The International Air Transport Association has changed the rules for transporting power banks and devices with lithium batteries on board aeroplanes, effective from 1 January 2026.
The updates have been made to the rules for transporting dangerous goods, which the association classifies as rechargeable batteries and portable chargers.
“Lithium-ion batteries, which are used in most modern electronic devices, including smartphones, laptops and other gadgets, can cause explosions or fires, especially if handled incorrectly. Although such incidents are rare, the number of lithium-ion batteries transported by air has increased by 25% over the past year,” the association explained.
The main rule for transporting such devices prohibits them from being carried in baggage that flies separately from the passenger.
‘This is because a fire in the cargo compartment can go unnoticed for a long time and spread to other passengers’ baggage,’ the association notes.
In addition, according to the new rules, power banks cannot be charged from power sources located in seats or anywhere in the aircraft cabin during the entire flight. They also cannot be used to charge other devices during taxiing, take-off and landing. Another rule prohibits the carriage of chargers in hand luggage on the overhead compartments: they can be stored under the owner’s seat or in the pocket of the seat in front.
Many airlines around the world, including Russian ones, have already banned the carriage of chargers in checked baggage. The maximum power of chargers that can be carried on planes is 160 Wh.
Meanwhile, last week, a passenger’s power bank caught fire on an Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul to Hong Kong. The portable device caught fire in the cabin two hours after take-off. The crew used a fire extinguisher and managed to put out the fire in a few minutes. The owner of the power bank suffered burns to his hands, but no other passengers were injured. The airline later stated that the situation did not require an emergency landing and the aircraft continued its flight as normal.
According to IATA research, 83% of air passengers take mobile phones with them, 60% take laptops, and 44% take power banks. At the same time, about 50% of passengers are unaware of the ban on carrying power banks in checked baggage.
