Is my power bank allowed on the plane?
Is your power bank allowed on the plane?
Want to charge your smartphone or other device with a power bank during your flight? You're allowed to take power bank of up to 27,000mAh with you in your carry-on luggage. Is your power bank larger? The rules differ per airline in that case. We'll help you with the following topics.
- Are you allowed to take a power bank of up to 27,000mAh in your carry-on luggage?
- How do you know if a power bank larger than 27,000mAh is allowed on the plane?
- How do you convert mAh to Wh?
Compare power banks for on the plane
- Chare your smartphone 1 or 2 times.
- Take it with you in your pocket.
- You can't charge tablets or laptops.
- Charge your smartphone 3 or 4 times.
- Take it with you in your bag or backpack, but not in your pocket.
- You can also charge your tablet.
- Charge your smartphone 4 or 6 times.
- Take it with you in your backpack or suitcase, but not in your pocket.
- Also charge your tablet and laptop
- Charge your iPhone once.
- Attach the power bank to your iPhone magnetically and easily take it with you.
- You can't charge tablets or laptops.
Power banks in carry-on luggage: up to 27.000mAh
The IATA is an international aviation organization. It's established clear rules for flying with power banks. You can take 2 power banks with you on the plane. Together, they can have a capacity of up to 27,000mAh (100Wh). Make sure you put those power banks in your carry-on luggage. They're not allowed as checked luggage. Don't put your power banks at the bottom of your bag, but somewhere you can easily access them. At the security check, you often have to show your power bank.
Larger power banks differs per airline
The rules for power banks with more capacity than 27,000mAh differ per airline. Power banks with a capacity of more than 43,000mAh can't go with you on the plane. Sometimes, power banks with a capacity between 27,000mAh and 43,000mAh may be taken onto a plane, but only in consultation with the airline. At KLM, for example, you must contact the KLM Contact Center, but the rules are different again for Transavia and EasyJet. Before your trip, check what your airline says about this.
Convert mAh to Wh
If you search the internet for information about power banks and airplanes, you'll most likely come across the term Wh (watt-hours). This is the official international unit to express the capacity of batteries. The capacity of your power bank is probably noted in mAh. You can easily convert mAh (milliampere-hours) to Wh. To do this, multiply the capacity in mAh by 3.7 and divide everything by 1000. A 20,000mAh power bank has a capacity of (20,000x3.7)/1000 = 74Wh.
