If you’re planning to travel, you need to know how to bring your vape on a plane safely. Traveling with a vape brings an extra layer of complication compared to traveling with cigarettes because you can’t just throw your vape gear in your pocket like you could with cigarettes and matches. Airlines have special rules about traveling with liquids and lithium-ion batteries – and vapes have both of those. In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about bringing your vape on a plane.
Bringing Your Vape on a Plane: Key Takeaways
- A vaping device should always go in your carry-on bag and not in your checked luggage. Ensure that the device is turned off or otherwise protected from unwanted activation.
- If you want to pack e-liquids or filled vape pods in your carry-on bag, you need to put them in a clear zip-top bag with your other liquids. You can also pack liquid items in your checked luggage.
- If you’re traveling to another country, research that nation’s vaping laws before you go.
How to Bring Your Vape on a Plane
There are a few rules about bringing a vape on a plane that apply to all airlines and all types of vapes. These rules exist because of the special handling requirements for lithium-ion batteries and for liquids carried in the passenger cabin. Here’s how to pack your vape gear for the flight.
- Vaping Devices: Aside from two exceptions that we’ll describe below, vaping devices should always go in your carry-on bag and not in your checked luggage. This is because lithium-ion batteries are always prohibited in checked bags.
- Spare Batteries: If your vape has removable batteries, extra batteries need to go in your carry-on bag. Put them in a dedicated carrier that prevents them from hitting other items or touching metal objects.
- Bottled E-Liquid and Filled Vape Pods: If you want to put bottled e-liquid or filled vape pods in your carry-on bag, they need to go in a single quart-sized zip-top bag with your toiletries and other liquid items. You can also carry vape juice in your checked luggage with no special requirements or restrictions.
- Empty Pods and Replacement Coils: You can pack empty pods, replacement coils and other spare parts in whatever way is most convenient for you.
Exceptions
There are two potential exceptions for the above rule on vaping devices that can allow you to bring your vape on a plane in a different way if you want to. Those exceptions are:
- Vapes Without Batteries:You can pack your vape in your checked luggage if it has removable batteries, and the batteries are packed separately in your carry-on bag. Airline baggage inspectors are trained to look for devices with lithium-ion batteries, though, so you might want to put a sticky note on the device explaining that the batteries are removed.
- Pocket Carrying:Some airlines will allow you to carry a vaping device in your pocket as long as you don’t attempt to charge or use it during the flight.
Bringing Your Vape on a Plane Safely
When you bring your vape on a plane, you want to be as sure as possible that there will be no chance of overheating or leaking. Keep these important safety pointers in mind.
- Turn your vape off when packing it. If it has a manual fire button, you can turn it off by pressing the button five times. If it’s puff activated, you can turn it off by disconnecting the pod or tank.
- Use a padded carrier for spare batteries. It’s crucial to prevent batteries from being damaged or touching other metal objects.
- Tape e-liquid bottles to ensure that they can’t leak.
- Leave disposable vapes in their original packaging to prevent leaking and unwanted activation.
- Don’t attempt to charge your vape on the plane, either inside your carry-on bag or by using your seat’s USB port.
What Happens if You Put a Vape in Your Carry-On Bag?
This is the correct way to bring a vape on a plane. Refer to the section above for advice about how to pack your vape safely. When you go through the security checkpoint, your carry-on bag will be scanned by an x-ray machine. The security officer may ask you to remove your vape for closer examination, but it’s unlikely since the officer will have seen many vapes before. Once the security scan is complete, you’ll be on your way.
What Happens if You Put a Vape in Your Checked Luggage?
If you put a vape in your checked luggage, it will most likely be found and confiscated by security inspectors. If that happens, you will probably not have any way to get it back – so make sure that you carry your vape correctly in your carry-on bag.
No airline allows vapes or other devices with lithium-ion batteries to be stored in a plane’s cargo hold because of the elevated fire risk that the batteries present. If a fire occurs, it needs to happen in the passenger cabin where flight personnel can respond to it promptly.
How to Bring Your Vape Juice on a Plane
If you want to pack vape juice in your carry-on bag, you need to place it in a zip-top bag with your other liquid and gel items. You’re also free to pack e-liquid in your checked luggage.
Airlines also have special rules about traveling with liquids and gels if you intend to bring those items in your carry-on luggage. For that reason, you’ll have to make special considerations if you want to bring vape juice on a plane.
- Airlines’ restrictions about traveling with liquids apply to every liquid or gel product that you want to bring. That includes bottles of vape juice and any vape tanks or pods containing e-liquid. It also applies to toiletry products like toothpaste, soap, perfume and shampoo.
- To carry a bottle of vape juice in your carry-on bag, the bottle must be 1 oz (about 30 ml) or smaller.
