Can You Bring Pencil Sharpeners on Planes?

Rules for Flights in the USA

On flights in the United States, pencil sharpeners are allowed in hand and cargo baggage. TSA doesn’t list any exceptions, so we can assume both electric and manual sharpeners are permitted on planes.

However, the TSA does mention that the security agent at the airport always makes the final decision. So theoretically, a TSA agent might deem it dangerous and forbid it from your hand luggage. However, this is very unlikely to happen as pencil sharpeners are generally considered safe.

Rules for Flights in Other Countries

Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India

In Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India it isn’t specified if pencil sharpeners are allowed on planes. But, their rules are almost identical to the US, and pencil sharpeners are generally allowed in hand and cargo baggage. But, airport security agents have the last call on allowing pencil sharpeners on a plane. Larger pencil sharpeners with larger blades or exposed blades are more likely to raise concerns.

Europe

In Europe, pencil sharpeners are generally allowed in hand and cargo baggage. However, some countries and airlines prohibit pencil sharpeners in cabin baggage. Passengers should consult directly with their air carrier to see if they can take pencil sharpeners onboard.

Sources: For writing this article, we took information only from official sources, like airline regulators, government websites, and major airlines. If you want to confirm that our information is accurate and up to date, click on any of the links mentioned above. We linked out to where we found this information for each country.

Disclaimer: The final decision of whether you can bring pencil sharpeners on planes always rests on the security officer. Some airlines also have additional rules that may be different.