Hi everyone.
I have had a bit of a look around here for a proper list of airports and countries that have no tolerance for our hobby but I didn't find much but there were a few stories scattered around. I think there should be a list we can make for all to check out if anyone has had any horror stories in particular countries.
For instance.
I bought a 2nd hand battery from a guy in London last week. I asked him what happened to his Phantom if it had flown away or something. He told me he was on going holiday to Morocco and when he arrived the airport security took one look at his P3A told him it was not allowed and apparently just took it from him controller case and all.
I really felt for him as I have had a similar experience myself when traveling through Guangzhou (hmm strange this I wonder where they make batteries for a Phantom3?) airport in China. Before I left I checked the regulations for the airline and thought all would be ok and when I left Heathrow it was perfectly ok to take as cabin baggage my P3P and 3 batteries.
When I left china however and had to go through their security I was robbed of one of my batteries as you are apparently only allowed to have 2 with you onboard the aircraft. I was absolutely fuming with rage and nearly got slightly abusive to the security guy, but thought it better to hide my rage after I had made my point lest I wind up in a Chinese goulag.

This must be happening to people on a daily basis and we need some way to find out about these horror stories before we ourselves become a victim.
Can we open a conversation pin it to the top of the forum for all to put their stories and warnings of these incidents so that it is easily read and updated by all?
Or has this been done before?
Cheers.
Dave.                                                

What airline were you on? According to British Airways, you can have 1 battery installed and 4 spares  in your carry-on.

http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/pdfs/lithium_battery.pdf

jackamick Posted at 2015-12-8 08:17
What airline were you on? According to British Airways, you can have 1 battery installed and 4 spare ...

It doesn't matter a fig if you come up against a local customs idiot who applies any law he can think of. As the OP said, it was the security people not the airline.

Geebax Posted at 2015-12-7 21:24
It doesn't matter a fig if you come up against a local customs idiot who applies any law he can thi ...

Exactly right. It was the pre flight airport security that got me in China. I have since read about loads of people traveling all over the American continent north and south and never having a problem with 4 or 5 batts. I should have put one battery in the aircraft and he probably wouldn't have noticed it (good work hindsight). I read somewhere that over 100Wh you can only have 2 in certain areas-airports but P3 batts are only 44wh.
It was completely unfair and I am sure he was incorrect even by his own regulations but you can only argue your point so much when dealing with someone who barely speaks your language and is part of the communist machine. It seems like I was unlucky to be at that airport at that moment perhaps but I wanted to find out if anyone else has had any similar confiscations (thefts) so we can all be forewarned. Especially when it comes to the guy I met who had his whole drone taken from him after he arrived in Morocco, it made me feel a whole lot luckier about my partial loss as it could have been a whole lot worse.

Geebax Posted at 2015-12-7 16:24
It doesn't matter a fig if you come up against a local customs idiot who applies any law he can thi ...

Amen. Several years ago I was departing Mozambique. I was asked (in Portuguese) if I had anything to declare. I didn't understand until another person, in broken English, asked "...do you have anything to declare?" I said no. Then that same person asked me if I had any money!

My response was that I had a modest amount in American dollars and South African Rand, which I had brought into the country with me. I pulled some metacal (the currency of Mozambique) and the person asked me if I was planning on coming back to Mozambique. I said "Maybe."

They were downright stoic. Apparently "maybe" was not in their vocabulary. I shoved the metacal forward, the woman took it and all three of them smiled and wished me a "...happy trip!" I think they got a whopping 3 dollars equivalent out of me, but it pissed me off that they felt the need to rob you on the way out the door!

When I got into the international lounge, I told my friend why I had been delayed. He said when they asked me if I had anything to declare I should have said "...yeah, this is the most effed up country I've ever been in!"

Actually, in the two weeks I was there, there *were* a couple of times I was concerned about my safety, but I was never really threatened. I may never get to go again, but it was the experience of a lifetime.

Hate to think what they would have said if I'd pulled out a Phantom with batteries!

Art - N4PJ
Leesburg, FL

I have travelled to a lot of countries in the world and been through some pretty frightening airports customs procedures, but one going into Bali, I had bought a carton of cigarettes in Australia, only to find on arrival in Bali that they contained 50 more cigarettes than permissible. I was taken into an office and given a stern lecture in broken English about being in 'serious trouble', but there was an inference that I could buy myself out of 'trouble' if I paid the guy in charge money. I was near the door going out to the main airport area, so I backed out the door and said in the loudest voice I could muster "Let me get this straight, if I pay you a bribe you will let me go, is that correct'. I was quickly hurried out the door and it slammed shut. I then left the airport. Indonesia is an extremely corrupt country, but no-one cares, it has become part of their culture.