Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt.
There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous.
The agency said flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires.
Passengers should notify the flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning.
More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed for that study said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags.
A new rule that other airlines might follow will soon require passengers on Southwest Airlines flights to keep their portable chargers visible while using them due to worries about the rising number of lithium battery fires.
Passengers using the airline’s app may have already received notifications about the industry-leading rule, according to Southwest, which announced the new policy that will take effect on May 28.
Due to the increasing number of incidents each year and the widespread use of devices that run on lithium-ion batteries, there is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on airplanes. Federal Aviation Administration statistics show that there have already been 19 incidents involving these batteries this year, after a record high of 89 last year.
Since 2020, when they reached a pandemic-era low of 39, the incidents have more than doubled and have increased yearly.
relative to the approximately 180,000 flights that the U.S. A. Although there are weekly flights, there are still not many incidents, and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere. Airlines are becoming increasingly concerned about this, though.
A smoking laptop in a traveler’s bag caused a plane waiting to take off at San Francisco International Airport to be evacuated last summer. When a battery in an overhead bin caught fire in 2023, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, had to make an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Quick access is critical in the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, and keeping power banks in plain sight allow for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard,” is why Southwest said that requiring these chargers to be kept out in the open while being used will be helpful. “.”.
When the chargers are not in use, the airline will permit them to be kept in carry-on luggage.
Lithium-ion battery-powered power banks, chargers, and e-cigarettes have long been forbidden by the TSA to be placed in checked luggage, but they are permitted in carry-on luggage. The reason the rule is in place is because cargo hold fires may be more difficult to find and put out.
In order to have quick access to cell phones and other devices while flying, the FAA advises passengers to keep them close at hand. According to the agency, flight crews receive training on how to spot and handle lithium battery fires. Should a passenger’s lithium battery or device overheat, expand, smoke, or burn, they should alert the flight crew right away.
E-cigarettes overheated more frequently than any other device, according to a prior report published by UL Standards and Engagement last year. More than 25% of travelers who participated in the study’s survey admitted to packing portable chargers and vaping cigarettes in their checked luggage. Federal regulations prohibit that.
The safety-science firm UL Standards & Engagement, formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories, stated that it based its conclusions on information from 35 passenger and cargo airlines, including nine of the top ten U.S. A. passenger transporters.
