Can You Bring a Power Bank on a Plane? 2026 Battery Rules

Yes, you can bring a power bank on a plane, but only in your carry-on bag or personal item. Never pack one in a checked bag. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration treats spare lithium batteries, power banks included, as a fire risk in the cargo hold, where a battery fire could spread before anyone notices. In the cabin, a crew trained to spot and smother a lithium battery fire is a few feet away. That one rule, carry-on only, is the headline, and it does not bend.

The size rule comes next. A power bank rated up to 100 watt-hours (Wh) is fine with no special permission, and that covers nearly every phone charger on the market. Between 100 and 160 Wh you need your airline’s approval and can carry at most two. Above 160 Wh it is banned from the cabin, with narrow exceptions for certain mobility-device batteries. Most travelers never come close to that ceiling.

Quick reference: power bank rules at a glance

Limits are from the FAA PackSafe lithium battery guidance (49 CFR 175.10) for passenger aircraft. “Spare” means any battery or power bank not installed in a device.

Can you bring a power bank on a plane?

Yes. A power bank under 100 Wh goes in your carry-on or personal item with no paperwork and no approval. That is the case for essentially every consumer phone and laptop charger, including the common 10,000, 20,000, and 26,800 mAh sizes. You do not declare it, you do not ask permission, you just keep it in the cabin with you.

The reason the rule exists is fire. Lithium-ion cells can overheat and go into thermal runaway, a fast chemical reaction that can ignite without warning if a battery is damaged, overcharged, crushed, or simply defective. The FAA wants any spare battery where people can see and reach it, which is why the cabin is the only legal place for a power bank. Flight crews are trained to handle a battery fire in a seat; nobody can do anything about one buried in the hold.

Power banks in checked vs carry-on bags

Carry-on, always. Checked, never. Spare lithium batteries and power banks are banned from checked baggage with no exceptions, and this is the rule people most often get wrong. It catches travelers at the gate, because if your cabin bag is full and gets gate-checked or planeside-checked, you are required to pull the power bank out first and carry it onto the plane yourself.

The distinction the FAA draws is between installed and spare batteries. A laptop, phone, or camera with the battery sealed inside counts as a device and can technically go in checked baggage, though airlines would rather you keep electronics in the cabin. A power bank is a spare battery by definition, even when a cable is plugged into it, so it never qualifies for the hold. Same for loose camera batteries, AA-style lithium cells, and any external charger holding a lithium-ion cell. If it is a battery you can pull out and pack on its own, it flies in the cabin or not at all.

Watt-hour limits: 100 Wh and 160 Wh explained

Two numbers run the whole system: 100 and 160.

Under 100 Wh. Allowed in carry-on with no airline approval and, for personal use, no quantity cap from the FAA. This band covers nearly all phone and laptop power banks.

100 to 160 Wh. Still allowed, but you need your airline’s approval before you fly, and you are limited to two spare batteries per person. This range is mostly extended-life laptop batteries and some professional camera and audio gear, not typical phone chargers.

Over 160 Wh. Forbidden in the cabin. The only common exceptions are certain batteries for wheelchairs and other mobility aids, which the airline handles under separate procedures you arrange in advance.

Newer lithium-ion batteries print the Wh rating right on the case, so look there first. If yours only lists volts (V) and amp-hours (Ah), the math is simple: volts times amp-hours equals watt-hours. A 11.1V, 8.7Ah battery is about 97 Wh, for example. One side note: lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries run on a separate limit of 2 grams of lithium content, or up to 8 grams with airline approval. Power banks are lithium-ion, so the watt-hour figure is the one that governs them.

How many mAh is allowed (mAh to Wh)

There is no official mAh limit, and that trips people up, because power banks are sold by milliamp-hours (mAh) while the FAA rule is written in watt-hours. You convert between them with one formula:

Watt-hours = mAh x volts / 1,000.

