which fits?

Which battery, which bag, what size, how many. Look it up, then buy the right one once.

Sheet 23 · Travel

Can I take this power bank on a plane?

The number on the power bank is in milliamp-hours because milliamp-hours sound big. The number the airline cares about is watt-hours, which is the same energy counted in a way that cannot be inflated, and the line is drawn at a hundred. Under it, the thing goes in your hand luggage and nobody asks. Between a hundred and a hundred and sixty, the rules say the airline has to approve it first, and a growing number of airlines have stopped approving. Over a hundred and sixty, it is not getting on a passenger flight in any bag.

Type what the label says. The sheet does the sum, tells you which side of the line you are on, and then does the part the rules pages skip: since 2025 most airlines will not let you use or charge a power bank in your seat, and from March 2026 the world rulebook says you may not recharge the bank on board at all and may carry two at most. The table says what each airline’s own page says, with the date it was read. Whatever the answer, it never goes in the hold.

1Work it out

The power bank
What the label gives you

On the label, usually in small print on the back.

3.7 V unless the label says otherwise. The mAh figure is rated at the cell, not at the USB socket.

74Wh

Under the 100 Wh line, so it goes in your hand luggage on any airline without asking anyone, up to 2 of them. Not in the hold, ever: a power bank in a checked bag is the one thing that gets a bag pulled off the plane.

20,000 mAh at 3.7 V is 74.0 Wh: milliamp-hours divided by a thousand, times the cell voltage. A label that prints Wh wins over this sum. 18 of the 25 airlines in the table do not let you use it in your seat at all.

Get a 20,000 mAh power bank (74 Wh, under the line everywhere) on Amazon.co.ukor search Amazon.co.uk for “20000mAh power bank”

Airline by airline: can you use it on board?

AirlineUse it in your seatCharge it from the seat socketWhere it has to beSource
RyanairYesNoon your person or in the small bag under the seat in front, never in a bag in the overhead lockerairline
easyJetNoNoin your cabin bag, and easyJet recommends where you can watch it, on your personairline
Jet2NoNoin your hand luggage, with the hand luggage under your seatairline
TUI AirwaysNot statedNot statednot statedairline
British AirwaysNot statedNoin the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in frontairline
Wizz AirNoNounder the seat in front or in the seat-back pocket, where you can watch it, never in the overhead compartmentairline
Virgin AtlanticNoNosomewhere you can reach, not in the overhead lockersairline
Aer LingusNoNoon your person or in the seat area, never in the overhead compartmentairline
VuelingNoNoin a visible place, never in the overhead compartmentairline
LoganairNoNot statedin your carry-on, and Loganair recommends somewhere you can watch itairline
KLMNoNowith you, not in the overhead binairline
Air FranceNot statedNot statednot in the overhead bins; under your supervision and within reachairline
EmiratesNo since 1 October 2025Noin the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in front, not the overhead binairline
Qatar AirwaysYesNoin view and within reach; while charging a device it may not be in your bag or the overhead binairline
EtihadNoNoin a cabin bag under the seat or in the seat pocket (economy), in the seat's storage compartment (business and first), not the overhead lockerairline
Air CanadaNot statedNot statednot statedairline
Air IndiaNoNoin your hand baggage, not in the overhead binsairline
AirAsiaNo since 1 April 2025Noin the seat pocket or under the seat, not the overhead compartmentairline
American AirlinesYesNowithin reach and in view while in use: a personal item under the seat or the seatback pocket, not the overhead binairline
Cathay PacificNo since 7 April 2025Noin cabin baggage under the seat in front, never the overhead compartmentairline
EVA AirNo since 1 March 2025Nounder the seat in front, not in the shared overhead binsairline
FinnairNoNowhere you can watch it, preferably on youairline
QantasNo since 15 December 2025Nowithin reach, in the seat pocket or under the seat in frontairline
Singapore AirlinesNo since 1 April 2025Noin the seat-back pocket or under the seat in front, not the overhead compartmentairline
Turkish AirlinesNoNounder the seat in front and/or in the seat pocket, not in the overhead binsairline

25 airlines, each from its own restricted-items page on the date in the sources box. 13 of them allow nothing over 100 Wh; the rest keep the 160 Wh ceiling with approval. The table is about what you may do with the thing once you are sitting down. “Not stated” means the page read today says nothing either way.

