Can you take batteries on a plane?

Batteries on flights in and from Japan

The rule for batteries comes from the Civil Aviation Bureau's list of restricted items and is the same on domestic and international flights.

The two-per-person limit for lithium-ion spares over 100Wh is shared with power banks of the same size and with spare lithium metal batteries of over 2g up to 8g of lithium, which Japan's list allows for portable medical devices.

Dry cells, lithium spares and wet batteries: how the lists sort them

The answer for a battery depends on its chemistry and on whether it sits inside a device, travels loose or has been taken out.

The order of Japan's battery section

The battery section of Japan's list opens with dry cells, nickel-metal hydride and nickel-cadmium batteries, each marked as non-dangerous goods for cabin and hold. Lithium metal and lithium-ion come next, each split by where the battery is: inside a device, carried as a spare, or fitted in luggage. Power banks follow under a heading of their own.

A battery taken out of a device is a spare

Japan's list words its spare-battery rows to include batteries removed from an electronic device, and the passenger leaflet gives a digital camera's backup battery as the example. A lithium cell pulled out of a camera before the bag is checked is therefore a spare: it goes in the cabin, protected against short circuits.

Narita's FAQ and the national leaflet count spares differently

Narita Airport's FAQ says backup lithium-ion batteries should be brought in carry-on baggage, up to 2 pieces. The Civil Aviation Bureau's leaflet sets no count limit for spare batteries of 100Wh or less and limits only those over 100Wh up to 160Wh to 2, a count shared with power banks of that size.

Spare AA cells in a checked bag: Australia goes the other way

Japan, the TSA, Taiwan's CAA and Hong Kong's CAD all let spare dry cells travel in checked baggage. Australia's CASA flags its Battery Dry - spare entry as not to be checked in and notes that most operators require all spare batteries in carry-on baggage. Dry cells installed in equipment may be checked under CASA's list.

Wet and lead-acid batteries are a separate class

Japan's list refuses lead-acid batteries that are not leak-proof in both cabin and hold, and accepts leak-proof ones of 12V or less and 100Wh or less. The TSA bans spillable batteries except those in wheelchairs. GOV.UK names spillable wet batteries among the items that cannot go in hand luggage or the hold.

Batteries: the rule country by country

In the United States the authority's page lists batteries as allowed in carry-on.

Each row comes from that authority's own page. Airlines can be stricter, and the screening officer has the final say.

If security in Japan will not let batteries through

What to do

Spare lithium batteries cannot be moved to a checked bag: they travel in the cabin only. Dry cells and nickel-metal hydride batteries can go in either bag. Narita Airport states that anything given up at the checkpoint is discarded and cannot be returned.

Buying batteries in Japan

Where to buy

Convenience stores, hundred-yen shops, supermarkets.

Related items

• Power banks (portable chargers)
• Chargers and AC adapters
• Laptops
• Tablets and smartphones
• Cameras
• Wireless earbuds and headphones