Liquids and batteries
Power bank on a plane: the watt-hour limits and airline rules
Type the capacity and voltage printed on the pack: the checker gives its watt-hours and whether it flies in the cabin, with approval, or not at all.
Can this power bank fly?
Rating of each power bank
74 Wh
| Carry-on | Allowed in carry-on |
| Checked bag | Not allowed in checked bags |
| Limits applied | 100 Wh / 160 Wh |
FAA PackSafe: spare lithium batteries and power banks travel in the cabin only. Your airline can be stricter.
A power bank flies in the cabin, never in a checked bag, and its limit is set in watt-hours. To find them, multiply the milliamp-hours on the label by the voltage and divide by 1,000: a 10,000 mAh pack at 3.7 volts is 37 Wh, a 26,800 mAh pack is 99.2 Wh. Up to 100 Wh, the FAA and the UK Civil Aviation Authority need no approval, which covers almost every phone and tablet pack. Above 100 and up to 160 Wh, the airline must approve it, with at most 2 such spares per passenger. Above 160 Wh it does not fly on a passenger aircraft. Airlines add their own rules on top: Ryanair, British Airways and Wizz Air refuse anything over 100 Wh, Wizz Air allows a single power bank, and easyJet and Wizz Air forbid using one during the flight. The UK regulator caps everyone at 2 power banks.
Sizes, fees and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we check
From milliamp-hours to watt-hours
Pack makers print the capacity in milliamp-hours in large type because the number is big. Aviation rules use watt-hours, which is the energy actually stored. The conversion needs one more figure from the label, the voltage: Wh = mAh × V ÷ 1,000. Most packs use cells rated at 3.7 volts, and the label shows the rating in small print near the input and output specifications. Some packs print the watt-hours directly; when they do, use that figure. The table assumes 3.7 volts.
| Capacity on the label | Watt-hours at 3.7 V | FAA and CAA rule |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 mAh | 18.5 Wh | cabin, no approval |
| 10,000 mAh | 37.0 Wh | cabin, no approval |
| 20,000 mAh | 74.0 Wh | cabin, no approval |
| 26,800 mAh | 99.2 Wh | cabin, no approval |
| 30,000 mAh | 111.0 Wh | cabin, airline approval needed |
| 40,000 mAh | 148.0 Wh | cabin, airline approval needed |
| 50,000 mAh | 185.0 Wh | not on a passenger flight |
The step from 26,800 to 30,000 mAh crosses the line. A pack sold as 30,000 mAh is about 111 Wh: legal with the airline’s approval under the FAA rule, but refused outright by the airlines that cap power banks at 100 Wh. Before buying a large pack for a trip, check the watt-hours rather than the headline number.
What the FAA and the TSA say for US flights
The FAA sets the rule and the TSA applies it at the checkpoint. Spare lithium batteries, which include power banks, travel in carry-on baggage only. Up to 100 Wh per battery, there is no approval to ask for. Above 100 and up to 160 Wh, the airline must agree and each passenger may carry at most 2 spares. Above 160 Wh, a spare battery is forbidden on passenger aircraft. For lithium metal batteries, the non-rechargeable kind found in some cameras, the measure is lithium content, with 2 grams as the limit per battery. Protect each spare from short circuit: original packaging, a pouch of its own or tape over exposed terminals.
Batteries installed in a device, such as the one in a laptop or a phone, are treated differently from loose spares; the TSA page on lithium batteries in devices covers them. The rule of thumb for a power bank is simple: it is a spare, it travels with you in the cabin.
UK and European airlines: five sets of rules
The Civil Aviation Authority adds two points for flights from the UK: at most 2 power banks per person, and none recharged on board. Each airline then writes its own policy, and they do not agree with each other on size or on use during the flight.
| Airline | Per passenger | Largest allowed | Using it on board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 2 | 100 Wh | allowed to charge devices except during taxi, take-off and landing; power banks may not be recharged onboard |
| easyJet | 2 | 160 Wh | prohibited (must not be used to charge other devices) |
| Jet2 (archived copy, May 12, 2026) | 2 | 160 Wh | must not be charged onboard and should not be used in-flight (same page also says not to charge devices during taxi, take-off and landing) |
| British Airways (archived copy, September 11, 2026) | 2 | 100 Wh | seat power may not be used to charge power banks; power banks stored in seat pocket or under-seat bag (no explicit ban on using them to charge devices) |
| Wizz Air | 1 | 100 Wh | prohibited during the whole flight |
Three practical consequences follow. On Ryanair, a power bank and spare batteries may not go in a bag placed in the overhead locker, so keep them in the small bag under the seat. On British Airways, the pack goes in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in front, and the seat power socket may charge your phone but not the power bank. On easyJet and Wizz Air, the pack stays switched off for the whole flight: charge your phone at the gate. British Airways also displays a banner on the page read announcing an update to its power bank policy that forbids power banks and spare batteries in checked baggage; it gives no start date.
A short packing routine
Before leaving home, read the label and work out the watt-hours. Count your packs against the strictest airline of your trip, which on a UK and Europe itinerary is often Wizz Air with one. Put each pack in the bag you keep at your seat, not in the cabin bag that might be checked at the gate. And if a pack is swollen, hot or damaged, do not fly with it at all.