China Bans Non-Certified Power Banks on Domestic Flights

In June 2025, China's Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a directive that immediately changed what passengers could bring aboard domestic flights: power banks lacking China Compulsory Certification, devices with unclear or absent milliamp-hour capacity markings, and any model previously subject to a product recall became prohibited in aircraft cabins. Enforcement began on June 28, 2025, and Chinese airport security has applied the rule strictly, confiscating non-compliant devices at checkpoints without exception.

The ban is the most stringent power bank enforcement measure adopted by any major aviation authority globally. While the FAA, EASA, and other Western regulators have long required that power banks travel only in carry-on baggage (never checked) and imposed watt-hour limits on permissible devices, none have mandated national-level product certification as a condition of boarding. China's CAAC has gone further than any peer agency, and for international travelers who fly through or within China, the implications are immediate and practical.

What Triggered the Ban

The CAAC's directive followed a string of in-flight lithium battery fire incidents within Chinese airspace beginning in 2023. Several incidents involved power banks that ignited in overhead bins or under seats, triggering emergency protocols and, in at least two documented cases, requiring unscheduled landings. The fires were traced not to high-end certified devices but to inexpensive, unbranded, or counterfeit power banks sold through major domestic e-commerce platforms.

The scale of China's low-cost electronics market created conditions that Western aviation markets had not yet encountered at the same intensity. Cheap power banks, often manufactured with cells that did not meet rated specifications, flooded the Chinese consumer market through platforms enabling rapid, largely unregulated commerce. Many of these devices lacked any certification marking, bore capacity labels that did not reflect actual cell capacity, or were outright counterfeits of legitimate branded products. When these devices were brought aboard flights, the risk of thermal runaway was materially higher than with certified alternatives.

Thermal runaway in a lithium-ion cell is not a slow process. A failing cell can progress from elevated temperature to full combustion in a matter of seconds, releasing toxic gases including hydrogen fluoride and generating temperatures that can exceed 600 degrees Celsius. In an aircraft cabin, this is not a nuisance but a potentially catastrophic event. The CAAC's response, while aggressive by international standards, reflects a rational assessment of a risk that had materialized repeatedly rather than one that remained theoretical.

Which Devices Are Now Banned

The CAAC directive establishes three categories of prohibited power banks. Devices lacking the China Compulsory Certification mark fall into the first and broadest category. CCC certification, administered by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China, requires that electronic devices meet baseline safety and quality standards before they can be legally sold in China. Many grey-market and imported power banks do not carry this mark.

The second category covers devices with absent or illegible milliamp-hour capacity markings. Aviation authorities globally require that power bank capacity be clearly labeled in mAh or equivalent units, both to allow security staff to assess compliance with watt-hour limits and to ensure that the device's actual capacity can be verified. Power banks without clear markings cannot be assessed and are automatically prohibited.

The third category addresses devices subject to any prior safety recall. Several major electronics manufacturers have issued power bank recalls in recent years related to cell defects, firmware issues, or overheating under specific charging conditions. A recalled device that has not been returned or replaced represents a known safety risk. Carrying such a device onto an aircraft is now prohibited regardless of whether the recall was issued by a Chinese or foreign authority.

Compliant power banks must carry the CCC mark, display a clear mAh rating, and have no open recalls. For travelers buying new devices, this effectively means purchasing from authorized retailers rather than third-party online marketplace listings. Devices purchased from Apple, Samsung, Anker, or similar established brands through official channels will in virtually all cases meet the certification requirement. Generic, unbranded, or suspiciously inexpensive devices carry substantially higher risk of non-compliance.

How International Travelers Are Affected

The ban applies to all domestic Chinese flights, which includes connecting segments for international travelers routing through Chinese hub airports. A passenger arriving at Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Capital, or Guangzhou Baiyun from an international origin and connecting to a domestic Chinese flight will be subject to CAAC's power bank rules for that domestic segment, regardless of what electronics they carried on their incoming international flight.

This creates a compliance challenge that many international travelers have not yet absorbed. A power bank that complies fully with FAA, EASA, or Australian CASA rules may still be non-compliant with CAAC's CCC requirement if it was purchased outside China and lacks the Chinese certification mark. The device may be perfectly safe and accurately labeled, but the absence of the CCC mark alone renders it prohibited.

Practical options for affected travelers include purchasing a CCC-certified power bank upon arrival in China before attempting any domestic connection, shipping personal power banks home before connecting domestically, or adjusting device carry habits to rely on in-flight USB charging ports where available rather than external battery packs. For shorter domestic segments, this last option is often the most practical.

The risks of non-compliance are concrete. Chinese airport security, particularly at major hub airports, applies thorough screening to carry-on electronics. Travelers who attempt to bring non-certified power banks through security face confiscation without compensation. The devices will not be returned upon arrival. Attempting to argue compliance based on foreign certification standards is unlikely to succeed with checkpoint staff who are enforcing a clearly defined national directive.

The Broader Context: Lithium Battery Safety in 2025

The CAAC's action sits within a broader global trend toward stricter lithium battery regulation in aviation. IATA's June 2024 revision of its dangerous goods regulations included more than 300 changes, with lithium battery guidance among the most substantive updates. The revisions addressed power banks, laptops, vapes, and other consumer electronics, providing clearer guidance on watt-hour limits, packaging requirements, and cargo handling protocols.

Western aviation authorities have moved more cautiously toward mandatory device certification requirements, preferring to rely on watt-hour limits (FAA limits carry-on power banks to 100Wh, with airline approval required up to 160Wh) and the general prohibition on checked lithium batteries. The CAAC's national certification mandate represents a different regulatory philosophy, one that prioritizes product quality verification over capacity-based limits alone.

For travelers who fly frequently across both Western and Asian markets, the practical implication is an increasing need to maintain a mental map of jurisdiction-specific electronics rules. What passes security in New York may be confiscated in Beijing. What is standard practice at Heathrow may require adjustment at Pudong. The era of a single, universal set of rules for personal electronics on aircraft has not arrived, and the CAAC's directive has made it clear that individual countries are prepared to go well beyond international norms when domestic safety records justify doing so.

The safest approach for any frequent flyer, regardless of route, is to invest in a well-established, certified power bank from a reputable manufacturer, keep the original packaging with capacity and certification markings accessible, and verify specific rules for any country in the itinerary that may apply stricter standards than the traveler's home jurisdiction. In China's case, that verification is no longer optional.