Etihad Airways: can you take a vape, lighter and cigarettes on board?

Etihad's baggage help page answers the question directly: electronic cigarettes may be carried, use of the device is strictly prohibited, and e-cigarettes are only permitted in the cabin bag, never in checked baggage. For flights to or from the US it repeats that loose or spare batteries, power banks, e-cigarettes, e-pipes and other personal vaporisers travel in cabin baggage only.

Heated tobacco devices are not named on that page, so we cannot say whether Etihad treats them as e-cigarettes. Because the page bans smoking in any form, do not use one on board. The detail on batteries and e-liquid is in our guide to vapes on planes.

The wording is broader than most airlines: smoking of any kind, "including the use of lighters, matches or e-cigarettes", is not allowed anywhere on board, including the toilets. So flicking a lighter or striking a match in the cabin breaks the rule on its own, with no cigarette involved. We found no published fine; any penalty is unconfirmed.

• Non-safety matches are on Etihad's list of items not permitted in cabin or checked baggage.
• Flammable liquids, lighter fluid included, are on the same list.
• Lighters shaped like firearms are listed among restricted items.
• Etihad's baggage page does not state how many ordinary lighters you may carry or where. Its Dangerous Goods Carriage Guide is the place to look. The usual international rule, one small lighter on your person, is in our lighters guide.

Etihad allows one power bank per passenger. It must be 100 Wh or less, switched off, protected against short circuit and accidental activation, for example in its retail packaging or a pouch. Using one on board is strictly prohibited, which includes charging devices from it and charging it from aircraft sockets. Spare batteries, like vapes, stay in the cabin.

Etihad's page puts no limit on cigarettes. What you may import is the destination's rule. Etihad flies out of Abu Dhabi, so start with the United Arab Emirates page, and for common routes see United Kingdom, India and Australia.

Etihad's hub is Zayed International, which our data lists as Abu Dhabi International. See the list there for the smoking areas we hold, and use them before the flight: nothing is allowed on board.