Batteries in baggage / cabin baggage (US Airways)

Question

I am pretty sure this is a long discussed topic but anyhow I am a bit confused on how to pack my baggages for a 3 weeks trip into the US from Germany with US Airways.

I want to have the following equipment with me on the trip:

• Canon EOS DSLR without replacement battery (just original)
• Nikon small digicam
• iPhone + Powerbank for Recharging

I am aware of the situation about batteries, especially Lithium-Ion batteries which are all of those device batteries.

I will carry the iphone and the powerbank (both charged to show they work) in my cabin baggage. As far as I understood I will need to put the powerbank in my cabin baggage in an antistatic plastic wrap?

But I am not sure If I am allowed to put the Canon DSLR as it is (inserted battery) into my baggage. Same goes for the small nikon digicam. Or do I have to put the cameras into baggage but take the batteries with me, also separated in antistatic plastic wrap?

Can anybody lighten me up please?

Answer 1

Cameras when flying.

You should always take expensive equipment, like cameras, in your hand luggage. If you have only the one battery it should sit in the camera. It is only when you have spare batteries that you might run into problems. But having traveled with one or even two spare batteries for my Canon super compact camera as well as a spare battery for my phone, I have never had inquiries about them when passing security.

I keep the spare batteries with an official battery cover in a pocket of the camera bag. That is according to the rules as I read the TSA website. For the phone battery I never had a cover but I have it wrapped in a plastic bag in a fitting box and it sits in my handbag. Maybe not 100% to the rules but clearly out of harms way and as it is just the one small item, the security guards do not seem to worry about it.

Here you find the official TSA rules. German Airports as all EU airports, for your return journey, do keep rules very much alike, if not always completely the same: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/safe-travel-batteries-and-devices

Answer 2

I just wanted to give some short feedback on what I have done:

• I wrapped my USB power bank in a plastic bag
• Separated cables by wrapping all into another plastic bag
• Put both plastic bags inside my rucksack
• Camera as it is including its battery.

Upon TSA security check I put those bags and camera into the containers.

Everything was fine - no one bothered and seemed totally legit.