Brian Iannone
I'm new. *Really* new...
Has anyone flown on an airline with LiPo batteries in their check-in baggage? If so, any suggestions or warnings for traveling with them?
Flying on an Airline with LiPo Batteries
- Thread starter Brian Iannone
- Start date
ChrisViperM
Active Member
You might find some useful information here:
http://safetravel.dot.gov/PHMSA_battery_guide.pdf
http://www.aircargoinsights.com/exp...on-transporting-lithium-battery-by-air-cargo/
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_transport_batteries
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/li_battery_restrictions.html
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm
Chris
http://safetravel.dot.gov/PHMSA_battery_guide.pdf
http://www.aircargoinsights.com/exp...on-transporting-lithium-battery-by-air-cargo/
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_transport_batteries
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/li_battery_restrictions.html
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm
Chris
Maverick
Member
Hi Brian,
Last October I flew from Ireland to Dubai, then on to Thailand. Different airlines have slight difference in their rules. I emailed the airline (Etihad) in advance, so I would have written confirmation from them. They wanted to know the capacity of my packs, as I was limited to I think 5000mAh. They also informed me that it has to be carried on as hand luggage, not checked-in, as they are a fire hazard, and can't be left unattended in the hold/cargo area. They also couldn't be defective, and I had to cover up any bare connectors.
So, I carried them in my hand luggage, and went through all the x-rays and security, and was never questioned once, until the return journey 3weeks later. They were very concerned when they saw them through the x-ray, and immediately made me empty the contents of my hand luggage. Luckily, I had uploaded my videos from my GoPro 2 to my iPad, and I could clearly show them what they were used for. I also had a copy of e-mail correspondence from the airline, from my initial enquiries. They breathed a sigh of relief, and totally changed their tune. Then a rep came over, and wanted to chat, as he too had an RC plane, and wanted to know what did I fly, and what frequencies and radio I used. So it all ended well.
My advice, get in touch with your airline, and explain about your hobby, and that you wanted to check in (excuse the pun) advance before you go to the hassle of packing, what their regulations are, as they all slightly different.
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tahoelight
Member
Can someone who has traveled for photo gigs give some input? I have flown with about 6 4s 4000mah batteries, but I am headed for a shoot and have to fly into San Diego next week. I will have 2 multi-rotors and an 800e class heli. I will need about 4 sets of packs for each heli (8x 4s 5000mah packs, 8x 5s 5300mah packs and 8x 6s 5300mah packs.) Not sure how the airline is going to handle that. That's a lot of batteries to travel with and I am not sure I have time to ship them down before we head south into Baja. I might need to make the 10 hour drive. Not to mention packing the helis for the trip. I will be calling them, but figured I would get even more real word experience on this forum.
tahoelight
Member
I finally got a hold of someone with TSA and all they could tell me was there is an 8gram lithium limit. I tried to dig further to get more details, but she would not allow me to speak with a manager saying what they have on the screen is all they can provide. Not the best service and she could not tell me what 8 grams meant. (i have seen the equation for figuring it out, but it seems odd that TSA could not figure out the details.
Example of what one 5s 5300mah battery is in grams of lithium.
taking the number of li-ion cells in the battery, multiplying it by 0.3 and then multiplying it by the battery capacity in amp-hrs.
so 5x.3/5.3= .28grams? so does that mean I can bring 28 of these batteries on board or am I getting something wrong.
Luckily I will be traveling with others, so we can split the batteries between us to make it less intimidating. I will have them all individually wrapped and I will heat shrink the plus as a precaution.
Example of what one 5s 5300mah battery is in grams of lithium.
taking the number of li-ion cells in the battery, multiplying it by 0.3 and then multiplying it by the battery capacity in amp-hrs.
so 5x.3/5.3= .28grams? so does that mean I can bring 28 of these batteries on board or am I getting something wrong.
