Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
For as long as I can remember, a battery brick has been a standard item in my stock travel kit. I used them for a few years, then upgraded them and, at one point, even had one big enough and strong enough to fully charge my laptop on the go if needed.
While I have never had an issue with my battery bricks, I no longer really feel the need to travel with one. Everywhere I go, and even up in the air, there are now usually not only USB ports to charge my devices but real power outlets to plug into when I need to work on my laptop.
Today, things have changed. A week rarely goes by that you do not hear reports like this one that destroyed a jet or this one or this Delta one (one of MANY in 2025) of a battery brick catching on fire onboard and risking the lives of everyone inside the tiny metal tube. So far, thanks to amazingly well-trained and calm crews, there have been no catastrophic accidents.
Yet.
But will it be a matter of time until something major does happen and results in a big loss of life? And for what? The convenience of having someone with a cheap battery brick that should never have been brought onboard? One that was already damaged and some fool did not toss it out (or recycle it if possible)?
If you fly outside the United States, many airlines now lecture you that if you happen to have a battery brick you may not keep it in your bag or in the overhead. You MUST have it visible at all times. Clearly, just about no one is going to comply with this. And it is just frustrating to have to listen to this speech over and over in a number of languages. My guess is that this rule will soon come to the USA, and there will be equally minimal compliance with the commands to keep them in view.
So, I think the time has come. It is time to ban battery bricks and have TSA, or crew, if they see them, start to collect them and dispose of them.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but as already mentioned, there simply is so little need for them anymore when on the go. In the rare instance you really need one, then buy one when you get to where you are going for the task at hand, and count it a cost of doing business and travel. In the long run, we will all be safer because of this change.
What do you think? Do you agree with me that the time has come? Are we all better off with a battery brick ban when flying? What about these cheap vapes? Should they be banned as well? You tell me in the Comments section below! – Renè
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
I don’t know but it’s sure time to ban using AI slop instead of actual stock photos for posts and articles. Support real human photographers and illustrators – most of them that sell to stock photo companies are independent artists.
The vast majority of photos we use are licensed from iStock, provided by contributors, or images we take ourselves. I work part time as a photo editor and prefer to use stock images. My company has literally paid thousands of dollars in licensing subscriptions for stock images during the past several years. There are times when using AI to generate a photo is a faster alternative to help tell the story. I assume you’ve voiced your concerns to Apple and Adobe and told them to stop implementing AI in their photo editing tools, as well.
I have purchased
Kuxiu solid state qi2 batteries which are supposed to be more fire resistant.
Interesting! Do they get warm or hot when you use them?
This is only a problem for cheap Chinese devices that aren’t made to UL standards. I don’t necessarily need the battery pack for when I’m on board the aircraft (unless of course the seat back outlets are broken) but instead for when i reach my destination. If you’re like me and not sitting in your hotel room when you travel, a battery pack is an absolute must. It’d be terribly wasteful to purchase one at your destination just to dispose of it on the way home.
Good compromise would be to keep them disconnected during flight in the same way that lighters can be brought on board just not used.
They’re 100% fine if not in use during the flight.
@David – That would be fine for you and me but we both know most would not follow the rules?
I’ll give them up. It’s easy enough to find a way to charge/use electronics in airports and on board these days. I’ve found that I don’t use them all that often anyway. But like René said, rule breakers…
China has banned them unless they have the CCC certification. All countries should follow this.
@Greggb57 – yeah sadly those with dented busted cheap ones are most likely to cause issues.
I am of the opinion that maybe they should not be used during the flight. Like others have stated, there are places you need one when traveling. I have been using them for years with no problems, but have never used them on the plane. Also have always paid for top of the line name brand from best in class manufacturers. Banned…NO. Having them in the open for cabin crew to see…NO PROBLEM.
I take mine only when I’m traveling on leisure trips where I’ll be away from anywhere to plug my phone in to charge for most of the day like family Disneyland trips, cruise vacations at port when on excursions or anywhere else I anticipate I’ll be draining my iPad or iPhone with heavy usage from camera/video usage as well as navigation, ticket purchases/wallet features, itineraries, etc. My phone is my lifeline & because the battery drains so quickly while multi-using it in so many ways, if I don’t carry a back up portable battery source, I’ve found myself in some scary situations lately at night needing to call for an Über or just a map to find my way back to the hotel not realizing how truly low my battery was. Then again, my external batteries range from the size of a lipstick case to no larger than my phone itself. Nothing beefy enough to charge my laptop. Note that buying one or two every time I/my family travel(s) would become very cost prohibitive because I do my research & read reviews for quality. I/we couldn’t afford to replace them every 3-4 weeks.