I have never taken off my front disk, but my front wheel is securely zip tied to my frame as in the photo, and the black plastic disk protector is securely held in place with tape.
I'll have to see how everything fits in the box before making my final decision. I will be constrained by the Air New Zealand supplied box for the return trip which is "only" 56" x 31.5" x 12".
One potential issue is bottle cage interference if I put the rotor inboard for protection.
As mentioned, even with mechanical brakes as I have, you want to insert some sort of spacer, clean folded paper, whatever inbetween the pads, and held in with tape, so that when, not if, the front brake lever is squeezed by accident, the pads are not pushed out past where they should be.
If you have hydros as mentioned, you have to very careful of this.
Read up on hydros and this occurance to find out the pitfalls.
I have the OEM pad spacers which should be enough.
bottom line, pack your bike like a new bike is packed when delivered from the factory. You do not want any movement in the box, or as little as possible, use foam bits and the 3 most important plastic pieces to protect fork dropout, rear derailleur and front disk.
I have mostly used panniers and can carry these three pieces with me if I need to get a new box for a return flight.
This is a supported tour but I will have to have them carry (with my luggage) all of the packing "bits" for the return trip packing at the end of the tour. I am planning on removing the RD and tying it to the frame so no possible damage. Chain will be off as well.
BTW, what is that black plastic piece in the upper right of your photo? RD protector? How does it fit?
if you ask politely at a bike store and be there for their unboxing day, they will save all the foam and plastic protector bits along with the used box.
Local REI has a big box of this stuff which I have already visited a couple of times.