Table of Contents
Introduction
If you are traveling to a country where you know that drones are legal and you can use them at your leisure, that is exciting to know because you could document so many memories by having that drone with you. However, here is the issue. Even if it is legal to take a drone to a particular country, you have to realize that every airline will not be overly accommodating to you when you are traveling with your drone. Therefore, when it comes to air travel with your drone in checked luggage and carry-on, there are several essential things to know about taking the drone with you, so you do not end up with any hassle.
The First Step Is To Find Out If That Drone Complies With TSA Requirements
Before you do anything, you need to ensure that the drone you take will comply with TSA requirements. You also want to ensure it will also adhere to the airline policies and FAA hazardous material regulations. If it does not, you may not be able to take your drone with you because you will get caught, and it can get confiscated as well as your profile taking a bit of a hit. It does not matter if the destination you are heading to allows the recreational use of drones. Therefore, in this case, it may be better to drive to the destination if it is on the same continent where you live. However, in most cases where the drones are legal at the destinations you are going to, you should not have any trouble taking them with you. But there are steps to take to ensure that you do not get into trouble while flying with your drone.
What To Do When You Are Taking A Drone On The Plane
When you pack a drone in your checked luggage and carry-on bags, you will want to ensure you do the following steps. The first thing to do is to ensure that you turn your drone off and that you protect the switches from any activation which would be accidental. The other thing you will want to do is get a particular drone carrying case to prevent your drone from having any damage.
It would be best to find out from the airline whether you should pack your drone in checked or carry-on baggage. Some airlines have the rule that you must load the drone into carry-on bags because of the lithium battery ban by the DOT in the cargo areas. The thing is that lithium batteries power up the drone. So you will need to know how you pack those with you when traveling anyway.
How To Travel With The Lithium Batteries That Power Up Drones
Since most drones run on lithium-ion batteries, you must become familiar with and follow the regulations for hazardous materials by the FAA. The best thing to do is to store the drones on carry-on bags, and there may be times when the airline will permit you to pack them in your checked luggage. However, you are better off carrying the lithium battery on carry-on bags for simplicity’s sake.
When you pack the lithium-ion batteries into the carry-on bags, you must know your battery’s watt-hours or WH. If your battery has 100 WH or fewer, you will need to put them into a battery case, whether a camera bag or plastic bag, and you will want to leave them in their packaging. That will protect it from short-circuiting. Always bring batteries for personal or professional use, and never sell them.
If your batteries are greater than 100 WH but under 160 WH, the airline will have to approve it since it is larger. Therefore, you do not want to pack more than two spare batteries greater than 100 WH. You will also want to keep the batteries in the packaging where they came from or, in any case, so they do not short-circuit.
What about storing your batteries in checked baggage? Once again, you will have to check with the airline to see if you can do that. However, some airlines may allow you to pack 100 WH or fewer batteries as long as they are in the drone. Unfortunately, you cannot pack batteries independently in the checked luggage as only those in the drone are allowed, and not every airline will allow it. What about when it comes to customs?
What Can You Expect When Taking Your Drone Through Customs?
The country’s civil or national aviation authority, such as the FAA in the USA, regulates drone rules. Therefore, the best thing to do is find the civil aviation authority in the country where you are traveling. That will help you understand the drone laws where you are traveling. That is when you know that you can travel with the drone to that country since it is legal. First, however, you need to know a set of regulations. You will want to check for any foreigner-specific laws for drones. You may need to register the drone in the country first where you plan to travel and always follow the country’s rules regarding the certification and licensing for the drone. Finally, you may need to take a civil or national aviation authority test to fly the drone for professional reasons.
There may be some countries where there are no drone laws. However, that does not mean you can freely take your drone there without first checking with the national or civil aviation authority. In addition, you likely will need to take steps before entering the country with the drone. Because if you don’t, customs could still confiscate it.
Conclusion
If you want to have some fun opportunities for doing some filming and photography‘, you will want to travel somewhere with a drone. However, before you do that, you need to plan and do plenty of research to find out if it is legal to go to a country with a drone. If it is legal, you need to check for any civil or national aviation authority laws. You also need to know how you can travel with the drone on the airline you are using, and in most cases, you may have to take it in the carry-on bag. That is because of the battery. Therefore, do your research before traveling with your drone, or you may not be able to take it with you.