Luckily I will be traveling with others, so we can split the batteries between us to make it less intimidating. I will have them all individually wrapped and I will heat shrink the plus as a precaution.
hi,
ive been flying once a month in american airlines to south america with my pelican case 1510(tsa approve) with 13 lipos 4S, and 5 or 6 little 3S....
i just tell them what i do, and never had a problem with them, some of them know that they have to be in the cabin and not in cargo.
looks lo me that they dont care how many Amps im carrying...
daniel
ive been flying once a month in american airlines to south america with my pelican case 1510(tsa approve) with 13 lipos 4S, and 5 or 6 little 3S....
i just tell them what i do, and never had a problem with them, some of them know that they have to be in the cabin and not in cargo.
looks lo me that they dont care how many Amps im carrying...
daniel
I fly back and forth between Vegas and Reno with up to 6 x 6S 5000 lipos. Never had a problem. I have had a few "bag check" times but I light up the magnetometer in Reno with my knee replacement any way so whats a few more minutes. Ken how you liking the 800? P.S. it does have to be in carry on. You cannot pack them in the belly of the plane.
tahoelight
Member
Just to report back, I made it through security with 8x 5s 5300, 8x 4s 4000, 3x 3s 4000, and a few small 3s. I left the 800e at home (again!) so no 6s this time. Although i would have made it through security with them. I was pulled aside an they dd the test for explosives and had to have a manager look through the rule book. They couldn't find any rule listing Lipos as being restricted, so let me carry them through.
@Tahoe Ed - I have upgraded the original 700 quite a hit and it flies nice. But honestly, I have not needed it for any paid jobs yet. My fleet of MR or doing me well. Although I am sure there will be times on this trip to Baka when I could use the extra flight times and I am sure win will be an issue with my Octa.
@Tahoe Ed - I have upgraded the original 700 quite a hit and it flies nice. But honestly, I have not needed it for any paid jobs yet. My fleet of MR or doing me well. Although I am sure there will be times on this trip to Baka when I could use the extra flight times and I am sure win will be an issue with my Octa.
Benjamin Rowland
Member
I've flown with our Lipos. I packed them in my carry-on. I taped the connectors with electrical tape and put them in Lipo bags.
redridinghood
Member
http://safetravel.dot.gov/definitions.html
This limitation is why I went for a cuda 650 and not a fury.
This limitation is why I went for a cuda 650 and not a fury.
gtranquilla
RadioActive
So it seems that you are suggesting that there is a 30% lithium content in each cell relative to the amount of copper, plastic and polymer....... Where BTW did you get that information?
gtranquilla
RadioActive
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS SPECIFIC TO CANADA...... MAY BE COMMON TO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES:
Official message of clarification from Transport Canada (Canadian Airspace regulator)
Good morning Greg
I am including the passenger exemptions pertaining to Lithium Batteries that are allowed for personaluse.
The RC Hexacopter can be packed in checked luggage ( carry-on recommended), but the spare batteries can only be carried in carry- on luggage.
Ensure all batteries have the Lithium content and Watt-hour rating on them.
If you have any furtherquestions feel free to contact me.
Portable electronic devices (such aswatches, calculating machines, cameras, cellular phones, laptop computers,camcorders)
Portable electronic devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries carried by passengers or crew for personal use;
- should be carried as carry-on baggage;
-each battery must not exceed the following:
—for lithium metal batteries, a lithium content of not more than 2 grams; or
—for lithium ion batteries, a Watt-hour rating of not more than 100 Wh;
- if devices are carried in checked baggage, measures must be takento prevent unintentional activation; and
- batteries and cells must be ofa type which meets the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Testsand Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3.
Spare batteries for portableelectronic devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries a) carried by passengers or crew for personal use;
- must be individually protected so asto prevent short circuits (by placement in original retail packaging or byotherwise insulating terminals, e.g. by taping over exposed terminals orplacing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch);
-each battery must not exceed the following:
—for lithium metal batteries, a lithium content of not more than 2 grams; or
—for lithium ion batteries, a Watt-hour rating of not more than 100 Wh; and
- batteries and cells must be ofa type which meets the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Testsand Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3.
Ken Small
Civil Aviation SafetyInspector
Dangerous Goods - Air
Winnipeg Operations Division
Prairie & Northern Region
Official message of clarification from Transport Canada (Canadian Airspace regulator)
Good morning Greg
I am including the passenger exemptions pertaining to Lithium Batteries that are allowed for personaluse.
The RC Hexacopter can be packed in checked luggage ( carry-on recommended), but the spare batteries can only be carried in carry- on luggage.
Ensure all batteries have the Lithium content and Watt-hour rating on them.
If you have any furtherquestions feel free to contact me.
