Anyone who has flown abroad will be aware of the restrictions on hand-luggage items when passing through airport security – from liquids with a volume greater than 100ml to batteries, tools and frozen goods.
Security staff will not let anything through they consider dangerous and therefore attempting to do so may result in holding up your travels or the item in question being confiscated. There are other items such as vapes, however, which must go in hand-luggage rather than in larger suitcases in the hold.
Jake Cullum-Hollins took to TikTok where he advised his 50,000 followers that another of these – power banks – are “ruining” people’s holidays. These are portable batteries that allow owners to recharge mobile phones, tablets and laptop computers on the go – without the need for a mains socket.
“People still aren’t following the rules when it comes to packing these correctly,” Jake began in a video. “Due to the rising number of cases where flights are having to be delayed, diverted or even to make an emergency landing because of power banks, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is launching a massive awareness campaign.”
Jake explained the guidance is simple – if an item contains a lithium battery it must be kept in hand-luggage. Such items include laptops, tablets, vapes and indeed, power banks.
“It is really important to check your airline’s rules when it comes to things like power banks,” the travel agent reiterated. “Because some of them are now saying you cannot charge your items while you are on the flight.”
Earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) published an addendum to its Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous goods by Air, which read: “The operator must adhere to for lithium cells or batteries (including power banks) carried aboard the aircraft for use or sale on the aircraft by the operator (such as electronic flight bags (EFBs), personal entertainment devices, card readers etc).”
The guidance continued: “Spare lithium batteries and power banks must be individually protected to prevent short circuits when not in use. For example:
- Must be carried in carry‑on baggage
- Must be individually protected when not in use
- Must not be recharged on board the aircraft
- Should not be used to charge other portable electronic devices on board the aircraft
- Maximum of two power banks per person
The ICAO also advised: “The conditions for the carriage and use of these electronic devices and spare batteries (including power banks) must be provided in the operations manual and/or other appropriate manuals by the operators to enable flight crew, cabin crew and other employees to carry out the functions for which they are responsible.”
Writing in response, to Jake, one TikTok user pointed out: “Airlines then need to have more adequate charging facilities on planes. Even when there is a port on the plain to plug into, it’s either outdated or doesn’t have a strong enough current to actually charge the phone.”
To which Jake clarified: “You can charge your devices at airports before boarding the planes – usually plenty of charging points around. When your device is in airplane mode it uses hardly and battery. Most long haul flights also have plugs to charge things like phones and laptops.”