Airlines do not invent battery rules in isolation: they implement dangerous goods requirements aligned with the ICAO Technical Instructions and industry manuals such as IATA’s Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). For the 2025–2026 cycle, IATA publishes DGR 67 together with periodic addenda that adjust details such as packing instructions, state-of-charge limits for certain shipments, and operator variations. The first addendum dated 1 January 2026 is the authoritative place to see what changed for that edition — especially if you rely on airline cargo, ship spare batteries professionally, or need the exact table entries your carrier’s compliance team uses.

What this means for everyday passengers

Most travellers only need the IATA passenger summary on lithium batteries: spare power banks and loose batteries belong in carry-on, protected against short circuit, with Wh limits (typically 100 Wh without approval; 100–160 Wh with airline approval; over 160 Wh not on passenger flights). The DGR addendum PDF is aimed at shippers and airline dangerous-goods staff; if your airline tightens cabin rules in 2026 (e.g. no in-flight charging), that is usually a company policy layered on top of these baselines — always read the carrier’s own notice.

Where to read the official text

This article links primary IATA publications. It does not replace the full DGR tables — use the PDFs above or your airline’s published battery policy for trip-specific compliance.

Worked example: reading your power bank label

Take a typical 20,000 mAh pack that prints 74 Wh at 3.7 V nominal. Security screening is not a maths exam, but officers may ask you to show that the Wh figure is under 100 Wh (or under 160 Wh with approval). Keep the device accessible, terminals taped or recessed, and be ready to explain that spare lithium batteries must never go in checked baggage — that rule is universal for passenger flights and is repeated in the IATA passenger PDF linked above.

At the gate: what to have ready

  • Carry the power bank in hand baggage only; do not gate-check bags that still contain loose spare batteries.
  • If you are near 100 Wh or 160 Wh, print or save the airline approval email and the manufacturer label photo before you leave home.
  • If crew announce a cabin ban on charging, comply immediately — that airline policy sits alongside, not instead of, DGR baselines.

If you ship batteries for work, bookmark the addendum PDF and subscribe to IATA’s dangerous-goods mailing list — passenger summaries will not list every packing instruction change. For personal travel, the passenger PDF plus your airline’s battery page is enough, but keep a screenshot of both before departure in case airport Wi-Fi is unreliable.

When in doubt, choose a power bank that prints Wh clearly under 100 Wh, avoid aftermarket cells with scraped labels, and never pack spare batteries inside checked ski or golf bags even if the airline offers free hold space — the hold prohibition is not negotiable.