According to the report, starting April 20, passengers will be able to bring only one lithium battery-powered portable charger per person on board a flight, and they will not be allowed to charge these portable chargers using in-seat power, nor will they be able to store them in the overhead compartment. Instead, passengers will be asked to keep their portable chargers on board during the flight or in carry-on bags under their seats.
Lithium batteries power most of the technology we use in our daily lives, from phones to laptops to e-cigarettes. They are also found in portable chargers and power banks.
Most of the time, they work fine, but if they are damaged, overcharged, or overheated, batteries can catch fire. Because of the chemicals inside these batteries, the fires they can cause can be very difficult to extinguish.
Because of this risk, portable chargers were long banned in checked luggage, with airlines requiring passengers to keep portable chargers and any other lithium battery-powered devices inside their carry-on bags.
But still, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are 97 accidents involving lithium batteries in aviation in 2025, and there have already been 14 accidents this year. Most air incidents involving lithium batteries that involved smoke, fire or excessive heat originated from portable chargers. According to FAA data, the second biggest culprit was e-cigarettes.
The most high-profile recent incident was in January 2025, when an Airbus plane burst into flames at an airport in Busan, South Korea. Everyone on board had to evacuate and it took about an hour to extinguish the fire. Officials later concluded that a power bank stored in the overhead bin may have been the culprit. A few months later, an Air China flight had to make an emergency landing when a lithium battery in an overhead bin burned out mid-flight.
Chinese regulators have banned portable batteries from flights altogether, except if the device is clearly marked with Chinese safety certification and is not subject to recall. Many airlines internationally have also banned passengers from using or charging portable chargers, but Southwest is so far the only major US airline to come up with even stricter rules for portable chargers.
One way to protect yourself from these spontaneous fires is to keep a close eye on product recalls. Anker, one of the world’s leading power bank manufacturers, has issued several recalls over the past year due to potential fire risks.
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