Shipping power banks by air

PI 965 — lithium ion cells and batteries shipped on their own, UN 3480. This is where power banks sit. The batteries are the cargo; nothing in the box changes that.

PI 966 — lithium ion batteries packed with equipment, UN 3481. The batteries travel alongside the device they power. And "equipment" is defined: IATA states that for the purpose of PI 966 it means *"the device or apparatus for which the lithium-ion batteries will provide electrical power for its operation."* A cable, an adaptor or a pouch is not equipment, and a box containing them plus batteries is not a PI 966 shipment.

PI 967 — lithium ion batteries contained in equipment, UN 3481. The battery is inside the device: a torch, a speaker, a watch.

The classification decides the packing, the marking, the documentation, the training requirements and in some cases whether the shipment can fly at all — so it is not a paperwork detail, it is the first decision. Get it wrong at the quotation stage and everything downstream is wrong with it.

One nuance worth knowing: a device shipped in or with a charging case is treated as batteries packed with equipment, and should be classified UN 3481 and packed under PI 966. That is a genuinely different situation from a power bank sold with a cable, and the difference is whether the other item is powered by the battery.

Section thresholds, per-package quantity limits and aircraft-type restrictions are deliberately not reproduced here. They belong to the edition of the dangerous goods regulations in force, they change between editions, and a guide that copies them becomes wrong without telling anybody. Ask your forwarder against the current edition — that is the answer that stays correct.

The rule for batteries shipped alone. IATA: *"All lithium ion cells and batteries (UN 3480) and sodium ion cells and batteries (UN 3551) must be shipped at a state of charge (SoC) not exceeding 30% of their rated capacity."* For a power bank consignment this is not optional and it is not a recommendation.

Above 30%. Cells or batteries at a higher state of charge must be offered under Section I of PI 966 with the approval of both the State of Origin and the State of the Operator, under written conditions those authorities establish. That is a real approval process with named parties, not a box to tick, and it is the reason "just ship them charged" is not a plan.

THE 2026 CHANGE. From 1 January 2026, lithium ion batteries packed with equipment — and vehicles powered by lithium ion or sodium ion batteries — must also be offered for air transport at a reduced state of charge unless otherwise approved by the relevant States, under Special Provision A331. So a category that was previously a recommendation is now a requirement, and a shipper working from an older edition or an older habit is working from the wrong rule.

What it means in the factory. State of charge is set at the end of the line, so it belongs in the purchase order and in the packing specification, not in an email to the forwarder the week of shipment. Ask how the factory measures and records it, and ask what it does with units that come off the line outside the window.

And it has a commercial consequence people forget: a product that arrives at a customer nearly empty generates support contacts and returns. That is a packaging and instructions problem to solve deliberately, not a reason to ship charged.

UN 38.3 documentation for the cell, the battery and often the finished article — the test summary that must be made available through the supply chain, plus the report held by whoever commissioned the testing. Check that the model named matches the product and that the applicant is the company invoicing you.

A safety data sheet for the battery. It is part of the dangerous-goods paperwork rather than a marketing document, and it is prepared for the specific battery.

The marking and labelling on the outer packaging. Which marks and labels apply depends on the packing instruction and the section, and they are not decoration — a package presented without the right marks is refused at acceptance, on the day, with the goods on a dock.

The declaration and the training. Depending on classification and section, a shipper's declaration may be required and the people preparing the shipment need current dangerous-goods training. This is why "our forwarder handles it" is only an answer if the forwarder has actually been told what is in the box — and told correctly, which brings you back to the classification.

The practical sequence: classify at quotation, write the state of charge into the purchase order, get the UN 38.3 summary before production, agree the packing and marking with the forwarder before the goods are packed, and check the marks on the actual cartons before they leave. Every one of those is cheap in that order and expensive in any other.

Misclassification, first and by a distance. A box with a cable in it declared as "packed with equipment"; a power bank declared as a device; a product with a charging case declared as batteries alone. Each of these is decided by what the battery powers, and each is checkable before anything is booked.

State of charge not managed at the factory. It is set on the production line and cannot be fixed at the airport, so a consignment that arrives at the forwarder charged is a consignment that waits.

Documentation for the wrong model. A UN 38.3 summary for a similar product, a safety data sheet for a different cell, or a report whose applicant is a company nobody in the transaction recognises.

A silent design change. The factory changed the cell in a cost-down and the paperwork still describes the old one. This is the failure that survives every check because every document is internally consistent — and it is why the cell belongs in the contract with a notification clause.

And working from an old edition. The rules change between editions of the dangerous goods regulations, and the 1 January 2026 state-of-charge extension is a live example. Confirm against the edition in force rather than against what was true the last time you shipped.