Portable electronic devices (such aswatches, calculating machines, cameras, cellular phones, laptop computers,camcorders)
Portable electronic devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries carried by passengers or crew for personal use;
- should be carried as carry-on baggage;
-each battery must not exceed the following:
—for lithium metal batteries, a lithium content of not more than 2 grams; or
—for lithium ion batteries, a Watt-hour rating of not more than 100 Wh;
- if devices are carried in checked baggage, measures must be takento prevent unintentional activation; and
- batteries and cells must be ofa type which meets the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Testsand Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3.
Spare batteries for portableelectronic devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries a) carried by passengers or crew for personal use;
- must be individually protected so asto prevent short circuits (by placement in original retail packaging or byotherwise insulating terminals, e.g. by taping over exposed terminals orplacing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch);
-each battery must not exceed the following:
—for lithium metal batteries, a lithium content of not more than 2 grams; or
—for lithium ion batteries, a Watt-hour rating of not more than 100 Wh; and
- batteries and cells must be ofa type which meets the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Testsand Criteria, Part III, subsection 38.3.
Ken Small
Civil Aviation SafetyInspector
Dangerous Goods - Air
Winnipeg Operations Division
Prairie & Northern Region
Ray Bahas
Member
Hi Brian, this was helpful on the "moral" side :tennis:
I am planning to travel to Africa from Dubai with a lot of filming equipment including my UAV and consequently some Lipo battery package. Following my research on USA and Emirates rules here's what I found:
- You are allowed (in cabin) to travel with Lipos included in your electronic devices (laptops, cell phones, cameras) not to exceed 160 Watt / Hour
- But you are allowed to carry a "spare" battery package of the same.
- In American denomination for the same, the total allowance of all combined lipos is 25g of Lithium material which is approx equivalent to 300 W/H
Each one who need to travel with lipos must get in touch with the airliner and previously make the calculations for his carried batteries total power. Use this very convenient site for the purpose: http://www.rapidtables.com/
FYI, I have four batteries of 3.9 mH x 11.1 V = 43.3 W/H x 4 = 173.2 W/H
Cheers
dazzab
Member
Here's what I did when traveling to the US from Australia and on domestic flights in the US. Worked great. They looked at the label and said, 'Fine'. Needless to say, the labels were self printed (well, actually they were printed by a fellow forum member who will be traveling internationally tomorrow).
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Ray Bahas
Member
Great ! But does the "do not transport in hold" mean not to be carried in the cargo bay ?
That is correct. I fly domestically in the US often. When I travel with my Phantom, the lipos reside in the case. If I am traveling with another copter and regular lipos, I just travel with them in my backpack. I do take them out when going through security. I do not tape the XT60 connectors or put them in separate lipo bags.
dazzab
Member
That sheet of information in the photo is the FAA regulations. I carried the regulations with me as you'd be surprised how many TSA agents aren't clear about them. Those regulations prohibit lipo batteries from being transported in the hold. My copter was in a Pelican case and it was opened twice by the TSA for inspection. I suspect if you put lipos in your luggage there's a good chance they will be removed if the case is inspected.
htotheunit
Member
I flew on a BA flight from London City to Malaga. I had notified them before the flight but got to the airport finding a lot of contradictory information about how many I could take and a lot of clueless staff.
Their regulations state you may take 2 large and two small LiPo batteries in your hand luggage and up to two (I think) in checked in luggage... as long as they're plugged in.
I took 2 large and 2 small on board with the contacts covered and left the others behind. I sure as hell wasn't going to leave LiPo's plugged into my chopper in the hold! Had a few funny looks from security as I went through the check in, and had to explain using my best spanish accent what they were on the way back but otherwise it was alright!
I wonder if these new security checks on electronic devices will scupper our chances of taking batteries abroad in future, any ideas?
Their regulations state you may take 2 large and two small LiPo batteries in your hand luggage and up to two (I think) in checked in luggage... as long as they're plugged in.
I took 2 large and 2 small on board with the contacts covered and left the others behind. I sure as hell wasn't going to leave LiPo's plugged into my chopper in the hold! Had a few funny looks from security as I went through the check in, and had to explain using my best spanish accent what they were on the way back but otherwise it was alright!
I wonder if these new security checks on electronic devices will scupper our chances of taking batteries abroad in future, any ideas?