2The sum, and why the label lies a little

Watt-hours are volts times amp-hours, and the Civil Aviation Authority prints the sum on its own page: divide the milliamp-hours by a thousand, multiply by the voltage. The voltage is the cell voltage, 3.7, not the 5 volts at the USB socket; American Airlines prints the worked example, 10,000 mAh is 37 Wh, and EVA Air the other, 20,000 mAh is 74 Wh. So the 100 Wh line falls at about 27,000 mAh, which is why so many big banks stop at 26,800, and the 160 Wh ceiling at about 43,000. If the label prints a figure in Wh, that figure wins, because the maker knows the real cell voltage and the sheet is assuming; Anker says the same. A bank with no rating printed on it at all can be refused: BA, Jet2 and KLM all say so in terms.

3Cabin, never hold, and two at most

A power bank is a spare lithium battery with no appliance round it, and the rule for spare batteries is the same the world over: hand luggage only, terminals protected against shorting (the box it came in, tape over the socket, or a bag of its own), and nothing in the hold where a fire cannot be seen or reached. On 27 March 2026 the International Civil Aviation Organization added three lines to the rulebook, and the CAA’s page now carries them: a power bank must not be recharged on board, should not be used to charge a device on board, and no more than two may be carried per person. If you are asked to put your cabin bag in the hold at the gate because the lockers are full, the power bank comes out first. The crew will ask; if they do not, say so anyway.

4The approval band is closing

The CAA still prints the middle band, 100 to 160 Wh with the airline’s approval, and so does the European safety agency. The airlines are ahead of them: of the airlines in the table, about half cap a power bank at 100 Wh outright, no approval offered, and IATA’s 2026 passenger table marks a 100 to 160 Wh power bank as forbidden and says the allowance will not be carried into next year’s edition. If your bank is in that band, the honest answer is to check the airline’s row below and, if it says 100, buy a smaller one before the flight rather than argue at the gate.

5Why airlines stopped you using it in your seat

A spare battery that overheats in a bag in the locker is a problem the crew can deal with. One that is charging a phone in a seat pocket, under a blanket, wedged between a cushion and a body, is the kind that made the news, and no regulator names a single fire: EASA in May 2025 wrote of an increase in occurrences and singled out e-cigarettes and power banks, and told airlines to prohibit charging from power banks in flight; IATA in 2026 wrote of low barriers to manufacturing and a lack of confidence in oversight of the makers. The Asian carriers moved first, EVA Air in March 2025, Singapore Airlines and AirAsia in April, Cathay Pacific the same month under Hong Kong’s rules; Emirates followed in October and Qantas in December. Most European carriers’ pages now say no use and no charging without printing a date. The rule is only ever the airline’s, so where a page says nothing either way the table says so.

6Damaged, swollen or recalled

A bank that has puffed up, been dropped hard, got wet or appears on a recall list does not fly, and the airlines say so even where the CAA’s page does not. A damaged lithium battery is a fire that has not happened yet. Bin it at a battery point, not in the kitchen bin, and buy another one under a hundred watt-hours. IATA’s advice on top: fly with the bank at a low charge, under a quarter, rather than topping it up the night before.

7Where to get it

Those links go to Amazon.co.uk and earn this site a commission if you buy. The price is the same either way, and nothing on this sheet changes because of it.

