The recent news that all passengers will now be limited to just two power banks on board flights was received with a fair bit of confusion. Additionally, the announcement brought up a less well-known fact: that passengers can actually bring power banks above 100Wh but under 160Wh<\/b> on board flights (in cabin baggage), as long as there is airline approval.<\/p>\n
People on social media started to freak out and question if their spare camera batteries, AirTags or other sorts of batteries would now be subject to this limit. Others immediately started asking how to get approval for their large capacity power banks. <\/p>\n
Well, we\u2019re here to answer your FAQs.<\/p>\n
How to bring power banks > 100 Wh but \u2264 160 Wh on board flights?<\/h2>\n
Firstly, you\u2019ll require airline approval to bring these large capacity power banks onboard. The problem, though, is that the approval process for each airlines is different.<\/p>\n Only two power banks from now on.<\/p>\n Photo: SIA<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n We reached out to Singapore Airlines and Scoot, and an SIA spokesperson informed us that passengers should contact\u00a0the Singapore Airlines\u00a0contact centre\u00a0or Scoot\u00a0contact centre\u00a0before travelling\u00a0and be ready to provide the\u00a0power bank\u2019s make, model, and its Watt-hour (Wh) rating. Approval is subject to applicable requirements and verification.<\/p>\n SIA and Scoot will be implementing these new guidelines from 15 April 2026<\/b> onwards. <\/p>\n If you do get prior approval, you won\u2019t have any issues when checking in with the approved power bank. However, if you\u2019re still nervous, it doesn\u2019t hurt to get a screenshot printed out of your conversation with the contact centre. <\/p>\n AirAsia power bank guidelines<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n We also reached out to AirAsia, but were directed to refer to their support page on Portable Electronic Devices (PED). <\/p>\n The support page, as seen above, simply states that passengers who want to bring a power bank over 100Wh but under 160Wh should approach AirAsia staff at the check-in counter. <\/p>\n This does mean that there\u2019s no way of obtaining prior approval from AirAsia for your large capacity power bank before you head to the airport, so there could be cases of passengers being asked to dispose of their power banks before boarding.<\/p>\n mAh (milliampere-hour) is a measurement of the electric capacity of the battery, while Wh (watt-hour) is a measurement of total energy, taking into account the voltage (V) to show the true power capacity. <\/p>\n Wh is derived by multiplying the mAh of a battery by its voltage, then dividing the result by 1,000. This means that you\u2019ll need both the voltage of the battery as well as the mAh to calculate the exact Wh for your model. <\/p>\n However, if you didn\u2019t do so well in maths, we have you covered with the handy table below for the most popular power bank capacities (assuming a standard 3.7V).<\/p>\n Typically, as long as your power bank is under 27,000mAh, it should come in under the 100Wh limit. We always recommend double-checking this figure however, especially if your power bank is on the higher-end of the scale. <\/p>\n Can I bring spare camera batteries onboard?<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n You can heave a sigh of relief, photographers and videographers out there. Spare batteries are not subject to these new rules as they are not classified as a \u201cpower bank\u201d. According to the official IATA guidelines for passengers travelling with lithium batteries (page 8), passengers are allowed 15 PEDs (portable electronic devices with batteries inside), and 20 spare batteries of any type, as long as the batteries are under 100Wh and contain no more than 2g of lithium.<\/p>\n Camera batteries, drone batteries, batteries in phones, your AirTag battery and more will typically meet this requirement, so as long as you follow the other rules regarding these batteries, you will be allowed to bring them onboard.<\/p>\n Well, we hate to say it, but your power bank might be due for a replacement. Setting aside the risks of using a power bank that has so much wear and tear, you might encounter issues when going through airport security and end up having to throw that power bank away. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a new power bank, check out these great options from Anker, Xiaomi and Ugreen.<\/p>\n The existing rules still apply, dependent on the airline. So for SIA and Scoot, passengers are still:<\/p>\n Do check with the airline you\u2019re flying with for their own guidelines on acceptable power bank use during flights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMy power bank is in mAh, what\u2019s Wh?<\/h2>\n
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\n \nPower bank capacity in mAh<\/th>\n Power bank capacity in Wh<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n 5,000<\/td>\n 18.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 10,000<\/td>\n 37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 15,000<\/td>\n 55.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 20,000<\/td>\n 74<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 25,000<\/td>\n 92.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 26,800<\/td>\n 99.16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n My spare camera and drone batteries how?<\/h2>\n
What if the info on my power bank is rubbed off or illegible?<\/h2>\n
So can I use my power bank on board flights now?<\/h2>\n
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