So you’ve gone and bought an eBike and you’re eager to razz it round the Alps, right?
Hold your horses, it’s not that easy sorry.
The rumour mill says that pesky aviation rules mean that you can’t just waltz up to the Easyjet desk and hop aboard as you would with a normal bike.
Faced with the trauma of having to leave a few of our eBiking buddies at home, we’ve done our own research and pulled together a quick guide to flying with your eBike or eMTB.
So what’s the problem?
The main issue is, we’re told, down to batteries.
eBikes have a great big power cell and the rules for flying are strict on what you can and can’t transport. Batteries over 160WH are a no no.
So what does the internet say?
A quick Google search finds a variety of answers. Various forums pop up at the top of Google to say that they’ve had good experiences with Ryanair and Easyjet – both telling them they can in fact fly with batteries, provided they’re unplugged from the bike and stored separately.
Ryanair’s policy for mobility scooters (read here) confirms that and says that, for scooters at least, that “The battery power must be isolated and exposed terminals protected from short circuiting”.
So it’s all good?
Well, no, sorry.
We reached out to Easyjet and their press office told us that, in no uncertain terms, electric bicycles weren’t allowed on Easyjet flights.
“Whilst we do of course enable passengers to take their bicycles when they travel with us I am afraid that Electric bicycles are not permitted for travel.
This is due to the fact that the batteries fitted bring too high a power output to comply with dangerous goods regulations.”
Aviation rules say that batteries that are larger than 300WH are ‘dangerous goods’ and can’t be transported by air.
You can take a mobility scooter battery but only if you’re a passenger “whose mobility is restricted by either a disability, their health or age, or a temporary mobility problem”.
You could possibly try and wing it that your eBike is a mobility aid but, it’s a long shot.
According to ebikeFAQ.com:
“You cannot take lithium-ion batteries with a capacity of over 160-watt hours or wet batteries over 100 watt-hours on aircraft. Furthermore, you may only take lithium-ion batteries of between 101-160 watt-hours with airline approval”.
eBikeFAQ also says that:
“An amazing one lithium-ion battery fire happens on an aircraft every 10 days. What is more, lithium-ion batteries look to be the root cause of three aircraft crashes.”
What can you fly with?
Whilst you can’t fly with an ebike you can in fact fly with any of the following items, provided they’re in the plane’s hold:
- Mobility scooter batteries
- Baseball bats, nunchucks and knuckle dusters
- Blow torches, nail guns, bolt guns and power saws
- Swords, swordsticks and sabres, harpoons, machetes and spears
- Shotguns no longer than 24″
- Rifles no larger than .22 calibre
- Single shot handguns no larger than .22
So what’s the answer?
No, you cannot fly on an airplane with an eBike or electric bicycle battery.
But, there’s a few alternatives.
You can drive.
Loads of resorts are within easy reach of the UK and driving tends to cost about the same as a flight.
Hop in the car and you’ll be in Alp D’Huez, Morzine, Les Gets and most of the Alpine destinations in a day or two’s drive.
You can try to rent a battery.
There’s an opportunity for someone to post eBike batteries to holiday makers in Europe, but so far it doesn’t seem to be a thing.
For now, your best bet is to look for local bike shops at your holiday destination that hire eBikes.
Call in advance and see if you can rent a battery that’ll fit your bike. If you’re running a classic eBike with a battery on the down tube you’re way more likely to strike gold. If not, you’ll probably struggle.
You can just ride the lifts on your non-eBike and put up with it.
Perhaps if you really want to ride the big mountains you need to keep hold of that human-powered bike and just ride the chair lifts like everyone else?
I know, it sucks, blame the Civil Aviation Authority.
And there you have it. Let us know what your plan is to get overseas with your eBike in the comments!