8Where the numbers come from

  1. What items can I travel with and which are restricted, UK Civil Aviation Authority. Passenger dangerous goods table based on the current ICAO Technical Instructions. Has a Power Banks row carrying the March 2026 addendum rules: cabin only, no recharging (read 17 October 2026)
  2. Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports: Electronic devices and electrical items, GOV.UK. One sentence on batteries, pointing to the CAA page. No limits of its own (read 17 October 2026)
  3. Safety Information Bulletin 2025-03, Passenger and Crew Awareness on the Risks of Lithium Batteries, European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Issued 27 May 2025. Information only, recommendations not mandatory. Power banks are spare batteries, forbidden in checked baggage; recommends airlines tell passengers no (read 17 October 2026)
  4. EASA publishes new recommendations on managing risks of lithium batteries, European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Press release of 28 May 2025 for the SIB above. Says using or charging power banks is not forbidden but strongly discouraged (read 17 October 2026)
  5. IATA Guidance Document for Operators, Power Banks, 2026, International Air Transport Association. Dated 31 March 2026. Explains the ICAO addendum of 27 March 2026 (two power banks per person, no recharging on board, should not be used to recharge a device), reproduces (read 17 October 2026)
  6. Passengers Travelling with Lithium Batteries, Guidance Document, Revised for the 2026 Regulations, International Air Transport Association (copy hosted by ICC Compliance Center). The iata.org copy of this document could not be fetched today (the link in Malta's OAN 02-26 returned 403 and the IATA lithium batteries page links only the cargo guidanc (read 17 October 2026)
  7. New ICAO Power Bank Addendum Now in Effect, ICC Compliance Center. Trade article, 9 April 2026. Used only to find the addendum date; not a source for any figure (read 17 October 2026)
  8. How Much mAh Power Bank Allowed in Flight? A UK Traveller's Guide, Anker UK. Maker's page, dated 13 September 2026. 3.7 V worked example (20,000 mAh = 74 Wh) with the caveat that the printed Wh takes priority. Says the CAA power bank provisions ha (read 17 October 2026)
  9. What items are permitted on board?, Ryanair. Help centre article, updated 21 August 2026. The body was read through the help centre's article API because the HTML page refused the fetch (read 17 October 2026)
  10. Dangerous Goods & Prohibited Articles, easyJet. Power banks up to 160 Wh, two per customer, no use on board (read 17 October 2026)
  11. Latest travel information: Important safety notice update, Lithium-powered charging banks, laptops and E-cigarettes/vaping devices, easyJet. Notice dated 30 September 2026: two power banks, cabin bag, not charged or used to charge during the flight (read 17 October 2026)
  12. Dangerous Goods and Restricted Items, Jet2.com. Two power banks up to 160 Wh with automatic approval over 100 Wh; no charging and no use on board; hand luggage under the seat. Also the Wh = (V x mAh) / 1000 formula wit (read 17 October 2026)
  13. Items That May Be Carried By Passengers, TUI UK. PDF linked from TUI's Luggage Guidelines page. A generic ICAO passenger table; the file's metadata date is 11 November 2009. No row for power banks by name (read 17 October 2026)
  14. Luggage Guidelines, TUI UK. No battery rules on the page itself; links the PDF above (read 17 October 2026)
  15. Restricted and prohibited items, British Airways. Section 'Update to our power banks (portable charging devices) policy': two per person, 100 Wh, seat pocket or under-seat bag, seat power not for power banks, remove from (read 17 October 2026)
  16. Restricted Items on Board, Wizz Air. One power bank per person, 100 Wh, no use in any phase, under the seat or seat-back pocket (read 17 October 2026)
  17. Carriage of Personal Electronic Devices, Virgin Atlantic. Spare batteries and power banks section with mAh equivalents (100 Wh = 27,000 mAh; 160 Wh = 43,000 mAh) (read 17 October 2026)
  18. Dangerous Goods, Aer Lingus. Power banks: two per person, 100 Wh, not used or charged, on the person or in the seat area (read 17 October 2026)
  19. Portable batteries (Power Banks), Vueling. Help centre article updated 16 October 2026, read through the help centre's article API (read 17 October 2026)
  20. Prohibited Items, Loganair. Two power banks up to 160 Wh, no use on board. The page has typing errors ('change other devises') (read 17 October 2026)
  21. Restricted and prohibited items in hand baggage, KLM. Two power banks, 100 Wh, permission for 100 to 160 Wh, not in the overhead bin, no use or charging (read 17 October 2026)
  22. Electric and electronic devices, batteries and replacement batteries, Air France (UK site). Power banks up to 160 Wh in the cabin, not in overhead bins, approval for 100 to 160 Wh. No in-flight use rule on this page (read 17 October 2026)
