Can you Charge Your Phone on a Plane – Know the Rules

In this post, I’m answering the question ‘Can you charge your phone on a plane?’

We carry a whole world inside our phones.  

And when we are on the ground, we are pretty much always right near a wall outlet, our car charger, or the USB port on our laptop, so we can easily keep our ‘world’ going. 

We don’t really need to think too much about it because there are literally electrical outlets everywhere.

But when it comes to air travel, you really do need to pause to think about whether you can charge your phone on a plane. Because the rules vary by airline and the ability to charge your cell phone while flying depends on the situation.

Are you allowed to charge your phone on a plane?

While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does have rules around whether and how a phone can be used on a plane, there isn’t an express rule around whether a phone can be charged on a plane.  

(The FAA does  have suggestions on how you can be safe with your phone on a plane, which I talk about below.)

Does the plane have the capability of letting you charge your phone?

Whether or not an airplane has the capability to let you charge your mobile phones is extremely variable.  

It depends on whether the plane is older or newer. Some airlines reserve that amenity only for its first class or business class passengers. Others make it available for the main cabin as well. Some airlines have their own charging rules in place. 

For instance, many airlines now offer entire in-flight entertainment systems. Those include power sources such as USB outlets or AC power outlets at each seat. 

However, some airlines (including some of the budget airlines) simply won’t have these amenities available.

The best way to be sure is to check the official websites because it depends on the particular airline.  

Different airlines have different rules, which also may change when you are talking about domestic flights versus international flights.

For example, United Airlines, recently announced that its first-class seats will soon have a wireless charging station in the armrest.

And Lufthansa, one of the largest European airlines, is adding USB ports to each seat on its A320 aircraft.  That news from the Lufthansa website indicates that not all of its planes currently have the ports.

Can you charge your phone on a plane with a portable charger?

The FAA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as well as many airlines, allow portable chargers on board in the carry-on luggage or personal item. 

(Note that most airlines restrict packing portable chargers in checked baggage due to fire concerns related to lithium-ion batteries.)  

However, for safety reasons, even if the airline allows a portable charger on the plane, you will need to be aware of the limitation the airline puts on the number of watt hours (Wh) or milliamp hours (mAH) the portable charge can hold.

For example, many airlines put a 100Wh or 27,000mAh limit on portable chargers.  It’s important to be aware of these limitations because it is possible that TSA security may inspect your device.

Some airlines may explicitly prohibit the use of personal chargers or a portable power bank during the flight. So it is important to review the airline’s safety guidelines in advance.

Is it safe to charge your phone on a plane?

Given what you may have heard about in the news in recent years, safety considerations make sense

The reason airline regulations around electronic devices exist is because of the potential risk of fire or other electrical hazards. Lithium batteries, commonly found in smartphones, can overheat and catch fire occasionally, under certain conditions.

But that is rare!

Consider the amount of people traveling by plane each day and year. And how many of those are traveling with their phones (almost all!). In context, the number of phone-related fire events we’ve heard about is comparatively minuscule.

However, if you notice you have a phone or battery pack that heats up excessively or a power cord that is frayed or otherwise damaged, take extra precautions.

Additionally, according to the FAA, if you don’t plan to use your phone in-flight, it is actually safer to leave it at a lower charge level. That way it is less likely to undergo a thermal runaway – the condition that causes phones with lithium batteries to overheat.

• Make sure you have easy access to your portable phone charger or power cord when you are entering the plane.  There’s nothing more annoying than finally settling into your seat next to two other people, after waiting an hour to board the plane, only to realize you have to get back up because you put your portable battery in your carry-on baggage.

• Consider bringing a portable phone charger even if you find out that there will be an AC outlet or USB port at your seat.  More than once I have been in a seat where the charging port wasn’t working.

• If traveling on a foreign airline, it’s a good idea to have a standard AC power adapter. Sometimes the in-seat power outlets available to you don’t fit your standard American plug.

• If you forget your cord and portable charger or inadvertently pack it in your checked baggage, put your phone into airplane mode. This is required anyway. This will generally slow down the drain on your phone battery. Airplane mode disables certain phone functions and apps that tend to use a lot of power. 

Additionally, check to see if you have any other apps or functions that are still running in the background and draining your battery.

So the short answer to the question Can you charge your phone on a plane is ‘It depends, but most likely, yes.’

I hope this travel tip has been helpful!  Let me know in the comments.