Airline power bank rules: Two is enough

If you are the kind of traveller who packs power banks like snacks “just in case”, there is some news you might want to sit down for. Or at least check how many you currently have in your bag.

From April 15, passengers flying out of Singapore Airlines and other carriers in Singapore will be restricted to carrying just two power banks in their cabin baggage. Anything beyond that will not be joining you on your trip.

This move follows updated safety guidelines rolled out by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, which in turn aligns with broader international standards from the International Civil Aviation Organization. The reasoning is fairly straightforward. Lithium-ion batteries, while extremely useful for keeping phones alive during long-haul flights, can also pose fire risks if damaged, overheated, or improperly stored.

How we got here

The regulator’s position is clear and familiar to anyone who has seen a “no durian on the MRT” sign: safety comes first, personal preferences come a very distant second.

For those wondering how we arrived at a world where your portable charger requires international regulatory intervention, the answer involves a series of increasingly alarming lithium battery incidents at 35,000 feet. The cascade of rules traces back most visibly to 28 January 2025, when an Air Busan Airbus A321 was destroyed by fire at Gimhae Airport in South Korea, with investigators pointing to a power bank stored in the overhead locker as the cause. Twenty-seven people were injured during the evacuation. A fire in an overhead bin, it turns out, is considerably harder to deal with than a fire in a bin at home. The US Federal Aviation Administration recorded 38 in-flight battery incidents by June 2025 alone. An Air China Flight CA139 incident in October 2025, in which a battery ignited in an overhead locker mid-flight, further concentrated minds at regulators worldwide.

ICAO’s new rules address the problem with characteristic precision: two power banks maximum, no storage in overhead bins, and no charging them onboard. The overhead bin restriction is not incidental. The logic is straightforward: a battery that begins to overheat needs to be visible and accessible to cabin crew. Tucked away above your head behind someone else’s roller bag, it is neither.

Practically speaking, most travellers will not feel a huge difference. Two power banks are usually enough to get through a long flight, especially with in-seat charging now common on many aircraft.

But for heavy users, content creators or anyone who treats their devices like life support systems, this might require a bit more planning. As passengers carry more personal electronics, regulators are adapting rules to balance convenience with safety. What used to be a non-issue is now something that needs clear limits and consistent enforcement.