Over the past couple of decades, there have been significant changes to the rules that apply to packing certain types of hazardous items for traveling by air. Those changes have happened partially because of world events and partially because some of the products that are available today didn’t exist 20 years ago. The end result is that traveling by plane has changed a great deal if you’re a nicotine user.
If you haven’t flown in a while – or if you’re a former smoker who has switched to vaping and are used to simply throwing packs of cigarettes in your bag when you’re getting ready to travel – you’re going to find that things are pretty different today if you want to fly with your vape gear.
So, how much vape juice can you bring on a plane? In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know.
What Are the Rules that Apply to Bringing Vapes on a Plane?
The reason why special requirements exist for bringing vapes on a plane is because airlines have specific rules for packing potentially hazardous items. Here are the hazardous materials rules that apply to vapes and vape juice.
- Items with lithium-ion batteries are only allowed in your carry-on bag and can’t be packed in your checked luggage. The reason this rule exists is because a lithium-ion battery has a small chance of overheating and catching fire due to altitude changes or mishandling.
- If you want to bring a liquid item such as vape juice in your carry-on bag, the security official at the airport will need to inspect it along with any other liquids in your bag when you prepare for boarding. This is because certain liquid items are potentially explosive and can’t be taken on a plane.
- There are no special restrictions or requirements for packing liquid items in your checked luggage as long as those items are allowed on flights. Vape juice has no special packing requirements if it’s carried in your checked luggage.
With that basic information out of the way, we’ll discuss the requirements for bringing vape juice on a plane in greater detail.
How to Pack Vape Juice in Your Carry-On Bag
How much vape juice can you bring in your carry-on bag? As many bottles as will fit in a single quart-sized zip-top bag. Individual bottles must be no larger than 100 ml. See the full TSA liquid rules.
In order to bring e-liquid on a plane in your carry-on bag, you need to store the bottles in a single quart-sized zip-top bag along with all of the other liquid items that you want to bring in your hand luggage. All of the vape juice bottles and other liquid items must fit in the same zip-top bag, and none of the items can be in bottles larger than 3.4 oz. E-liquid bottles in sizes of 100 ml and smaller are okay. Only one zip-top bag of liquid items per passenger is allowed.
When your baggage is scanned by the security officer at the airport, you’ll be asked to remove the zip-top bag from your hand luggage and present it for inspection.
How to Pack Vape Juice in Your Checked Luggage
How much vape juice can you bring in your checked luggage? There is no specific limit to the amount of vape juice that you can pack in your checked luggage for personal use.
You can carry any reasonable amount of vape juice that you like in your checked luggage if it’s for your own personal use. Although you’re not required to use a plastic bag for liquid items in your checked luggage, it’s still a good idea because leaking can occur at high altitudes.
How to Bring a Vaping Device on a Plane
If you’re planning to travel with bottled e-liquid, there’s a good chance that you’re going to want to bring a vaping device as well. Since a vaping device has a lithium-ion battery, you must carry it in your carry-on bag and can’t pack it in your checked luggage. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, devices with lithium-ion batteries have special packing requirements because of their elevated fire risk. To prevent accidental activation in your bag, make sure that the device is turned off.
Does your vaping device have a removable battery? In this case, it’s possible that you might want to bring a spare battery or two when traveling. Note, though, that bare batteries have the same requirement as battery-powered devices in that you need to bring them in your carry-on bag rather than your checked luggage. Always pack spare batteries in a padded carrier that isolates the terminals and protects the batteries from damage.
See the full TSA rules on e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
Things to Consider when Traveling with Vape Juice
After reading this article, you’re fully equipped to travel with your vape juice while remaining compliant with all TSA rules. Before you travel with your vape juice and other vape gear, though, we’d like to leave you with two final thoughts that you might find helpful.
- Although there’s no requirement to put your vape juice in a plastic bag if you’re packing it in your checked luggage, it’s a good idea to do so anyway because you wouldn’t want e-liquid to leak on your clothes. You might even consider wrapping tape around the bottles’ lids to further deter leaking. Finally, it’s best only to fly with vape juice bottles that have never been opened and still have their original security seals intact.
- When you’re packing for a trip, it’s likely that space is going to be at a premium in your luggage. It’s helpful to know what the situation is like for vapers where you’re going. If you know that you’ll be able to get more vape juice at your destination, there’s no need to stuff your luggage with a large quantity of bottles that are heavy and could potentially leak; just pack a reasonable amount of vape juice and plan to buy more at a local vape shop if you run out.
