strange. The rest of the world is OK with carrying drones onto planes, as long as they are in a compliant sized backpack 14X20X9" in size. It's strange they let your mavic on the plane but not a Phantom. They obviously see the drone when the Mavic goes through xray inspection. So when you call Indian and Emirates Airlines, they say the Mavic is OK?

I heard some countries don't allow drones. Is that the actual problem?

In that case you should invest in a hard case to check your drone. However, you'll have to carry the flight batteries as "carry-on" in a bag, with individual protection against shorts. The fireproof individual bags are often used for that, put inside another bag. The rest of the world allows passengers to carry as many batteries on the plane as they want, as long as they are under 100WH in capacity. Phantom batteries are under 90WH, so that should be OK, however you should double check with your airline to insure they allow Li-Po flight batteries to be carried on. YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT want to check flight batteries, because if something happens, such as a short, or internal short from the altitude depressurization, it could start a fire, and the flight attendants have no access to checked luggage areas on the plane. If they are carried on and something bad happens, you will see the smoke in the cabin, which can immediately be taken care of. That's why airlines always want batteries carried on. They have ways of handling battery fires when they have access to them.
 
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yes only the drone, they ask to check in.
So, can I simply take the DJI box put inside my big check in baggage ?

I guess its strong enough ?
 
yes only the drone, they ask to check in.
So, can I simply take the DJI box put inside my big check in baggage ?
I guess its strong enough ?
No it's not. It's Styrofoam!! I would never do that if you want your drone in one piece when you arrive. If you have to check the drone I'd definitely buy a hard case for it and put a TSA lock on it, which allows security to open it with their TSA keys and easily inspect the contents if needed. I'm not sure your country has a "TSA" equivalent for security or not.

You didn't answer the question about the Mavic. Why don't they require the Mavic to be checked? Are you hiding it somehow? And who actually checks your carry-on for contents? Is it the actual airline employees, or do you have a separate security agency like the US, called TSA? If you have a separate agency that does the XRAY inspection of the bags, that's who you need to check with. Usually the airline isn't looking inside your carry on bag after you arrive at the gate. Usually only at the security check do they look inside any suspicious bags.

Bottom line, if you are absolutely sure you cannot carry on a backpack with a Phantom inside, then buy a hard case for it. However, you MUST carry on the flight batteries for safety sake.

You should never travel with a Phantom in the OEM box. It's too weak IMO, and you become a target for theft, since the box is recognizable as an expensive item that's easy to sell for cash. That's exactly why I always carry mine in a backpack, made for my P4P, so to everyone else it's looks like a backpack like anyone else would carry.
 
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Of course batteries in my backpack - hand carry.

Im only concerned about how to carry the drone and controller in check in baggage.

And I wont be putting the direct DJI box in check in of course.

I will put it inside my huge check in baggage, so basically security guys only see the big bag, not the DJI box inside it.
 
Mavic, I hide it in my hand baggage, they cannot see it.
But phantom is direct target as its big.
 
Soamz: Our P4P goes inside a regular hard suitcase for London-Dubai then Dubai-Cape Town (and return). One battery is left inside the drone. Our spare battery is carried hand luggage, in a fire safe bag/pouch which security check staff are pleased about. No problems whatsoever.
 
Soamz: Our P4P goes inside a regular hard suitcase for London-Dubai then Dubai-Cape Town (and return). One battery is left inside the drone. Our spare battery is carried hand luggage, in a fire safe bag/pouch which security check staff are pleased about. No problems whatsoever.

So you're putting at risk the entire aircraft by having a li-on battery in the hold of the plane?
 
So you're putting at risk the entire aircraft by having a li-on battery in the hold of the plane?
That's actually legal, no different than a laptop with an installed li-on battery. However as easy as the battery pops in and out of the craft, I think it's foolish to leave a battery in the craft, just because you can. Is it really a problem to carry on an extra flight battery to keep 300 people more safe? I mean really!
 
I’m flying from one part of UK to another 90min flight and the airline want P4P drone in hold. Their rules are one battery with drone and 2 more as hand luggage max. Should be run down to max 20% capacity dead if possible. I’m away to do training so want to take as many as possible as charging batteries in a field is difficult to do.
 

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