Travellers flying this summer time ought to be aware of a brand new rule relating to moveable chargers on Southwest Airways flights. Beginning Could 28, passengers utilizing moveable chargers with batteries, together with energy banks and cellphone battery circumstances, should preserve these gadgets in plain sight whereas charging. This implies energetic chargers can’t be saved in overhead bins or underneath seats, they should stay seen all through the flight.
Southwest is the primary main U.S. airline to implement this coverage, however different carriers would possibly undertake comparable guidelines quickly. The requirement applies solely when the charger is actively powering one other gadget. When not in use, passengers might preserve their battery packs inside carry-on baggage.
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Security Issues Drive Coverage Change
This transfer follows issues about lithium-ion battery fires on planes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reviews 22 confirmed incidents this 12 months involving lithium-ion batteries, with a file 89 circumstances in 2024 to date. Since 2006, there have been 620 whole incidents involving these batteries, with vaping gadgets and cell telephones additionally contributing, in keeping with a Gizmodo report.
Airways in Asia already implement comparable insurance policies. For instance, Singapore Airways and Thai Airways ban the use or charging of energy banks throughout flights. The change got here after a number of fires, together with one on an Air Busan aircraft in January, the place a fireplace broken the plane’s roof and compelled the evacuation of 176 passengers. Although the trigger stays unconfirmed, regulators tightened guidelines on moveable chargers afterwards.
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Current incidents within the U.S. embody smoke from a laptop computer bag on a San Francisco flight and an emergency touchdown in Jacksonville in 2023 after a battery caught fireplace in an overhead bin.
What Passengers Must Know
The TSA at present prohibits lithium batteries in checked baggage however permits them in carry-on baggage. Southwest’s new rule requires passengers to maintain chargers seen when charging to assist flight crews rapidly detect any issues.
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Passengers ought to alert crew members instantly in the event that they discover smoke or fireplace throughout a flight. Flight attendants obtain coaching to deal with lithium battery incidents and preserve everybody secure.
