News

ICAO caps power banks at two per passenger and bans recharging them in flight

• Rules and standards
• Primary source
• Background
• Independent, not affiliated with SpaceX

Event date

Mar 27, 2026

Effective

Mar 27, 2026

Published

Oct 6, 2026

Last updated

Oct 6, 2026

Background. This event is more than 90 days old. We keep it for reference; it is not current news.

What changed at a glance

What changed

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN body that writes the global rules for carrying dangerous goods by air, changed its rules for power banks in airline cabins. The change is in Addendum No. 1 to the 2025–2026 Edition of the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Doc 9284), approved by the 36-member ICAO Council and applicable from March 27, 2026.

The addendum does three things for passengers:

1. It limits each person to no more than two power banks.
2. It prohibits recharging power banks while on board.
3. It recommends against using power banks to recharge devices on board.

Crew can still carry and use power banks for the aircraft’s operational needs. Power banks crew carry for personal use fall under the new limits. ICAO said the change came from its Dangerous Goods Panel and was reviewed by the Air Navigation Commission, in response to fire risks from lithium batteries in cabins.

Who it affects

Anyone flying with power banks. ICAO’s Technical Instructions are the baseline that airlines and national regulators build on, and US airlines moved to match or go further. Southwest set a stricter one-bank limit from April 20, 2026 (our post).

For Mini owners, the case is flying to a trip and running the Mini from a USB-C PD power bank at the destination. Starlink says the Mini needs at least 100 W of USB PD; the bank that does that is usually your largest.

What it means for your power setup

The watt-hour limits didn’t change. The FAA still limits a spare lithium-ion battery to 100 Wh without airline approval, and allows up to two spares of 101 to 160 Wh with approval; those values render from our data file below. What changed is how many banks you can carry and what you can do with them in the air.

Practical effects:

• Two banks maximum. If you carry a big bank for the Mini plus a phone bank, that’s your limit. A third goes.
• No charging the bank on the plane. Arrive with it charged if you need the Mini running when you land. Our calculator shows how long a full bank lasts at the Mini’s draw.
• Don’t plan to run devices from it in flight. ICAO recommends against it, and many airlines now ban it.

Our USB-C power bank guide covers which banks can run a Mini and stay under 100 Wh, and the best battery for a Mini covers alternatives for longer trips.

What to do

1. Before you fly, count your power banks. Keep two at most, or fewer if your airline is stricter.
2. Charge them before you leave for the airport.
3. Check the watt-hour rating on each label against the FAA limits below.
4. Check your airline’s own page: airlines can be stricter than ICAO, and several US airlines are.

What stays the same

• Power banks remain banned from checked bags.
• Watt-hour limits per battery: unchanged.
• Starlink’s power requirements for the Mini: unchanged.

What we don’t know yet

• How each US airline words and enforces the two-bank limit. Airline policies differ; we cover changes as airlines publish them.
• Whether the FAA will change its own passenger guidance to match. We don’t predict; we’ll report it if the FAA publishes a change.
• ICAO’s full addendum text. ICAO’s site blocked our automated retrieval, so this post relies on ICAO’s published excerpts and a secondary report.