Rules for Flying with Vapes and Carts on a Plane

Can you bring a vape on a plane?

Vaping devices like vape mods and vape pens can travel with you on airplanes. They can go in carry-on luggage or in your pockets. But never in checked luggage. That's for any kind of vapes that have lithium batteries.

While nicotine e-liquid or extra pods can be packed in either carry-on or checked bags, federally controlled substances like cannabis products—even small amounts, such as residue in devices—are prohibited on most United States flights. Don't risk it.

The advice in this article applies in most places around the world, although we specifically reference U.S. Transportation Security Administration regulations. Since there may be minor variations in how TSA vape rules are applied by different airlines even in the U.S., it’s best to check the specific airline rules before you fly. If you’re traveling to an unfamiliar country, you should also check the local vaping laws before you depart. Some countries have outright vape bans—in which case flying with a vape pen might be the least of your worries!

How to pack e-juice, batteries, and devices

Flying with vaping devices and batteries

Because of concerns over fires in the cargo hold, all electronic devices and vape batteries must be carried onto the plane. You can’t pack them in checked baggage. This is a worldwide rule, with no exceptions. If you forget and your luggage is x-rayed by the baggage handlers, you’re liable to lose your devices and batteries, and find your suitcase and its contents roughed up. Or they might leave your luggage at the departure airport. So take your vape devices aboard in your cabin luggage (or in your pocket).

More tips for flying with vape devices:

Traveling with vape juice: important tips

All liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes carried onto the plane must be in 100 mL (or smaller) bottles, and must fit into a single 1-quart plastic bag, per TSA rules. That includes toothpaste, shampoo, hair gel, lip balm, deodorant—and e-juice too.

If you’re bringing more bottled vape juice than will fit in the 1-quart bag allowed in your carry-on, you’ll have to put it in your checked luggage. If you do that, double bag it to avoid arriving for your week-long vacation with a suitcase full of wet vanilla custard-smelling clothes! Good news: there’s no size limit for liquids in checked baggage, and pods and cartridges are also allowed.

Tips for flying with e-liquid:

Alternative nicotine products for travelling

While your vape is likely your preferred way of consuming nicotine, there are alternative products that can make travelling a lot easier—especially when you’re travelling long distances and have no option to vape. Using alternative products, like nicotine toothpicks or pouches, is a great way to get through a long trip without being distracted all the way with nicotine cravings.

Without visible vapor, nobody knows you’re consuming nicotine. Nicotine pouches are an excellent option if you just want to handle your cravings, while nicotine toothpicks come with the added bonus of satisfying the hand-to-mouth habit that’s associated with both smoking and vaping.

What about CBD Oil and THC vapes?

Can you take CBD oil or vape juice on a plane?

Although the TSA changed its CBD policy last year—following passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp production in the United States—it’s still risky to travel with CBD, even if your CBD oil (tincture) or vape juice is under the 0.3% THC limit. Even though the Farm Bill legalized CBD manufacture, it offered no protections to consumers who possess and use the products.

State CBD laws vary greatly: from no rules at all, to completely legal, to illegal and punishable like any other kind of cannabis product. The TSA says it doesn’t search for illegal drugs specifically, but the agency’s policy is to hand anything suspicious over to airport security, which is usually local police. CBD arrests at airports unfortunately do occur. But even if you ultimately walk away, you could spend a long time being questioned and waiting for your CBD products to be tested.

“Until the law is very, very clear, people are going to get arrested for possession of things that aren’t explicitly illegal,” says cannabis law expert Griffen Thorne. “The best thing for consumers to do is just not to bring it into any federal jurisdiction, period,” Thorne said. “Especially anywhere on a plane.”

The bottom line is that you’re still legally at risk carrying CBD products through airport security. The only absolute exception to that is Epidiolex, the CBD-based drug approved by the FDA in 2018 to treat seizure disorders.

We recommend not traveling with CBD of any kind.

Flying with weed, THC and delta 8 vape cartridges

Flying with vape cartridges or weed is risky. In the U.S., cannabis is federally illegal. After you pass security at the airport, while you're in the air, and up until you exit the airport at your destination, you’re subject to federal laws and can be charged with possession (or worse). While the TSA doesn’t actively search for drugs, they will turn you and your products over to airport security (usually local police) if they notice something. In some states and cities, local authorities may not care. In many they will.

Flying with empty vape pens or dry herb vaporizers is fine—as long as they’re completely clean of any cannabis residue. That means before you leave, get out Q-Tips and isopropyl alcohol and thoroughly scrub every millimeter of the vape, including the herb chamber, air path, mouthpiece, and even the outer surfaces. If you’re not certain that a drug-sniffing dog won’t be able to detect a molecule of cannabis in your vape, don’t take it with you.

Marijuana is illegal in most countries, and so are its concentrate, oil, and edible forms. If you’re not traveling to a country where cannabis is legal, remember that your dry herb vape or oil pen may be considered illegal contraband. Sometimes even countries where pot use is legal or tolerated have laws prohibiting possession of paraphernalia.

Flying with cannabis products is probably more trouble than it’s worth. Unless you live in Canada, and are flying between Canadian cities and not outside of the country, you’re likely to face problems. Even if authorities wind up letting you go, you might face an uncomfortable search, a long interview with security staff or police, and confiscation of your weed vapes. If you’re going to a country where it’s legal, it’s safer to buy and consume it there.

We recommend not traveling with cannabis or THC vape cartridges.

The same goes for delta 8 THC products. While hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta 8 and HHC are federally legal, confusing state laws and potential misunderstandings by TSA screeners and drug-sniffing dogs could cause problems you don’t want. Any kind of cannabis, legal or not, could lead to a long day of uncomfortable interactions with police, a missed flight, or worse.

For more details on flying with delta 8 and other hemp-derived cannabinoids, see our article Can You Fly & Travel With Delta 8? Know Your Rules.

What to expect from airport security

TSA rules for vapes

You already know the most important TSA vape rules: liquids in carry-on bags all go into a single 1-quart bag, and all electronic devices and lithium batteries must be carried onto the plane, and must go (along with the traveler) through security screening.

To the TSA, vaping devices are just another potential security threat. To prove that your huge 200-watt touchscreen mod isn’t an explosive, TSA screeners may ask you to turn it on, so make sure any device you carry onto the plane is already charged. That probably won’t happen with smaller devices like vape pens or pod vapes, but since you’re not allowed to charge vaping devices on the plane anyway, you might as well charge everything at home before you leave.

Finally, if you carry a coil-building kit wherever you go, be prepared to explain why you’re traveling with suspicious items like spools of wire, screwdrivers, and wire cutters. Consider using an atomizer with pre-wrapped coils when you fly—especially to countries where vaping may be completely unfamiliar and you don’t speak the local language.

Vaping in airports and on planes: is it allowed?

With one exception, it’s illegal to vape in airports—and it’s always illegal to vape on a plane. The exception is a designated smoking lounge. There aren’t many of these tar-stained glass boxes left though, so don’t count on finding one.

You could break the rules and risk a citation, or even ejection from the airport—which would mean missing your flight and defaulting on the price of your ticket. Once you board the plane, the risks grow. Can you bring a JUUL on a plane? Yes, but if you vape it, you’ll face the same penalties you would for smoking on a plane. You can be arrested and fined—or even jailed when you reach your destination.

A better idea is to find a suitable nicotine alternative to use while flying. Smokeless tobacco like snus, tobacco-free nicotine pouches, and nicotine gum and lozenges are all popular with nicotine users trapped in no-vape zones. They’re not as enjoyable as vaping, but they’re not going to get you in trouble with airport security either.

See you in the clouds!