Original data · Plughopper study · 5 Nov 2026
8 of 17 major airlines now ban using a power bank in flight.
We read the published power-bank rules of 17 major airlines, each in the airline's own wording. 15 ban recharging a bank on board, 8 ban using one at all, and at least 10 changed their rules in 2025 or 2026.
- The split is not regional. Europe's two biggest low-cost carriers sit on opposite sides: Ryanair lets you use a bank in flight, easyJet says banks are “prohibited from use” on its aircraft.
- Recharging is the near-universal no. 15 of 17 ban charging the bank itself from the seat; the 2 that don't (Air Canada and easyJet) publish no separate rule on it.
- Ban, but no outlet. 3 airlines that ban in-flight use also fly aircraft we have verified as having no seat power at all in the main cabin: Lufthansa Group (Airbus A319 · A320 · A321 (ceo) (Legacy Recaro seats)), Qantas Group (De Havilland Dash 8 (QantasLink · regional turboprop)) and easyJet (Airbus A320neo (186 seats)). In economy on those aircraft there is no permitted way to charge a phone in the air.
- The rules are new. At least 10 of the 17 rule sets took effect in 2025 or 2026; the earliest is Singapore Airlines (1 Apr 2025), and most of the rest print no date. 2 airlines (Southwest Airlines and Emirates) now allow only one bank per passenger.
The 17 airlines, rule by rule
Sorted strictest first. Select any heading to re-sort. Airline names open our seat-by-seat power guide for that carrier. “No rule published” means we read the airline's current rule page and it says nothing on that point: an absence of policy, not written permission. Crew instructions override everything here.
| Air FranceAF · Europe | Banned | Banned | 2 | 160 Wh with approval | Not allowed | Not dated | Not yet verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyJetU2 · Europe | Banned | No rule published | 2 | 160 Wh | No rule published | Not dated | Airbus A320neo (186 seats) |
| EmiratesEK · Middle East | Banned | Banned | 1 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | 1 Oct 2025 | None verified |
| KLMKL · Europe | Banned | Banned | 2 | 160 Wh with approval | Not allowed | Not dated | Not yet verified |
| Lufthansa GroupLH · Europe | Banned | Banned | 2 | 160 Wh with approval | Not allowed | 15 Jan 2026 | Airbus A319 · A320 · A321 (ceo) (Legacy Recaro seats) |
| Qantas GroupQF · Asia-Pacific | Banned | Banned | 2 | 160 Wh with approval | Only if no other space | 15 Dec 2025 | De Havilland Dash 8 (QantasLink · regional turboprop) |
| Singapore AirlinesSQ · Asia-Pacific | Banned | Banned | 2 | 160 Wh with approval | Discouraged | 1 Apr 2025 | None verified |
| Turkish AirlinesTK · Europe | Banned | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | Not dated | None verified |
| JetBlueB6 · North America | Discouraged | Banned | 2 | See notes | Not allowed | Not dated | None verified |
| American AirlinesAA · North America | Allowed | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | 1 May 2026 | Not yet verified |
| Delta Air LinesDL · North America | Allowed | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | May 2026 | Not yet verified |
| Qatar AirwaysQR · Middle East | Allowed | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | Apr 2026 | None verified |
| RyanairFR · Europe | Allowed | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | Not dated | Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 (Gamechanger · 197 seats); Boeing 737-800 (Most of the fleet · 189 seats) |
| Southwest AirlinesWN · North America | Allowed | Banned | 1 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | 20 Apr 2026 | None verified |
| Air CanadaAC · North America | No rule published | No rule published | No cap published | 160 Wh with approval | No rule published | Not dated | Not yet verified |
| British AirwaysBA · Europe | No rule published | Banned | 2 | 100 Wh, no exceptions | Not allowed | May 2026 | Not yet verified |
| United AirlinesUA · North America | No rule published | Banned | 2 | See notes | Not allowed | Mar 2026 | None verified |
Notes and sources, airline by airline
- Lufthansa Group
- Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, Eurowings, Discover, Edelweiss and Air Dolomiti. Essential medical devices excepted. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Qatar Airways
- Using a bank is allowed in non-critical phases while it stays under your direct supervision. Airline rule reported from 12 April 2026; Qatar’s civil aviation authority made the limits national rules in June 2026. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Air France
- Same use-and-recharge ban as KLM. Air France prints no effective date; ICAO’s two-bank, no-recharge limits took effect on 27 March 2026. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- KLM
- Includes KLM Cityhopper. KLM prints no effective date. Airline policy · checked 8 Aug 2026
- British Airways
- BA’s own page sets the limits, the storage rule and the recharge ban, and says nothing about using a bank. Press reports of the May 2026 change add “not during takeoff and landing”. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Delta Air Lines
- No charging devices from a bank during taxi, takeoff or landing. Delta prints no date; the two-bank limit was reported for 1 May 2026. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- JetBlue
- “Should not be used to charge or power other devices during flight”: a should-not, not a ban. No power-bank Wh figure; the device-battery limit is 100 Wh. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- American Airlines
