Power Bank Rules by Airline 2026: The Full List

Power bank rules by airline: the 100Wh limit is no longer the rule that catches people

The number everyone memorised, 100Wh, has not changed. Almost everything around it has.

Through 2025 and 2026 the industry added three new rules that the old advice does not cover: how many banks you may carry, whether you may use one in the air, and where in the cabin it has to sit. Those are the rules people are now getting stopped for.

You probably do not need to read the whole table. Find your airline, read its row, and go.

How this page was built. VoyageHacks read each airline’s own published policy page and the FAA and ICAO source documents on 28 August 2026, and every row below is taken from the carrier’s own wording, not from press coverage. Where a carrier publishes no policy, the row says so rather than guessing. Links to all twelve sources are at the bottom.

The rules airline by airline, checked 28 August 2026

Three things in that table are worth a second read.

“Not published” is not the same as “allowed”. Delta and United publish no number for how many power banks you may bring, which means the FAA’s rules apply and the decision on anything unusual belongs to the crew working your cabin that day.

The strictest airline on the list is a US domestic carrier, not a long-haul one. Southwest allows one power bank, full stop. If you fly Southwest with a phone bank and a laptop bank, one of them has to stay home.

Cathay Pacific tells you what actually happens. Extra banks are taken at the security checkpoint at Hong Kong International, not politely queried at the gate. That is the enforcement reality behind most of these rules.

What changed on 27 March 2026, and why

ICAO, the UN aviation body, amended its Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. The restrictions took effect on 27 March 2026, were approved by all 36 states on the ICAO Council, and apply across its 193 member states.

Two changes matter to passengers:

• A limit of two power banks per person. There was no global number before.
• A ban on recharging power banks during flight. Plugging a bank into a seat USB port is now prohibited as a baseline, not just an airline preference.

Cabin crew are exempt where the aircraft’s operating requirements call for it.

The reason is thermal runaway: a lithium cell failing and heating uncontrollably, sometimes with no warning and no external cause beyond a manufacturing defect. The FAA’s own guidance says exactly that. Nothing about the chemistry changed in 2026. What changed is that airlines stopped assuming an overhead bin was a safe place to discover it.

The two numbers that decide everything

Watt-hours (Wh) measure the total energy a battery stores, and it is the unit every airline rule on this page uses. Milliamp-hours (mAh), the number printed largest on the box, is not.

The FAA’s limits for lithium ion batteries in carry-on baggage are:

To convert, use the formula American Airlines publishes on its own restricted-items page:

Wh = mAh x 3.7 / 1,000

• 5,000mAh is about 18.5Wh
• 10,000mAh is about 37Wh
• 20,000mAh is about 74Wh
• 27,000mAh is about 100Wh, which is the practical ceiling

One more thing screeners genuinely check: the Wh rating has to be readable on the case. Emirates says so in as many words, requiring the capacity rating to be clearly visible on the power bank. A legal bank with a peeling sticker and no printed number is the one that gets binned, because nobody can prove it is legal.

Where the bank has to sit now, and why the overhead bin is out

This is the newest rule and the one most travellers have not heard.

American, Delta, United, Southwest and Emirates all now require a power bank to be within reach in the cabin: on you, in a personal item under the seat in front, or in the seat pocket. Not in an overhead locker.

The logic is blunt. A cell in thermal runaway gives very little warning, and cabin crew are trained to reach it, cool it and contain it. They cannot do that quickly to a bag three rows back and above head height.

Two details people trip on:

• Gate-checked bags. The FAA requires that when a carry-on is checked at the gate or planeside, all spare lithium batteries and power banks are removed from the bag and kept with you in the cabin. That is the single most commonly missed rule on this page, because it happens in the jet bridge when you are already flustered.
• Smart bags. Southwest specifically requires the battery to be removed from a smart bag before the bag goes in an overhead bin.

A recalled power bank is not allowed on the aircraft at all

This is a legal restriction, not an airline preference, and it is worth knowing because a very popular brand is affected right now.

The FAA states that damaged or recalled batteries and battery-powered devices, which are likely to create sparks or generate a dangerous evolution of heat, must not be carried aboard an aircraft, in either carry-on or checked baggage. Southwest repeats the same instruction in its own policy: do not pack recalled, damaged or defective batteries.

Anker currently has seven power bank models under recall: A1263, A1642, A1647, A1652, A1257, A1681 and A1689. The A1257, A1647, A1652, A1681 and A1689 recall alone covers roughly 481,000 units and is filed with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission as recall 25-466. The model number is printed on the case, and Anker’s own recall page checks a serial number directly.

VoyageHacks checked every Anker model recommended on this site against that list on 28 August 2026, and removed the one that matched. The three banks in the grid above are A1259, A1383 and A1340, none of which is affected.

Large power stations are a separate, much stricter category

If you were planning to bring a camping power station rather than a pocket bank, stop here.

