Batteries and power banks on planes: the cabin-or-nothing rule

Guide · Batteries

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If you remember one sentence, make it this: any lithium battery that is not installed inside a device travels in the cabin, never in checked luggage. Power banks, spare camera batteries, loose cells, vapes — all of them. The rule exists because a lithium battery fire must be reached by human hands within seconds, and nobody can reach the cargo hold at 36,000 feet.

The two numbers that gate everything

Under 100 watt-hours (Wh): freely allowed in carry-on, in reasonable personal quantities. Nearly every phone power bank on the market lives here — a 20,000 mAh bank is about 74 Wh; a 27,000 mAh one is right at ~100 Wh.
100–160 Wh: still cabin-only, but you need airline approval and a maximum of two spares. Big laptop bricks and pro camera batteries land in this band.
Over 160 Wh: banned from passenger aircraft entirely — this is e-bike and power-station territory.

Labels usually print mAh (milliamp-hours), not Wh. The conversion is Wh = mAh ÷ 1000 × volts, and the voltage is printed right next to the capacity — almost always 3.7 V for banks. Use the calculator below and you never have to guess at the check-in line.

Practical habits of travelers who never get stopped

Keep loose batteries in their retail packaging or tape the terminals — a short circuit against keys or coins is how fires start. Choose power banks with the capacity clearly printed on the case; some airports (notably in China) reject unlabeled banks at security. Drain spares to roughly half charge for storage, and if a battery is swollen, dented, or hot to the touch, do not fly with it at all — recycle it. Devices with batteries installed, like laptops and phones, can legally go in either bag, but the cabin is where damage and theft don’t happen.

🔋 Battery watt-hour calculator

Power banks show mAh, airlines limit Wh. Under 100 Wh flies free in carry-on; 100–160 Wh needs airline approval.

Capacity (mAh) Voltage (V) Usually 3.7V — printed on the label

Items with battery rules — get the verdict

Power Bank Batteries Laptop Xbox / Game Console WiFi Router Starlink Dish Extension Cord / Power Strip Drone

Sources: FAA Pack Safe · TSA · CATSA. Last verified 2026-07-30.

Battery travel FAQs

Why can’t power banks go in checked luggage?

Lithium batteries can enter thermal runaway — a self-heating fire. In the cabin, crew can reach and smother a smoking battery within seconds; in the cargo hold, a fire can burn undetected. That is why spare lithium batteries are cabin-only worldwide.

What is the 100 Wh limit in simple terms?

Watt-hours measure battery energy. Phone power banks (10,000–27,000 mAh at 3.7 V) are 37–100 Wh and fly freely in carry-on. Between 100 and 160 Wh — some laptop batteries, big camera packs — you need airline approval. Over 160 Wh is banned from passenger planes.

Do AA batteries count as lithium?

Only if they say lithium on them. Ordinary alkaline AA/AAA batteries can go in either bag. Rechargeable lithium spares and laptop batteries must ride in the cabin with terminals protected.

What about devices with batteries installed?

Installed batteries — laptops, phones, cameras — may travel in either bag on TSA/CATSA flights. Keep devices charged: international officers may ask you to power them on.