- Chargers must be visible when in use and within reach, per American’s statement. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Air Canada
- Publishes no in-flight use, recharge or overhead-bin rule; caps spares at 20 (two between 100 and 160 Wh) and bans three recalled Anker models by name. ICAO limits still apply on international flights. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- United Airlines
- Two chargers, kept on you or in your personal item, never recharged from aircraft power. The page has no line on using one. Two larger batteries (100-160 Wh) allowed; no approval step stated. Airline policy · checked 23 Sep 2026
- Southwest Airlines
- One bank per customer since 20 April 2026; it must be visible when in use (since 28 May 2025). Airline policy · checked 23 Sep 2026
- Emirates
- One bank under 100 Wh, its rating printed on it. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Turkish Airlines
- Stricter than Türkiye’s regulator, which in April 2026 only discouraged use. Turkish prints no effective date. Airline policy · checked 24 Sep 2026
- Singapore Airlines
- Use ban since 1 April 2025; two-bank cap from 15 April 2026. Overhead bin: banks “should not be stored” there. Scoot publishes the same rules. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Qantas Group
- Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar. Seat pocket or under the seat; a nearby overhead locker only where neither is possible. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
- Ryanair
- Use allowed except during taxi, takeoff and landing, or when crew say otherwise. Airline policy · checked 8 Oct 2026
- easyJet
- “Prohibited from use on easyJet aircraft.” No separate recharging or overhead-bin rule; easyJet recommends carrying banks on your person. Airline policy · checked 5 Nov 2026
What the numbers say
Using a bank in flight: banned at Lufthansa Group, Air France, KLM, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Group and easyJet (8). Allowed, usually outside taxi, takeoff and landing, at Qatar Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Ryanair (5). JetBlue says banks “should not” be used, which stops short of a ban. British Airways, Air Canada and United Airlines publish no in-flight use rule at all.
Capacity: every airline here accepts a bank of up to 100 Wh (about 27,000 mAh) in carry-on. 8 (Qatar Airways, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Ryanair) stop there with no approval route; the rest allow up to 160 Wh, usually only with the airline's approval, or publish no separate power-bank ceiling (see notes).
Where it rides: 13 of 17 bar the overhead bin, so the bank travels in the seat pocket or under the seat in front, where crew can reach it if it overheats.
Seat power is the other half. A ban only costs you a charge where the seat has nothing to offer. Across these airlines we have 351 of 1032 cabin-by-port seat-power cells verified against a named source; the aircraft listed under “Verified no-power cabins” are the ones where AC, USB-A and USB-C are all confirmed absent in economy. Ryanair also flies verified no-power cabins, but there the bank is allowed, so it is the answer.
Source: Plughopper, plughopper.com/guides/airline-power-bank-rules · CC BY 4.0
Methodology
- Airlines. The 17 airlines Plughopper keeps a seat-by-seat power guide for, spanning North America, Europe, the Gulf and Asia-Pacific. Group rules are attributed to the group (Lufthansa Group, Qantas Group). Alaska Airlines, also in our guides, is held back: its rule page blocked automated reading on 5 Nov 2026 and two secondary reports disagreed, so it returns after a by-hand read.
- Source order. Each rule was read on the airline's own baggage or dangerous-goods page first. Where that page blocks automated reading, we used a dated secondary report that quotes the airline's wording, and say so in the notes. We never use our own pages as a source.
- Verification dates. Every row was checked between 8 Aug 2026 and 5 Nov 2026; each row's date is in the notes. Rules are still moving, so we re-check before any update and change the date when we do.
- Definitions. “Use banned” = the airline forbids charging a device from a power bank on board (medical-device exceptions noted). “Allowed” = permitted at least in cruise. “Rule since” = the date the current rule set took effect, from the airline or press reports; “Not dated” when neither gives one.
- Seat power. From our per-aircraft cabin tables. A cell counts only if it carries a CONFIRMED entry in our claims ledger with a source URL and the source's own words; unverified cells are excluded, never assumed.
- Gate. Each airline's rule string on this page is locked to its ledger entry. If anyone edits a value without re-checking the source, our build fails. That is why the counts above are computed, not typed.
Not legal advice. Airline rules change and crew instructions always take precedence. Spot an error? Email press@plughopper.com and we will correct it and log the change here.
Cite or reuse this
Plughopper (2026). Power-bank rules at 17 major airlines. Checked 8 Aug 2026 to 5 Nov 2026. https://plughopper.com/guides/airline-power-bank-rules
The table, chart and data are licensed CC BY 4.0: republish, chart or adapt them for any purpose, commercial included, as long as you credit “Source: Plughopper” with a link to this page. The same rows are available as JSON.
Journalists: press@plughopper.com for the underlying sources or a quote.