Traveling with a 600ws battery flash in the aircraft cabin?

[DannyTreacy]

Hi all,

I'm traveling to Mexico next week (I'm based in london), as part of my kit I will be taking a portable battery powered flash head. The battery is a Lithuim ion type, the flash output is rated at 600 ws.

My question is has anyone experienced any problems in taking a battery of this kind in the aircraft cabin as part of hand baggage?

I intend to remove the battery from the flash and place it in a plastic bag with tape over the terminals to be absolutely sure that it cannot short in any way.

Thanks!

Danny.

[Bob Salomon]

Hi all,

I'm traveling to Mexico next week (I'm based in london), as part of my kit I will be taking a portable battery powered flash head. The battery is a Lithuim ion type, the flash output is rated at 600 ws.

My question is has anyone experienced any problems in taking a battery of this kind in the aircraft cabin as part of hand baggage?

I intend to remove the battery from the flash and place it in a plastic bag with tape over the terminals to be absolutely sure that it cannot short in any way.

Thanks!

Danny.

First, 600ws is an input value. Not an output value.
Secondly call your airline and eliminate surprises. No one here can tell you what the airline will do.

[DannyTreacy]

Thanks for the info.

As per my original question I am interested in hearing any real world problems that anyone on here has had with traveling with a large portable flash battery of this type, so if there are any frequent travelers carrying battery powered flash in the cabin it would be great to hear from your experiences. Thanks

[Pfsor]

First, 600ws is an input value. Not an output value.
Secondly call your airline and eliminate surprises. No one here can tell you what the airline will do.

+1. Sound advice, Bob. Each airline has its own rules for Li ion batteries nowadays. They indicate the limit Ah capacity of batteries allowed to take on-board. It is useless asking others for their experience especially when you don't want to indicate the airline you will travel with. Ask your airline, they know!

[DannyTreacy]

+1. Sound advice, Bob. Each airline has its own rules for Li ion batteries nowadays. They indicate the limit Ah capacity of batteries allowed to take on-board. It is useless asking others for their experience especially when you don't want to indicate the airline you will travel with. Ask your airline, they know!

I know the regulations of the airlines extremely well as I have researched their policies, that wasn't my question.


I've already asked both airlines I'm traveling with and I've got them to add notes to my bookings acknowledging their approval.

However, anyone who has traveled well knows that the airline's policies and the attitude and knowledge base of the people who actually scan and handle carry on luggage are two very different things.

Therefore I asked if there are any users with real world issues, I did not ask about airline policies, that was not mentioned anywhere in my question, do I need to spell out my question again or do you have it yet?

What is it about photography that attracts pedantic people, actually that would be a great thread.

[blue4130]

Well since you know that policy is different that ön the ground"you will know that each person that you deal with at security will be different and no matter what anyone here tells you, it will not match with what you will deal with. Traveling on airlines is very dynamic. No one can give you valid advice that you should base your trip on. The best you can do is what you have already done. Read the airline policy, but be ready for pushback from security on the ground who don't always know their own policies.

[Bob Salomon]

Well since you know that policy is different that ön the ground"you will know that each person that you deal with at security will be different and no matter what anyone here tells you, it will not match with what you will deal with. Traveling on airlines is very dynamic. No one can give you valid advice that you should base your trip on. The best you can do is what you have already done. Read the airline policy, but be ready for pushback from security on the ground who don't always know their own policies.

You can have any agreement that you like in advance. But you still have to get that battery onboard the plane past security. And they can still take the battery from you. Additionally just taping the terminals does not keep problems occurring inside the battery.

If you must have that flash for your trip then package it and send it to your hotel. But air delivery services may have regulations about shipping that type of battery as well.

[AtlantaTerry]

Not exactly the same thing, but here is a story from back in the '70s, when you could hand an airport Skycap $20 and most problems were taken care of.

I was flying with my camera gear and an AC powered Balcar 1200 studio strobe. At one airport a security guy had no idea what a Balcar studio strobe was. (I guess he thought it might be a bomb or something.) I asked him if I were a bomber would I be flying with bags of cameras and lenses? LOL! Anyhow, he actually wanted me to remove the blue metal case! When I pointed out to him and his supervisor that there were no scratches where screws had been inserted and removed since the unit was built, they let me get on the airplane.