Carrying external battery packs - anybody done it?
 

I'm about to make my first US flight post the new restrictions. I always carry an external battery pack to recharge my iPhone or iPad if necessary; however, I'm concerned that this will raise suspicion in the new regime.

Has anybody been challenged about having an additional battery with them when travelling?

Gareth

I have been carrying lots of small batteries (AA, AAA, and extra cell phone batteries) as well as external battery rechargers (2600, 5200 even 12,000 mAh) with me for years on both domestic and international flights to/from the US; have never had even a question about them.

I routinely travel with at least one USB battery pack. In a place like Manhattan, if I use maps to get where I am going the combination of GPS and using the screen a lot drains the battery. Plus it's easy to do lots of business without being near a charging opportunity!

I am not sure TSA has ever noticed, but I am always in the Precheck line, so YMMV.

I've never traveled with a USB powerpack. There are always extra batteries in my camera bag, though. Only once have they drawn any interest at security--and that was in IIRC Guilin, China. Once they were satisfied that what they were looking at on the x-ray was a box of batteries that was the end of it, they had no problem with my carrying batteries.

Thanks for the response, but I was referring specifically to journeys after the new regs came in last week.
I too have travelled for years with external battery packs, but with the heightened security, I was wondering if anybody had been pulled up.

I always fly with an Anker 15000mAh external battery and never had a problem.

If they want you to turn it on or demonstrate, you just hook up your charger to it and your preferred device.

Flew AMS-> JFK Monday night with a power pack. No issues.

It's the *device* that has to be operating and that means it's battery has to be charged --- just a throw back to when you had to turn your laptop on for every domestic flight.

Bob H