Camera Batteries on Planes: Watt-Hours for Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, GoPro and More

Every camera battery in our database with a published rating is under 40 Wh, and almost all are under 17 Wh, so none needs airline approval under IATA's lithium battery guidance or the FAA's PackSafe rules. Spares must be in your carry-on with the terminals protected, and IATA's 2026 guidance caps spares at 20 per person unless the airline approves more. The table below lists the watt-hour rating for each battery so you can answer the question at check-in.

Rules change, and airlines can set stricter limits. Check your airline's dangerous goods page before you fly.

Watt-hours for common camera batteries

Specs from the makers' published data, checked October 2026. * Watt-hours computed as capacity times voltage where the maker lists only those two.

Insta360 and GoPro do not list voltage or watt-hours on the spec pages we used for these models. IATA requires the watt-hour rating to be marked on the outside of every lithium ion battery, so read it off the battery itself and keep a photo of the label on your phone.

The rules for camera batteries

Inside the camera

IATA classes cameras as portable electronic devices. Its table allows a device with a battery of 100 Wh or less in carry-on or checked baggage, but in checked baggage the device must be completely switched off, not in sleep mode. IATA's advice to passengers is still to keep cameras in hand baggage. A camera body in the hold is also a theft and damage risk, so most people carry it anyway.

Spares

The FAA's PackSafe page says spare lithium ion batteries must be carried in carry-on baggage only. IATA's guidance says spare batteries are not allowed in checked baggage. A battery taken out of the camera counts as a spare.

The 100 Wh line

Up to 100 Wh: no airline approval needed. From 100 to 160 Wh: airline approval required, and the FAA limits these to two spares per person. Over 160 Wh: IATA says they must travel as cargo. Ordinary camera batteries never come near 100 Wh. The batteries that do are large V-mount and similar packs for cinema cameras and lights, which are sold in sizes on both sides of the line. Read the label before you pack one.

How many spares

The FAA says there is no quantity limit for most batteries if they are for your own use, and warns that many airlines set stricter limits. IATA's March 2026 guidance sets a maximum of 20 spare batteries of any type per person, and 15 portable electronic devices, with more allowed only if the airline approves. A wedding shooter with two bodies, a flash and spare AA lithium cells can count higher than expected, so count everything that has a battery in it.

Terminals protected

The FAA lists acceptable methods: the original retail packaging, tape over the terminals, a battery case, a battery sleeve in a camera bag, or a snug plastic bag or protective pouch. The plastic caps that come with Sony, Canon and Nikon batteries do this job. Keep them; they are the cheapest piece of travel gear you own.

Camera batteries are spares, not power banks

On 27 March 2026 the International Civil Aviation Organization added new rules for power banks. IATA's guidance now separates power banks from spare batteries: power banks are limited to two per person and must not be recharged on board. A spare battery, in IATA's definition, is one designed to fit a specific device. Your NP-FZ100s are spares. A USB power bank you use to top up the camera is a power bank and counts toward the two.

Some battery grips and USB battery packs sold for cameras blur this line. If a pack has its own USB output and charges other devices, treat it as a power bank.

Gate-checked bags

If your carry-on is taken to the hold at the gate, the FAA says all spare lithium batteries and power banks must be removed and kept with you in the cabin. IATA's guidance says to remove all lithium batteries and devices first. Keep spares in one pouch you can pull out in one move, and keep the camera body in the bag you keep under the seat.

Damaged batteries

The FAA says damaged or recalled batteries must not be carried in carry-on or checked baggage. A battery with a swollen case, a cracked shell or a third-party battery that gets hot when charging should stay at home.

Check the Wh yourself

If a label is worn or a third-party battery lists only milliamp-hours and volts, the FAA's formula is voltage times amp-hours:

Wh = V x Ah
Sony NP-FZ100: 7.2 V x 2.28 Ah = 16.4 Wh
Canon LP-E6P:  7.2 V x 2.13 Ah = 15.3 Wh

IATA says staff may refuse a battery whose rating they cannot verify from the battery or its documentation. Cheap third-party batteries with no printed rating are the ones most likely to cause a conversation.

A packing pattern that works

• One battery in each camera, switched off.
• Spares capped and together in one pouch in the cabin bag.
• Power banks counted separately: two at most.
• The charger in the checked bag is fine; a charger holds no battery.
• Count everything with a battery if you are carrying a lot: IATA's limits are 20 spares and 15 devices per person.

Drone batteries follow the same rules and have their own table in drone batteries on planes. For charging once you land, see charging camera gear abroad.

Related

• Drone batteries on planes
• Camera bag weight and carry-on limits
• Travel camera kit checklist
• Charging camera gear abroad