Power Banks on Planes: The 2026 Rules for Domestic and International Flights

Your phone runs the whole trip now: the boarding pass, the maps, the ride to the hotel, the tap-to-pay at lunch. A flat battery by mid-afternoon is a real problem, which is why the power bank, also called a portable charger or battery pack, has become one of the most useful things in your bag.

Carrying one onto a plane, though, has got confusing, and the rules keep changing. Two things trip people up: whether you can even use it in the air any more, and whether the one in your bag is the right size to bring at all. There is also that check-in question, when they ask if any power banks are packed in your checked luggage, and the quiet worry about a battery overheating in the cabin.

Here is how it works, for a domestic hop and a long-haul international trip alike.

Carry-on only, never checked

A power bank is a spare lithium battery, and spare batteries are not allowed in checked luggage on any airline, anywhere. They travel in the cabin, where a problem can be seen and dealt with straight away. Under the international rules, passengers may carry up to two power banks, although individual airlines can impose a lower limit. Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia permit up to two; always check the operating airline on an international itinerary.

If you are checking a bag, take the power bank out and keep it on you. A power bank found in checked luggage can hold your bag up at screening, and it is the one battery rule airlines never compromise on.

Is your power bank even allowed? The number that matters

Airlines measure power banks in watt-hours (Wh), but the label you shopped by is almost always in milliamp-hours (mAh). That mismatch is where most of the confusion lives.

To convert, the rough sum is milliamp-hours divided by 1000, times 3.7, which gives you watt-hours (the cells sit at about 3.7 volts). Easier still, read the case, since most banks print the Wh on the bottom. Here is how the common sizes land.

These examples assume a nominal battery voltage of 3.7V. Do not decide whether a power bank is flight-safe from its mAh figure alone. Check the Wh rating printed on the product. If no Wh rating or reliable voltage information is visible, the airline or airport may refuse it.

On Australian airlines: carry it, don't use it

This is the 2025 change that catches regular travellers off guard. To cut the risk of a battery fire in the cabin, Australia's major airlines now ban using or charging a power bank during the flight:

• Virgin Australia, from 1 December 2025.
• Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, from 15 December 2025.

You can still charge your phone, laptop or headphones from the in-seat USB port where there is one. What you cannot do is run your devices off a power bank, or charge the power bank itself, in the air. Charge the bank in the lounge or at your hotel, then let it sit in your bag for the flight.

It is not only an Australian rule. Through 2025 more than a dozen international carriers brought in similar bans, among them Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Korean Air and EVA Air. Not every airline has, so on an international or connecting trip, check each carrier you are flying. On a multi-leg itinerary, plan around the strictest rule on any leg.

Who allows what: the 2026 snapshot

The 100Wh and 160Wh thresholds form the international baseline, but individual airlines and national regulators can impose stricter limits. For the Australian carriers:

For international airlines, expect the same carry-on-only rule and the same Wh limits, and increasingly the same ban on in-flight use. The thing to confirm each time is whether that carrier bans using the bank in the air. There is almost always a "dangerous goods" or "batteries" page on the airline's website that spells it out.

Why airlines tightened the rules

Power-bank fires are uncommon, but the consequences onboard an aircraft can be serious. In July 2025, a 37Wh power bank inside a passenger's backpack entered thermal runaway and started a fire in an overhead locker on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Hobart. The ATSB described it as the first reported power-bank-related in-flight fire in Australia or on an Australian-registered aircraft. The incident showed why airlines increasingly want power banks protected against short circuits, stored within reach and kept out of overhead lockers where possible.

The ATSB confirms the battery was rated at 37Wh, was inside a backpack in an overhead locker and entered thermal runaway. It describes this as the first reported Australian power-bank in-flight fire.

How to pack a power bank the right way

• Keep it in your carry-on, always. Never the checked bag.
• Put it where you can reach it: a seat pocket, the seat in front, or your day bag, not buried in the overhead locker on Virgin.
• Protect the ports so it cannot short against keys or coins. A tech pouch, or even the original box, does the job.
• If your bank is between 100 and 160Wh, arrange approval with the airline before you fly, and expect to show the Wh rating at check-in.
• Charge it before you board, since you cannot top it up in the air.

Travel-smart tips for lithium batteries

A power bank is just one of the lithium batteries you travel with. Phones, laptops, tablets, earbuds, smartwatches, cameras and e-readers all run on them, and the same few habits keep the lot safe. The airline industry body, IATA, runs a Travel Smart With Lithium Batteries campaign, and Australia's regulator, CASA, covers the same ground in its Pack Right guidance. The short version:

• Bring only what you need. Fewer spare batteries and power banks means less to manage.
• Keep battery-powered devices in your carry-on wherever practical. If an airline permits a device with its battery installed to travel in checked baggage, switch it off completely and protect it from damage and accidental activation. Power banks and spare batteries must always remain in the cabin.
• Protect spare batteries and power banks so the terminals cannot short against keys or coins: original packaging, a tech pouch, or tape over the terminals.
• If your cabin bag gets checked at the gate, take the power banks and spare batteries out first and keep them on you. They are not allowed in the cargo area under the plane.
• Get airline approval before you fly if a battery is over 100Wh, and expect to show the rating at check-in.
• Speak up straight away if a device gets hot, swells, smokes or is damaged. Tell the cabin crew rather than packing it away.
• Check each airline's battery policy before you fly, since the rules are still changing.

For the official Australian guidance, CASA's Pack Right page on lithium batteries is the one to read.

Choosing a plane-friendly power bank

If you are buying a power bank specifically for air travel, choose one with a clearly printed rating below 100Wh. That avoids the usual airline approval process based on battery capacity, although airline quantity, storage and national requirements can still apply.

For most people that is no compromise at all. A 10,000mAh bank is a full phone charge or two and slips into a jacket pocket. A 20,000mAh one covers a couple of days of heavy use or tops up a tablet. Larger-capacity power banks require more care. Do not rely on the advertised mAh figure alone — check the printed Wh rating before travelling.

Whatever size you settle on, it lives with the rest of your charging kit. A GaN wall charger does the fast charging from the wall, and a tech organiser keeps the bank, its cable and your adapter together and within reach, which is exactly where the airlines now want them.

The short version

Carry your power bank in your cabin bag, keep it under 100Wh so you never need approval, charge it before you fly, and leave it switched off in the air. On an international or connecting trip, take a minute to check each airline, because the in-flight rules are still changing. Do that and the power bank goes back to being the quiet insurance it is meant to be.