If you fly with a portable charger — and these days, who doesn’t? — you should know the rules just changed.
Airlines around the world have spent the past year tightening up restrictions on portable chargers — the lithium-ion power banks that fit in your pocket — and U.S. carriers are catching up fast. Pack one wrong, and you could lose the device. Worse, you could miss your flight.
And given everything else flying already costs you these days, that’s a financial gut-punch you don’t need.
Here’s why all the fuss: Lithium-ion batteries occasionally catch fire. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has logged more than 700 of these incidents since 2006, and 2025 set a record with 97 of them on aircraft. That’s nearly two a week. Battery packs alone account for 290 of those events.
I’ve been flying since the days when you could meet relatives at the gate, and I’ve never seen rules change this fast. So before you toss your next charger in your carry-on, here’s what you need to know.
1. Never put a portable charger in checked luggage
This one’s federal, not optional. The FAA bans loose lithium-ion batteries — including portable chargers — from checked bags. Period. They go in your carry-on, where flight attendants can actually do something if one starts smoking.
Why? In the cargo hold, a battery fire could grow before anyone notices. In the cabin, the crew has fire-containment bags and extinguishers within reach.
If you accidentally forget and pack one, you might find your bag pulled off the conveyor while the rest of the flight boards. Don’t be that person.
2. Two chargers are usually the limit
The International Civil Aviation Organization recommends a maximum of two power banks per passenger. Most major airlines now enforce this. American Airlines made it official starting in May 2026: Two devices, each capped at 100 watt-hours (Wh).
Southwest went further. As of April 2026, you’re limited to one charger per passenger on Southwest flights. That’s the same airline that recently killed its “bags fly free” policy. These days, Southwest is tightening up on more than just bags.
If your charger is bigger than 100 Wh, you’ll need airline approval. Above 160 Wh? Forget it — not allowed on a passenger plane.
3. Keep it visible and within reach
Several U.S. carriers now require chargers to be visible when in use and easy to grab the rest of the time. Southwest started it. American and others have followed in various forms.
Translation: No chucking the charger in the overhead bin and forgetting about it for five hours.
If the device overheats, the crew has seconds to act. They can’t grab what they can’t see.
4. Don’t charge the charger in flight
This one trips people up. You can use your portable charger to power your phone or tablet during the flight. What you can’t do — on a growing list of airlines — is recharge the charger itself using the plane’s USB port.
Lufthansa Group banned it as of January 2026. Emirates banned it in October 2025. Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, China Airlines, Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar all have similar rules. Japan followed in April 2026.
The risk goes up when a charger is pulling power in and pushing power out at the same time. So don’t.
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5. Overhead bins are getting blacklisted
Stowing your portable charger in the overhead used to be standard. Not anymore.
Several international carriers — Emirates, Korean Air, the Lufthansa Group, Air Busan — now prohibit it. The reason: If a battery starts smoking up there, by the time anyone notices, it could be a real problem.
Keep it on you, in the seat pocket, or under the seat in front of you.
6. Foreign airlines often have stricter rules than U.S. ones
If you’re flying internationally, don’t assume the rules match your last domestic trip. They probably don’t.
Many Asian airlines led the crackdown after a January 2025 fire on an Air Busan plane in South Korea forced the evacuation of all 176 people on board. Investigators traced the cause to a power bank.
Check your specific carrier’s policy before you pack. A two-minute scan of their website beats getting your charger confiscated at boarding.
7. Watch for swelling, heat, or a weird chemical smell
Damaged lithium batteries are the ones that catch fire. If yours looks puffy, feels hot when it shouldn’t, or smells faintly like chemicals, retire it immediately.
This goes for vapes too. According to UL Standards & Engagement, vapes triggered 28% of thermal runaway incidents on flights even though only about 10% of passengers carry one. If you’ve got an old, beat-up vape pen, don’t bring it on a plane.
And if something starts smoking next to you mid-flight? Tell the crew right away.
The bottom line
Portable chargers aren’t going away. Neither are the rules around them, which means knowing the basics could save you from a confiscated device, a delayed flight, or worse.
Pack two or fewer. Keep them visible and accessible. Don’t recharge them on the plane. Never put one in checked luggage. Do that, and you’re already ahead of most travelers.
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