KLM: vapes, lighters and cigarettes on board

This page is based on KLM's own restricted-items pages for hand baggage and checked baggage on klm.com. Rules can change, so check klm.com before you fly.

KLM's hand-baggage page says e-cigarettes (including e-cigars, e-pipes and other personal vaporizers) containing batteries must be completely switched off and carried on your person at all times, and "are not permitted in your baggage". Each device must be protected individually against accidental activation, and recharging on board is prohibited. Its checked-baggage page adds: you are never allowed to pack an electronic cigarette in your checked luggage. This is stricter than the general international rule, which lets the vape sit in a cabin bag.

In practice that means a jacket or trouser pocket. EASA, the European regulator, adds that e-cigarettes may be carried only in the cabin and may not be recharged on board.

KLM also tells passengers to check the local laws at their destination, which may be stricter than at home. Some countries ban vapes outright; see the India rules page.

KLM's hand-baggage page says you may carry small cigarette lighters and safety matches only on your person, not in your small bag or hand baggage; its checked-baggage page says the same (not packed as hand baggage). Lighter fluid, and gas such as butane, are on its prohibited lists. We found no rule on how many lighters or boxes, and no list of lighter types KLM refuses.

Our general guide lists lighter types banned on most airlines: lighters on planes.

• Power banks count as spare batteries; you can bring up to 2.
• If the capacity in Wh is not listed on the power bank, you may not be able to bring it.
• A battery of 100 to 160 Wh needs permission first; above 160 Wh is never allowed.
• Keep a power bank with you: not in the overhead bin, and using or charging it on board is not allowed.
• Spare batteries go in the cabin, each packed separately in its original packaging or with the contacts taped, and cannot be recharged on board.

KLM's hand-baggage page also lets you carry up to 20 spare batteries and up to 15 electronic devices with a battery of 100 Wh or less.

We found no KLM limit on cigarettes. What limits you is customs where you land. Dutch rules are on the Netherlands rules page. KLM flies to many countries with tight tobacco or vape rules, for example:

• India
• United States
• China

We found nothing on heated tobacco devices in KLM's wording. Our reading, not KLM's: a heated tobacco holder contains a battery, so keep it on you, off, and do not use it on board.

KLM's hub is Amsterdam Schiphol. Its page here lists the smoking areas and whether each is before or after security.

We found no fine published by KLM or Dutch authorities for smoking or vaping on board, so we state none. See can you bring a vape on a plane for what other countries charge.