Most power bank cells use a nominal voltage of 3.7V. Run the numbers at 3.7V and the FAA’s thresholds land here:

• 100 Wh is roughly 27,000 mAh
• 160 Wh is roughly 43,000 mAh

So the usual sizes fall out cleanly. A 20,000 mAh bank is about 74 Wh. A 26,800 mAh bank is about 99 Wh, which is why that size is so common: it sits just under the ceiling. A 30,000 mAh bank at 3.7V is about 111 Wh, crossing 100 Wh into the band that needs airline approval. One honest caveat: the mAh number on the box is almost always the internal cell capacity at 3.7V, not the 5V you get out of the USB port, so trust the printed Wh rating over a back-of-envelope mAh estimate when a bank is close to the line.

Can you use a power bank during the flight?

This one has shifted, and it now depends on your airline. The FAA rule governs carrying a power bank, not charging your phone from one in your seat, so for years using a power bank in flight was simply allowed. In 2025 that changed for a number of carriers, especially airlines in Asia, after several onboard battery fires. Those airlines banned using or charging power banks during the flight and told passengers to keep them out of the overhead bins, in sight, usually in a seat pocket or under the seat in front.

The trend is real but uneven, so treat it airline by airline rather than as a universal rule. The safe habit on any flight: keep your power bank within reach instead of in the overhead bin, and stop using it the moment it feels hot, swollen, or smells off. If a battery starts to overheat or smoke, tell a flight attendant right away, since the crew is trained and equipped to deal with it.

Protecting the battery terminals

The FAA also asks that battery terminals be protected from short circuit, meaning the metal contacts should not touch other metal like coins, keys, or another battery. Most power banks have recessed or enclosed terminals, so they are low risk on their own. The real concern is loose spare cells rolling around your bag.

Keep spares in their original packaging, cover the terminals with tape, use a battery case or sleeve, or drop each one into its own plastic bag or pouch. Keep damaged, swollen, or recalled batteries off the plane entirely; the FAA bars batteries likely to spark or generate dangerous heat from both carry-on and checked baggage.

The verdict

A power bank flies if you follow two rules. Keep it in your carry-on, and keep it under 100 Wh. Do that and you need no approval and no conversation at the gate. The 100 to 160 Wh band exists for heavy-duty laptop and camera batteries and needs airline sign-off plus a two-spare cap; over 160 Wh is out. In mAh terms, anything up to roughly 27,000 mAh is comfortably clear, which is why most travelers never have to think harder than reading the Wh number printed on the case.

Related travel guides

• Packing for a short work trip? The business trip packing essentials guide covers the charger-and-cable kit that pairs with this.
• For a quick trip, the weekend getaway packing essentials guide keeps the electronics list lean.
• Not sure your bag itself will fit the bin? Check the carry-on size tool for your airline before you fly.

Sources and methodology

The carry-on-only rule and the 100 Wh / 160 Wh watt-hour limits are taken directly from the FAA PackSafe lithium battery guidance (faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/lithium-batteries), which cites the federal regulation 49 CFR 175.10(a)(18), accessed June 27, 2026. That page states spare lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries, including power banks and battery charging cases, must be carried in carry-on baggage only; that lithium-ion batteries are limited to 100 Wh without approval, with two spares of 100 to 160 Wh permitted with airline approval; and that batteries exceeding 160 Wh are forbidden in the cabin. Terminal-protection methods and the “no spares in checked baggage” rule come from the same page. The mAh-to-watt-hour figures (about 27,000 mAh at 100 Wh, about 43,000 mAh at 160 Wh, and the 20,000 / 26,800 / 30,000 mAh examples) are our calculations using the formula watt-hours = mAh x volts / 1,000 at a nominal 3.7V cell voltage; real-world ratings vary, so the printed Wh figure is authoritative. The 2025 airline restrictions on using and stowing power banks in flight are reported as an airline-by-airline trend held at medium confidence, not a federal rule; confirm your specific carrier’s policy before traveling.