Most people rely heavily on their phones, and the only way to keep your smartphone in use, especially over the course of a long flight is to charge it. But can you bring your mobile charger on the plane?
Is Mobile Charger Allowed In Flight?
You can carry every type of charger on a flight. That includes ordinary plug-in chargers. Though, as you might expect, you cannot use plug-in chargers on a plane. Planes do not have power sockets, which is why people carry mobile chargers that require USB cords to work.
Mobile chargers and power banks are allowed on planes. Mobile chargers can take advantage of the charging facilities that some airlines offer. In many cases, you can find a USB charging port either on your seat or the seat in front of you. If your plane doesn’t have charging facilities, a power bank is the best option because it charges your phone directly. You do not require a mains electricity supply.
Why Mobile Chargers Are Not Allowed?
Mobile chargers are allowed on planes. However, airport security takes a lot of precautions where electronic devices are concerned, especially electronic devices with lithium batteries. If airport security has prevented you from bringing your mobile charger onboard, more than likely, it has a lithium battery.
Lithium batteries are a problem because they can combust. Some people think that airport security is too cautious. However, I don’t expect anyone to dispute the caution applied to lithium batteries because everyone remembers the Samsung phones whose batteries caught fire and exploded a few years ago.
Admittedly, this isn’t necessarily the end of the story. If your charger has lithium batteries, airport security won’t let you keep it in checked luggage. But you can carry it with you as you board the plane. You are free to use and store the mobile charger in the cabin. Problems only arise when you attempt to leave it in the checked luggage.
- Related Post Are Laptop Chargers Allowed In Check-in Baggage?
How Many Chargers Can You Take On Plane?
If you have a conventional Plug-in charger, you can carry as many of them as you wish. That is also true for ordinary mobile chargers. But if you have a power bank, the kind with lithium batteries, you have to adhere to different rules. Airlines permit passengers to carry a maximum of two additional batteries.
Therefore, if you have one mobile charger, the kind that doesn’t have lithium batteries, you can only bring two power banks on the plane. If the mobile charger has a lithium battery, you can only bring one power bank with you.
What if you want to carry more than two batteries?
Well, you have two options.
- First, you can talk to the airline in person. Ask them for special permission to bring multiple batteries on the plane. Depending on your situation, they may or may not grant you that permission.
- Even if your airline is unlikely to permit you to carry more than two batteries, you should contact them all the same. At the very least, check their website. The rules that govern airline security are not the same in every country. Take a moment to find out what your destination has to say about power banks. Otherwise, you may fly into a new country with two power banks only to realize that airport security won’t let you bring both of them through on your way out of the country.
- Secondly, if you have companions, ask them to carry two power banks each on your behalf. Airport security doesn’t care why you have decided to bring two power banks on a plane so long as they do not exceed the maximum capacity.
Where Do You Pack Chargers When Flying?
The best place to keep your charger is in the cabin with your phone because that allows you to use the charger during the flight. But you can keep the charger in your checked luggage if you want.
This isn’t possible if the charger has lithium batteries. I believe that most countries expect passengers to keep chargers with lithium batteries in their carry-ons. Naturally, this applies to power banks because they are basically lithium batteries.
Airlines are quite strict where this rule is concerned because lithium batteries are a fire hazard. They can catch fire regardless of where you keep them. But if the battery of a power bank in a cabin catches fire, people will put that fire out. Putting a fire out in the cargo hold is far more difficult.
Can I Take Phone Charger in Hand Luggage?
You can take a phone charger in your hand luggage. You can also take a power bank in hand luggage. However, you should charge the power bank before you bring it to the airport. Airport security may test it to prove that it is a power bank. If it hasn’t been charged, and you cannot prove that it is an ordinary power bank, they may force you to leave it behind.
Is Mobile Charger Allowed In Check-In Luggage?
The mobile charger is allowed in check-in luggage, but only if it doesn’t have a lithium battery. Any phone charger with a lithium battery should be kept in the cabin with your carry-on luggage.
Do Phone Chargers Go In Hand Luggage or Suitcase?
You can place phone chargers without lithium batteries in the hand luggage or suitcase. If the charger has a lithium battery, you can still place it in the suitcase if that suitcase is going in the cabin with you. You cannot keep a charger with batteries in a suitcase that is going to the cargo hold.
This applies to power banks. You have to keep them (and chargers with batteries) in hand luggage. The size of the power bank is very important.
You can bring power banks of less than 100Wh onboard (HandLuggage) without any complications. If the power banks have a capacity of 100 to 160Wh, you need special permission. If your power banks exceed 160Wh, they must go to the cargo hold. If the power bank doesn’t have a clearly identifiable power rating, it must also go to the cargo hold.