American Airlines bans large portable power banks and lithium-ion powered generators outright, as carry-on and as checked baggage, and names the brands it means: 4Patriots, Bluetti, Daran, EcoFlow, Jackery, Power Queen, Solar Recharged and Vevor. These units are typically several hundred watt-hours, far above the 160Wh ceiling, so no approval process exists for them.

There is no workaround. Ship it, or rent one at the destination.

What to do before you fly

1. Read your bank’s Wh rating off the case. If only mAh is printed, do the conversion above and write the answer on a piece of tape stuck to the bank.
2. Check the model number against the recall list if it is an Anker, or against the CPSC database for any brand.
3. Count your banks against your airline’s row, not against the ICAO limit. Southwest and Emirates allow one.
4. Plan for no in-flight charging. On Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and Cathay Pacific you cannot use the bank at all, so arrive at the gate with the phone full and use the seat’s own USB port instead.
5. Pack it where you can reach it, in the personal item that goes under the seat, before you board rather than at the gate.

What changed

• 28 August 2026: page published. All rules read from each carrier’s own policy page on this date.
• 1 May 2026: American, Delta, United and other US carriers tightened placement and use rules.
• 20 April 2026: Southwest reduced its limit to one power bank per customer.
• 30 March 2026: Cathay Pacific applied the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department’s two-bank limit and in-flight use ban.
• 27 March 2026: the ICAO amendment took effect: two banks per passenger, no recharging in flight.
• 15 December 2025: Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia banned onboard use and charging.
• 1 October 2025: Emirates banned using or charging a power bank onboard.
• June 2025: Anker recalled five further power bank models (CPSC recall 25-466).

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

How many power banks can I bring on a plane in 2026?

Two on most airlines, one on some. ICAO’s baseline, effective 27 March 2026, is a maximum of two power banks per passenger in the cabin. American Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific all cap it at two. Southwest Airlines limits each customer to one from 20 April 2026, and Emirates allows one. The FAA sets no general quantity limit itself, so the airline’s number is the one that counts.

Can I use a power bank during a flight?

It depends entirely on the airline, and this is the rule that changed most in 2026. Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and Cathay Pacific prohibit using a power bank in flight at all. Delta forbids using one during taxi, takeoff and landing. United allows use but requires the bank to stay within reach, never in an overhead bin. Recharging the power bank itself from in-seat power is banned almost everywhere.

What is the 100Wh power bank limit?

Watt-hours (Wh) measure the total energy a battery stores, and it is the unit every airline rule uses. The FAA allows lithium ion batteries up to 100Wh per battery in carry-on with no approval needed, and 101 to 160Wh with airline approval, limited to two spares. Anything above 160Wh is barred from passenger aircraft. A 20,000mAh bank is roughly 74Wh, so it clears the limit comfortably.

How do I convert mAh to watt-hours?

Multiply the milliamp-hours by 3.7 volts and divide by 1,000. American Airlines publishes the same formula: Wh = mAh x 3.7 / 1,000. A 10,000mAh bank is about 37Wh, a 20,000mAh bank about 74Wh, and the 100Wh ceiling works out to roughly 27,000mAh. If only mAh is printed on your bank, do the arithmetic before you fly.

Can a power bank go in a checked bag?

No. The FAA requires spare lithium batteries and power banks to travel in carry-on baggage only, and every airline on this page repeats that rule. If your carry-on is checked at the gate or planeside, you must take the power bank out and keep it with you in the cabin. Battery terminals must also be protected from short circuit.

Can I fly with a recalled power bank?

No. The FAA states that damaged or recalled batteries and battery-powered devices must not be carried aboard an aircraft in carry-on or checked baggage. Southwest repeats the instruction in its own policy. Anker currently has seven recalled models: A1263, A1642, A1647, A1652, A1257, A1681 and A1689. The model number is printed on the case, so check it before you pack.

Why can’t power banks go in the overhead bin any more?

So that a fire is seen and reached in seconds. American, Delta, United, Southwest and Emirates all now require a power bank to sit within reach, in a personal item under the seat in front or in the seat pocket, rather than in an overhead locker. A lithium cell in thermal runaway gives very little warning, and cabin crew are trained to act on it immediately.

The bottom line

Find your airline’s row, note the number of banks and whether you can use one in the air, and pack the bank where you can reach it. If you fly a mix of carriers, buy for the strictest one you use: a single 10,000mAh bank at around 37Wh is legal everywhere on this page, including Southwest and Emirates.

Then pick the bank itself from our best travel power banks guide, compare the models within one brand in the Anker power bank comparison , or work out which brand deserves your money in Anker vs UGREEN vs INIU . If you are charging a phone rather than a laptop, the best power banks for iPhone and Samsung is the narrower guide. The rest of the kit lives in the travel gear hub .