If you’re flying Emirates, its enhanched safety measures are going to into effect abord its aircraft.
Using any kind of power bank will be prohibited onboard Emirates’ flights, effective 1 October 2025.
Emirates provides in-seat charging on all aircraft; however, the airline still recommends that customers fully charge their devices before flying, especially on longer-duration flights.
In the Emirates definition, a ‘power bank’ is a portable, rechargeable device primarily designed to provide power to other electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and cameras.
Emirates customers are still permitted to carry one power bank onboard with specific conditions listed below, but the power banks may not be used while in the aircraft cabin – neither to charge devices from the power bank, nor to be charged themselves using the aircraft’s power source.
Emirates’ regulations for power banks onboard
- Emirates customers may carry one power bank that is under 100 watt-hours.
- Power banks may not be used to charge any personal devices onboard.
- Charging a power bank using the aircraft’s power supply is not permitted.
- All power banks accepted for transport must have capacity rating information available.
- Power banks may not be placed in the overhead stowage bin onboard the aircraft and must now be placed in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in front of you.
- Power banks are not permitted in checked luggage (existing rule).
Why is Emirates making this change?
After a comprehensive safety review, Emirates is taking a firm and proactive stance to mitigate risk when it comes to power banks onboard. There has been a significant growth in customers using power banks in recent years, resulting in an increasing number of lithium battery-related incidents on board flights across the wider aviation industry.
If the battery is overcharged or damaged, it may result in ‘thermal runaway.’ Thermal runaway in batteries is a self-accelerating process where heat generation within a battery cell exceeds its ability to dissipate heat, leading to a rapid and uncontrollable temperature increase. This can result in dangerous consequences like fire, explosions, and the release of toxic gases.
Most phones and sophisticated lithium battery-powered devices have an internal trickle system which slowly adds current into the battery to prevent overcharging, but many basic power banks may not have this safeguard, increasing the risk.
All power banks are subject to the new rules on board Emirates, to reduce the risks associated with power banks by prohibiting their use while on board the aircraft.
Charge before you go
Airlines across the world are looking at the carriage of power banks and how to handle them. They’ve all agreed that they shouldn’t be put in the cargo hold a long time ago; however, what to do with them in-flight continues to be an issue.
Various airlines have banned the use of power banks in flight, including Air Busan, Hong Kong Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, EVA Air, THAI Airways, AirAsia, STARLUX, China Airlines and Malaysia Airlines – to name a few.
Given the risks of power banks suffering a thermal runaway, these airlines have chosen the side of better safe than sorry – and have restricted their use in the air (and considering how some of the cheaper power banks are made… it may be a good idea).
For the passenger, it means planning ahead and maybe using low-power modes when in flight to save on battery usage. Sadly, fast-charge sockets on aircraft are still quite rare..
Or invest in a multi-voltage power brick that can deliver higher wattage experiences.
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