Topline
Southwest Airlines is the first U.S. airline to ban passengers from charging devices with a power bank inside a carry-on bag due to the risk of a charger’s lithium battery overheating or catching fire—going further than current FAA guidance.
Southwest Airlines is requiring passengers to charge their devices out in the open, citing fire … More
Key Facts
Starting on May 28, Southwest Airline passengers must keep activated portable chargers in plain view, such as in a seat pocket or on a tray table, while chargers will remain permitted inside cabin luggage as long as they are powered off.
“In the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical,” Southwest said in a statement, adding, “Keeping power banks in plain sight allows for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported 22 lithium-fire incidents on planes this year and 620 since it began tracking such events in 2006—with more than one third (240) involving portable battery packs.
The FAA and TSA ban portable chargers from checked luggage but allow them in carry-on bags.
In February, following a fire that destroyed a passenger jet, South Korean budget carrier Air Busan prohibited carry-on luggage containing portable chargers from being stored in overhead bins.
Big Number
81 incidents. That’s how many lithium-battery events were reported to the FAA in 2024—an average of 1.6 per week.
Key Background
“The prevalence of lithium batteries is a potential hazard to aircraft safety,” one FAA study states, due to “the potential to undergo a process called thermal runaway,” which is an uncontrollable and rapid rise in temperature and pressure and the release of flammable gases.
How Often Do Lithium-Powered Devices Overheat Or Catch Fire On U.s. Flights?
These incidents happen several times per month, across all major airlines, and have become far more frequent with the proliferation of personal devices powered by lithium-ion batteries. In 2014, for example, the FAA reported only nine lithium battery incidents all year. The Federal Aviation Administration keeps a running list of reported incidents onboard aircraft caused by overheated portable chargers, cell phones, vape pens, laptops and tablets and other devices powered by lithium batteries. In most cases, passengers or crew are alerted by smoke in the cabin, and the crew handles it before the device catches fire. Recent exceptions include, on April 9, an American Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Los Angeles that was diverted to Chicago after a passenger’s portable battery charger caught fire and needed to be extinguished by crew members. On January 15, during a United Airlines flight from Dulles, Va., to San Francisco, a passenger’s cell phone went into thermal runaway and crew contained the fire in a thermal containment bag.
Further Reading
FAA: Lithium Battery Incidents On Planes Now Happening More Than Once Per Week (Forbes)
