Travellers caught out as Chinese airlines ban powerbank batteries

Discarded batteries are piling up at Chinese airports following the introduction of a snap ban on most powerbanks being taken onto flights.

The new rule, which came into force on Saturday June 28 with only two days’ notice, applies to domestic flights within China – although there are reports of passengers boarding international flights from Shanghai also being caught in the crackdown.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration has declared that only powerbanks which carry a local ‘3C’ (China Compulsory Certification) logo will be permitted on flights.

3C certification is a mandatory safety and quality certification for both locally-manufactured and imported products.

If your powerbank battery doesn't have this 3C mark, it can't be carried onto a domestic flight within China.

Of course, almost every powerbank battery pack is already made in China – but chances are that if you check the back of your own trusty powerbank, it will lack the 3C mark.

This is hardly surprising: the CCC certification standard for power banks didn’t exist before August 2023, which in turn means that most power banks didn’t carry this certification until 2024.

And even then, there will have been plenty of batteries manufactured pre-CCC approval still sitting on the shelves and waiting to be sold.

Powerbanks without the CCC mark can be confiscated at airport security checkpoints, while even those with a 3C logo can only be carried in hand luggage.

Many airlines are now banning battery packs from being charged or used during a flight.

It’s not yet known if the CAA ruling also prevents approved powerbanks from being charged up or used in flight – a restriction that’s becoming increasingly common on airlines across Asia, following a spate of incidents involving lithium batteries overheating on planes.

On May 31, a China Southern Airlines flight from Hangzhou to Shenzhen was forced to turn back shortly after take-off when smoke was detected from a passenger’s camera battery and power bank.

Two months earlier, a Hong Kong Airlines flight from Hangzhou to Hong Kong was diverted to Fuzhou when a mid-air fire broke out in the overhead compartment; the blaze was suspected to have been caused by a power bank.

Several leading powerbank manufacturers in China, among them leading brand Anker, have recently recalled batches of powerbank batteries due to safety concerns.