Passengers are having very expensive travel items confiscated at airports due to confusing rules
POWER banks are an essential when it comes to travel – but there are strict rules in place for them.
Most know the main ones – like it cannot be used inflight – but here’s one some of you might not know about which could see it taken off you before boarding.
Most airlines allow power banks up to 100Wh without special approval onboard.
But anything over that, without the say-so from the airline, and they could be confiscated for being too big and some countries being particularly strict.
The Wh – which translates to watt-hours – should be printed on the label of your power bank and if travelling on most planes it needs to be under 100Wh or less.
In places like China and Japan, some passengers have had their large power banks taken off them.
Someone on Reddit explained: “Accidentally brought a power bank that was larger than 100 watt-hour on my international trip.
“It passed US TSA as under 100, clocked 106 and 136 watt-hour in two airports in China and refused on board as over 180Wh at Guangzhou International Airport.”
Rules are strict in Japan too with Japan Airlines currently allowing two power banks with 160Wh or less in hand luggage – but that is going down to 100Wh from January 2027.
A lot have warned that the label with the Wh must be clear or risk it being taken off you as well.
Someone else said: “It is the label that matters and if you have old ones that is too faint, it is almost foregone conclusion that it will be taken.
“Friends encountered in Korea and China recently where their older power banks were taken as it wasn’t clear enough.”
For those travelling to China, there is another requirement and this is that all power banks must be marked clearly with the mark ‘CCC’.
The 3C mark is a China Compulsory Certification and the power banks must also be 100Wh or under for all flights.
Any power banks over 160Wh require airline approval – and anything over that is banned.
Most airlines will also only allow one power bank onboard – but check prior to flying as some do allow two.
Power banks must be stored in hand luggage during a flight but not used while in the air as the lithium battery inside is a fire risk – and storing them in the wrong way can cause huge disruption.
In May of this year, an easyJet flight travelling from Egypt to the UK was forced to divert to Rome after a passenger revealed they had left a phone connected and charging via a power bank in their checked luggage
In July last year, a power bank caught fire on a Bangkok Airways flight from Samui to Hong Kong.