Our Vape Travel Guide: Are Vapes Allowed on Planes?

Important: This article gives general safety and regulatory information for adults. It doesn’t promote vaping or the purchase of vaping products. Vaping products can’t legally be sold or supplied to anyone under 18. If you don’t already smoke, don’t start vaping.

Already use a vaping device? Check the aviation, airline, transit-country and destination rules before you go. They shift often, and quite a few are stricter than what New Zealand asks for.

Can You Fly with Your Vape?

New Zealand aviation rules let you carry a vaping device on board. Carry-on baggage only, and that’s on top of whatever the airline itself requires, in relation to aviation laws for carrying e-cigarettes/vaping devices. And laws in relation to anywhere you’re transiting through or landing in, because some destinations outright ban the transport of vaping devices/e-cigarettes, so it’s best to check your destination rules before travel.

Carry-on Only

A vaping device, or a spare lithium battery, has no business in checked luggage. Keep it in your carry-on, keep it from switching on by accident or short-circuiting, and do whatever the airline asks of you. There’s more on general lithium battery travel rules here.

Cabin Pressure

Changes in cabin pressure may cause leakage. Follow the device manufacturer’s and airline’s instructions before travel.

Using Your Vape

Recharging it or using it doesn’t matter; neither can happen during the flight. Airports differ wildly on where vaping’s allowed, so stick to a spot the airport’s actually designated for it.

How to Pack Your Vape Gear

NZ Aviation Security keeps this simple: every part of an e-cigarette goes in carry-on, full stop, and spare lithium batteries stay nowhere near checked luggage. Flying internationally out of New Zealand, liquids, aerosols and gels in your carry-on are usually capped at 100 mL per container, packed inside the prescribed transparent resealable bag. Airlines and airports can tack on extra limits of their own, so check both before departure day. 

Bringing Vape Gear Back into New Zealand

New Zealand has prohibited the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of disposable vaping devices since 17 June 2025. Importation, possession, acquisition, sale and supply can be subject to different requirements. Check current New Zealand Customs and Ministry of Health requirements for the specific product before importing or carrying any vaping product into New Zealand.

Do not assume that a product may be brought into New Zealand for personal use. Obtain current guidance from New Zealand Customs and the Ministry of Health before travel. Selling, gifting or otherwise supplying a prohibited disposable vaping device in New Zealand is not allowed.

Learn the Local Vape Laws

Rules vary country to country. Some ban possession outright, others ban importation, plenty ban both. Australia runs a narrow traveller exemption: vaping goods have to be for treating the traveller, or someone in their care on the same ship or aircraft. The current cap sits at two vapes, 20 accessories and 200 mL of vaping substance, and you’ll still need to check TGA and state or territory requirements on top of that. 

Skip carrying vaping products into any country where possession or importation isn’t allowed. Check the destination, transit points, airline and airports before you leave, covering possession, importation, and use.

Travelling with Your Vape, Made Simple

Confirm the current rules before you go: airline, aviation-security authorities, destination and transit-country regulators, and New Zealand Customs for the trip home. A device making it onto the plane says nothing about whether it’s legal to possess or bring in at your destination. Check the latest travel guidance before you pack.