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Am I allowed to bring a gaming laptop on an airplane?

I bought a very expensive gaming computer and this is my first time flying out of the country. There are very low temperatures while flying so I want to bring my gaming laptop as carry-on luggage with a mouse and the power supply brick. I will not be playing with it at all, I just don't want it to get messed up.

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  • The answer might depend on which country you're flying out of and which you're flying to. Also, the main reason you wouldn't want your laptop in checked baggage is the risk of damage from getting bashed around by baggage handlers and machines, and the possibility of theft. Aug 14, 2017 at 7:39

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The US and UK currently ban electronic devices larger than a mobile phone in carry-on luggage from certain countries in and around the Middle East and North Africa.

Other than that, I'm not aware of any other restriction on bringing laptops and their mains power supplies onto planes as hand luggage. Indeed, many airlines allow you to bring a laptop bag as a second piece of carry-on.

To be sure, check the baggage regulations of the airline you'll be travelling on and the pages about hand baggage and security on your airport's website. But the answer will be "Yes, that's fine" unless there's something unusual going on (and the US/UK ban is unusual).

Note that some airports might ask you to switch on the laptop, to prove that it works. (People have tried to smuggle bombs in hollowed-out laptops.) So make sure there's some charge in your battery when you go through security.

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  • Is this ban still current?
    – gerrit
    Jun 26, 2019 at 8:21
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Yes you can carry the laptop in the hand-baggage.

However, I am not sure about the power supply brick. Some airlines don't allow them in the check-in baggage. So, you might want to go through the reservation docs or the safety docs on the airline's website before taking it along.


Clarification:

The power bricks I was referring to are the external battery packs. If the OP meant the laptop chargers, then yes, they are allowed along with the hand-baggage.

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    What airline wouldn't allow a laptop power supply? Aug 14, 2017 at 6:21
  • @ZachLipton Indigo Airlines in India doesn't.
    – Dawny33
    Aug 14, 2017 at 6:22
  • @Dawny33 Are you sure? That's not mentioned in Indigo's conditions of carriage (Section 10.4 deals with hand baggage), or on their Baggage Allowance page. I've never heard of an airline in Europe or the US forbidding laptop power supplies. Aug 14, 2017 at 7:24
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    Not sure whether I confused you folks. But, I meant the portable charger bricks which you can use for charging phones. Not the laptop chargers. @DavidRicherby Indigo explicitly checks for portable chargers and make you sign a sticker which says that the bag doesn't have a portable charger. [Experienced a week back in Mumbai]
    – Dawny33
    Aug 14, 2017 at 7:26
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    @Dawny33 So what you're actually saying is that Indigo ban high-capacity batteries? If so, that's not what the question is about. The question is about the laptop's mains adaptor. Aug 14, 2017 at 7:29

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