How to Travel with a Drone

So you bought a brand new DJI Mini 3 Pro, you've flown it and built up some skills, and now you're ready to take it with you on your next trip. Drones can be fragile and difficult to carry, and we all know drones and airports don't really mix very well. So, let's talk about your options for how to travel with your drone.

Flying my DJI Air 2S in Yauco, Puerto Rico

I've traveled with my DJI Air 2S to lots of places, and my latest trip was to Island of Enchantment: Puerto Rico. Feel free to read my latest blog post about it here!

Anyways, let's get to the point. Here's how to travel with a drone in a variety of methods.

Traveling in Your Own Car

First of all, if you have a drone that can fold down into a smaller package, like some of DJI's GPS drones, that simplifies things. Everywhere I go I take the pouch that came in the DJI Air 2S Fly More bundle. This enables me to keep the drone with the gimbal protector, up to five batteries, the DJI Smart Controller, a pack of ND filters, and spare propellors all together.

This case is a soft case, so you still have to be careful how you pack/travel with this case. Let's look at some safety precautions for traveling with a soft case before we look at some hard cases.

The soft case that comes in the Fly More package is super convenient, but it is a soft case. When packing, the packed soft case is the last thing I put in my car. Make sure the soft case is under very little weight, so as to avoid any possible damage to the propellors or the the arms of the drone. What I like to do is to keep loose bags or other light materials to cover all my equipment.

Drones and camera equipment are expensive. Although having insurance is vital and is ideal to have, if you can avoid a theft or other damage to your equipment, the better off you are. I find that a combination of old McDonald's bags and a few loose tote bags provide the best combination of messy/coverage-cleanliness ratio.

If you're looking to get a different case for your drone, here are a couple of highly-rated ones that might fit your wants and needs:

PGYTech Carrying Case:

DJI Aircraft Sleeve:

Now, let's take a look at some hard cases for your drone. I find it sufficient to use just the soft case, but here are some examples that you might be interested in:

Nanuk Waterproof Hard Case:

Smatree Hard Carrying Case:

Make sure you find a case that fits your specific drone!

Traveling via Rideshare and Public Transportation

When traveling on an Uber or Lyft, comfort is most likely going to be the more important factor for you. Unless you have your drone stashed away in your luggage, getting a small, soft case would be more ideal for traveling in an Uber, Lyft, taxi, or any other transportation service.

When traveling via train or bus, it is especially important to keep your expensive belongings close to you. This is one of the biggest reasons as to why I prefer soft over hard cases. The case that came in the Fly More Kit has a strap that I can keep around my shoulder, so the zipper and case stay close to me and I can know where they are at all times.

Another reason to keep the case on your side at all times is due to how the rides tend to flow. Having your case on the floor, especially if it's a hard case, can result in a case that's all scratched up from sliding back and forth on the ground. Hard cases are also typically heavier, and more difficult to hold for extended periods of time.

Traveling via Airplane

Finally, the section you've been waiting for. If you like informational blog posts like these, make sure to join our mailing list to always stay in the loop!

Anyways, here are a couple key takeaways for traveling on a plane with a drone. Remember that these are general statements, and individual airports may have different TSA requirements.

1. DO NOT put your drone batteries in your checked bag. If there's one thing you can take away from this it's this fact. Here's why: Your drone batteries are generally either lithium ion or lithium polymer. Lithium reacts with the oxygen and water vapor in the air and can be highly flammable. Because the area on an airplane where the luggage goes is not pressurized, the depressurization at high altitudes can crack or damage your drone batteries. If this happens, it's possible to start a fire in an airplane in the sky. Not a good idea. Instead, just keep your drone and everything that goes along with it on your person/in your carry-on. A soft case is great for this.

2. When passing through TSA, you can generally just keep your drone and any accessories all together in your drone case and pass that through the conveyor belt to be scanned all together. This makes it easier for you to just set your stuff down on the belt and walk through the scanner and be all set. Plus, your drone is considered to be a "larger electronic" so you would be required to scan it individually either way.

3. If you don't have a case for your drone and it just sits in your bag, you still have to remove it from the bag and scan it on its own. You can still put the drone with the batteries and accessories in the same bin together, however.

4. When it comes to safety and security, I would highly advise not labeling or marking your drone case (or any of your expensive camera gear) with anything that might make it stand out as particularly expensive. I prefer to be a little more paranoid on my personal safety and security than others, just in case. If I'm walking out of the airport with a case that's labelled with camera and drone brands and stickers, it'll likely draw a bit of unwanted attention. This obviously goes hand in hand with vlogging in these airports, but that's for another blog post. I prefer to keep my drone gear a bit more low-key to avoid any type of hazard that could develop as a result of carrying thousands of dollars of equipment with me. Use your head!

5. If you have a soft case, I would recommend putting it inside of your backpack or carry-on. Obviously, things slide around in the overhead compartments. You don't want your drone sliding into walls or other people's heavy carry-ons. A bit of extra padding or a another bag won't hurt as a precaution.

Well, there you have it! That's how you travel with a drone on an airplane, how you travel with a drone in public, and how you travel with a drone in your car.

What are your tips and tricks for traveling with a drone? Let me know in the comments below and let's help each other out! Also remember to subscribe to the mailing list below to never miss a blog post!

Thanks for reading!