  23. Emirates’ safety rules for customer usage of power banks onboard - now in full effect, Emirates media centre. Dated 30 September 2025; rules in force from 1 October 2025. Emirates' Dangerous Goods Policy page mentions power banks only under smart bags (read 17 October 2026)
  24. Checked and Cabin Baggage Restrictions, Qatar Airways. Section 'Power Banks - Additional restrictions'. Two banks, 100 Wh, no charging of the bank, use to charge a device allowed outside critical phases under direct supervisi (read 17 October 2026)
  25. Travel Alerts: Travelling with Power Banks, Qatar Airways. Last updated 20 June 2026. Two banks, 100 Wh, cabin only, in-flight charging prohibited, keep accessible (read 17 October 2026)
  26. Travel safely with your power banks and vapes, Qatar Airways. One-page notice. Keep the bank in view if using it to charge a device; no damaged or recalled banks (read 17 October 2026)
  27. Prohibited items and what you can take on board, Etihad Airways. One power bank, 100 Wh, use strictly prohibited, under seat or seat pocket; lists recalled models for India and Korea (read 17 October 2026)
  28. Dangerous goods carriage guide, EY360A/GRH/Rev.3, Etihad Airways. December 2025 revision; same power bank rules as the page (read 17 October 2026)
  29. Travel Restrictions and Prohibited Items Guide, Turkish Airlines. Powerbank row: two per passenger, 100 Wh, under the seat or seat pocket, not charged or used to charge (read 17 October 2026)
  30. Baggage Restrictions, Singapore Airlines. Lithium battery table: two power banks, 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with approval, no usage or charging, seat-back pocket or under the seat. Also Wh = Ah x V (read 17 October 2026)
  31. Advisory on portable power banks on Singapore Airlines flights, Singapore Airlines (agent360). The 1 April 2025 effective date for the no-use, no-charging rule (read 17 October 2026)
  32. Advisory on the carriage of power banks on board SIA flights, Singapore Airlines newsroom. Two-bank limit under the ICAO and CAAS guidelines from 15 April 2026 (read 17 October 2026)
  33. Spare batteries, Cathay Pacific. Travelling with power banks section: two per passenger, no charging from seat power, no use to charge a device, under the seat in front (read 17 October 2026)
  34. Power bank usage is now restricted on Cathay Pacific flights, Cathay Pacific. Dated 20 June 2025; gives the 7 April 2025 start date under Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department rules and the under 100 Wh limit for power banks (read 17 October 2026)
  35. Restrictions on the carriage of lithium battery power banks, Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong site). Latest update 30 March 2026: two power banks, use and recharging not permitted at any time (read 17 October 2026)
  36. Spare batteries and power banks, Qantas (GB site). Two power banks up to 160 Wh, airline approval over 100 Wh, no use or charging including seat USB, seat pocket or under the seat (read 17 October 2026)
  37. New safety measures for power banks on flights - effective 15 December 2025, Qantas Agency Connect. Qantas Group trade notice giving the 15 December 2025 start date and the reason (rise in lithium battery incidents, ICAO and IATA changes due in 2026) (read 17 October 2026)
  38. Flight Information: Restrictions, EVA Air. No use or charging, under the seat, two banks from 31 March 2026, 100 to 160 Wh with approval, worked 3.7 V example (read 17 October 2026)
  39. EVA AIR revises Inflight Use of Power Banks Policy, EVA Air. Use and charging prohibited from 1 March 2025 (read 17 October 2026)
  40. The new specifications for carrying power banks in carry-on baggage, EVA Air. Two power banks per person from 31 March 2026, following ICAO (read 17 October 2026)
  41. Travel Advisory: AirAsia enhances in-flight power bank policy for safer flights, AirAsia Newsroom. Dated 26 March 2025, effective 1 April 2025. The AirAsia support article on PEDs is rendered by script and carried no readable text (read 17 October 2026)
  42. Restricted Baggage & Prohibited Items Guidelines, Air India. Power Bank section: two per passenger, 100 Wh, hand baggage only, no use or charging, not in overhead bins; DGCA ban on the Mobikins MK-PB-04 (read 17 October 2026)
  43. Restricted items in bags, American Airlines. Section 'NEW: Portable chargers (power banks)': two per passenger, 100 Wh, in reach and visible while in use, not in seat power, not in overhead bins; Wh = mAh x 3.7 / 1, (read 17 October 2026)
  44. Special items: Batteries and personal electronic devices, Air Canada. The restricted-and-prohibited-items URL redirects here. Batteries table with 20 spares, two of 100 to 160 Wh pending agent approval; three Anker models banned. No in-flig (read 17 October 2026)
  45. Travelling with restricted items, Finnair (UK site). Two power banks up to 100 Wh, no use to charge a device, no charging from aircraft outlets, keep where monitored (read 17 October 2026)

Data on this sheet last changed 17 October 2026.