- All of the liquid products in your carry-on bag must fit in a single quart-sized zip-top bag. When you go through the security checkpoint at the airport, you’ll need to remove the zip-top bag from your carry-on bag and present it for a separate inspection.
After you fill your zip-top bag with all of the toiletries and other items that you want to bring in your carry-on bag, you may find that there isn’t a lot of room left over for vape juice. However, the restrictions that apply to bringing liquids on a plane only apply to the liquids in your carry-on bag. You can bring additional vape juice in your checked baggage without restrictions. It’s a good idea, though, to pack your extra e-liquid in plastic bags in case the bottles leak.
Can You Vape on a Plane?
It’s illegal to vape on a plane. Bring a nicotine replacement product if you’re concerned about cravings.
No airlines allow vaping in flight. You should never attempt to vape on a plane because you will almost certainly be caught and will then face significant legal problems. If you have a long flight and are concerned that you’ll be uncomfortable without access to nicotine, you should bring an alternative form of nicotine supplementation like nicotine gum or pouches.
Can You Vape at the Airport?
You can only vape at an airport if you’re in a designated smoking area. Some airports only have smoking areas outside their terminals, so you should bring a nicotine replacement product if you don’t want to leave the airport.
If you’re in a place where smoking isn’t allowed, you should always assume that you can’t vape there either.
- If you’re at an airport, you can only vape in a designated smoking area. Many airport terminals have no smoking areas at all, which means that you’ll need to go outside to vape.
- If you can’t find a smoking area at the airport, ask an employee. Some airports have smoking areas that they don’t advertise.
- If you’re at a foreign airport with no smoking area inside the terminal, you’ll need to go through customs in order to go outside and vape.
- To avoid the inconvenience of trying to find a place where you can vape at the airport, you should consider traveling with a nicotine replacement product that you can use anywhere.
Can You Buy Vape Juice and Replacement Coils Abroad?
When you’re traveling abroad, it’s crucial to know the vaping laws in your destination country before you go.
- There are some nations where vaping is banned entirely.
- There are some nations where vapes are legal to own and use but not to buy or sell.
- There are some nations where vaping is legal, but vapes with nicotine aren’t available or can’t be purchased without a prescription.
Even if vaping supplies are readily available where you’re going, it’s possible that the prices will be much higher than what you’re used to paying. You’ll want to research the local prices before you go. You can avoid the potential stress by packing all of the supplies that you expect to use during the trip.
Always Learn the Local Vaping Laws Before You Travel
Don’t vape in public while traveling unless you’re sure that you’re in an area where vaping is allowed.
The last thing to consider about traveling with your vape gear is whether you’ll be allowed to vape in all of the places where you’re used to vaping at home. Maybe you like to vape, for instance, while you’re going for a walk in the park. However, many nations and localities have public smoking bans that also apply to vaping – and that’s another factor you’ll need to be aware of before you travel. It’s always safe to assume that you shouldn’t vape in a place where you wouldn’t be allowed to smoke.
What Do Some Top Airlines Say About Bringing Vapes on Planes?
Along with the Transportation Security Administration, many airlines have also established their own rules regarding bringing vapes on planes. We’ve gathered information from some of the largest airlines for your reference.
- American Airlines: American Airlines requires you to bring a vape in your carry-on bag only and specifies that “you’re not allowed to use [vapes] onboard any flight.”
- British Airways: British Airways allows you to bring a vape on a plane only “in your smaller hand bag” or “on your person” and specifies that the device must be “packaged to prevent accidental activation.”
- China Southern Airlines: China Southern Airlines reminds passengers that vapes “are not allowed to be transported as checked baggage.”
- Delta Air Lines: Delta Air Lines allows vapes to be brought on planes “as carry-on items only” and prohibits “using or recharging them” while on board.
- Emirates: Emirates requires vapes to be “individually protected to prevent accidental activation.”
- Qatar Airways: Qatar Airways requires you to carry your vape “in your hand baggage” and also specifies that “recharging of the equipment or the battery on board the aircraft is not permitted.”
- Ryanair: Ryanair says that “you can take e-cigs on the plane but you cannot use them.”
- Southwest Airlines: Southwest reminds passengers that vapes “are not permitted in checked baggage” and that “e-cigarette use is forbidden onboard aircraft.”
Important Note: International Vaping Laws Can Change Without Notice
Vaping regulations are continually evolving. Research the relevant laws about bringing vapes on a plane before you travel.
The most important thing to know about bringing your vape on a plane is that airlines’ rules about vaping – and the vaping laws in the various nations around the world – can change without notice. Although the information presented in this article is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing, it is your responsibility to confirm all applicable rules and regulations before you travel.