Global airlines tighten rules on these cabin items amid safety concerns

Yahoo

15-03-2025

Several airlines have imposed a ban on power banks onboard since the start of this year.
Singapore Airlines is the latest to join the list, prohibiting the use and charging of power banks onboard from 1 April 2025, according to an Executive Traveller report.
Thai Airways International, Thailand's state-owned national carrier, has also announced a similar ban, set to take effect from 15 March, as reported by Malay Mail.
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South Korea tightened rules on carrying lithium batteries on planes from 1 March, responding to the growing risk these batteries pose to aviation safety.
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The US Federal Aviation Administration recorded three incidents every two weeks involving overheating lithium batteries on planes last year, compared to just under one a week in 2018.
The aviation industry has long recognised these increasingly used batteries as a safety concern, periodically tightening rules in response to accidents.
From Saturday, South Korean airlines have issued new rules for passengers to keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins. Charging these devices on board is prohibited, and there will be strict enforcement of battery quantity and strength limits.
Passengers are allowed to carry up to five 100-watt-hour portable batteries, while batteries over 160-watt-hours won't be permitted on board. The transport ministry has also stated that these batteries need to be stored in clear plastic bags.
South Korean travellers departing from Incheon International Airport, the country's largest airport, expressed relief at the new regulations to Reuters.
Kim Wound, a 37-year-old passenger, said: "I feel safe since we have new guidelines that can protect us. I was also advised to carry (these batteries) with me when I'm on board, which makes me feel relieved that we can find out immediately when something happens."
These measures were introduced by Korean authorities in response to public concerns about fires, following an incident in January where an Air Busan plane caught fire while waiting to take off.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but a preliminary statement released on Thursday suggested it started in a cabin overhead locker after boarding.
All 170 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated before the aircraft was destroyed. The fire was detected around 20 minutes after the delayed flight had originally been scheduled to depart.
A spokesperson for the International Air Transport Association has stated: "Existing cabin crew firefighting procedures have been demonstrated to be effective for all (lithium battery) incidents which have occurred in-flight.
However if such an incident occurs while on the ground, the safest option is to evacuate the aircraft,".
Cabin crew are trained to extinguish flames, cool the battery with liquid, and isolate the device in fire containment pouches or boxes.
Lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries, types of non-rechargeable and rechargeable batteries, are found in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets, watches, power banks and electronic cigarettes.
On a full flight, passengers could be carrying hundreds of these devices between them.
Manufacturing faults or damage, like a phone being crushed in the gap between plane seats or exposed to extreme temperatures, can cause these batteries to short-circuit and rapidly overheat.
This can result in heat, smoke and fire, and they can even explode in a "high-energy expulsion of extremely hot gel and parts of the device acting as shrapnel", according to the Flight Safety Foundation.
Current aviation standards dictate that power banks and personal electronic devices should travel in the cabin, not in checked luggage, so any malfunction can be addressed promptly.
A December 2024 study by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) revealed that "non-compliant lithium batteries persistently travel in hold baggage", prompting a call for enhanced hold baggage screening.
The aviation industry is investigating fresh techniques for spotting these hazards, such as deploying sniffer dogs.