Can You Bring Your Portable Charger on a Plane

Updated September 19, 2019

There's been a lot of uncertainty in the last few months when it comes to flying. Items that used to be allowed in a carry-on are getting banned and instead have to be checked-in. Items like tablets or laptops are not permitted when flying to the US or the UK from several countries now. This includes popular destinations such as Turkey.

That means that on these long flights, you will not be allowed to work with your laptops. But how about phones? Smartphones are still allowed on all flights. The question is will your battery last? Probably not. Your phone battery never really does, does it? Especially not on long flights. Luckily, if you want to bring your portable charger on the plane, you can, but there are a few "ifs."

You Must Bring a Portable Charger in Your Carry-On

Unless you are carrying car batteries or spare lithium batteries, all major battery types are generally allowed on a plane. Make sure check your airline's website as each airline has its own policies.

For safety reasons, you must to bring your batteries in your carry-on. New regulations have made this mandatory on most airlines. And, if you are looking to use your charger, you will need it in the cabin with you anyway.

But why does a portable battery or power bank need to stay with you in your carry-on? Some types of batteries have the ability to have an internal chemical reaction and start a fire. While not all batteries react this way, airlines have put a restriction all batteries as a safety measure.

It's a lot easier to control and put out a fire if it happens inside a cabin than in a cargo hold. Especially considering that all liquids over 100ml that could also be flammable would be stored in a cargo hold. This is why airlines take precautionary measures to ensure all batteries are in the cabin, even portable chargers and power banks.

Power Bank Capacity Matters

The most important factor that decides whether you can bring your portable charger with you or not is the Wh that it is rated at. Wh stands for watt-hours and is a more accurate measure than mAh, which doesn't always give an accurate representation of your batteries capacity.

You are allowed a portable charger that's rated up to 100 watt-hours. Anything over that and you need permission from the airline.

Certain companies manipulate labels to make it seem like they are giving you more power capacity than they actually are. Check out the ultimate guide to capacity to read more in-depth about battery capacity.  

How to Calculate Watt Hours in Power Banks

It's simple math. Milliamp Hours/1000 x Voltage = Watt Hours

(mAh)/1000 x (V) = (Wh)

For example, if you have a 10,000mAh portable charger you want to bring on a plane:

10,000mAh/1000 x 3.7V = 37 Wh

Luckily, at Zendure we make it easy for you and print the Wh right on your portable charger or power bank. Just show airport security the Wh if there is any doubt.

Choosing the Right Portable Charger

When it comes to smaller portable chargers that are meant to keep your phone charged during your flight, the likes of the Zendure A3PD portable charger don't need to be checked. These smaller power banks without a doubt are below capacity. In fact, even something bigger like the Zendure A6PD Portable Charger with 20,100mAh (74.3Wh) will not cause any problems at all. And that's a device that should last you a short weekend trip on one charge.

If you are looking for a power bank with a higher capacity to charge a number of devices or your friends devices too, the Zendure SuperTank is a good choice that is allowed on airplanes with 27,000 mAh.

This power bank has 3.7V and is within the limits, rated at 100Wh. This is just enough not to need approval from an airline at the maximum airline safe battery capacity approved by TSA/EASA for air travel.

That makes it an excellent travel companion as it a device that has the max Wh that you can bring without a worry. SuperTank has 100W USB-C Power Delivery and USB-A Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 from the four USB ports, so you don’t have to choose which device to charge first, including your laptop!

What If Your Power Bank Exceeds the Limit?

If you have a power bank that's rated as 100.1-160 watt-hours, then you will need approval from an airline. All Zendure portable chargers fall within the safe battery capacity approved by TSA/EASA for air travel.

Happy Travels with Your Portable Charger

When it comes to Zendure, you should not have any problems flying with your portable chargers, unless somebody decides to use yours because it's that good-looking!  

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