Emirates has introduced a brand-new blanket ban for all flights taking off on and after October 1.
You’ll need to think carefully about what goes in your carry-on because all portable power banks are now prohibited from being used on flights.
This comes as a plane cabin filled with smoke after a power bank ignited onboard a flight to Amsterdam.
Panicked passengers covered their mouths with scarves and blankets as smoke poured into the Boeing 777 cabin, from the overhead locker, after the charger combusted.
All customers may now carry only one power bank onboard, which cannot be used to charge any electronics, and cannot be charged themselves using the power source from your seat.
The charger must be under 100 watt hours, which is the case for most power banks anyway, but it’s worth checking yours.
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If you do take one onboard, they cannot be placed in the overhead bins. They must be placed in the seat pocket in front of you, or in your bag under the seat.
Why are power banks on planes an issue?
The airline is taking action because of the ‘increasing number of lithium battery-related incidents onboard flights’.
This is because when a battery fails, it can undergo thermal runaway, a rapid, violent reaction in which one or more cells rupture. This releases toxic, flammable, and explosive gases, creating an intense, self-sustaining fire that is extremely difficult to extinguish in flight.
Most phones and sophisticated lithium battery-powered devices have an internal trickle system which slowly adds current into the battery to prevent overcharging, but many basic power banks may not have this safeguard, increasing the risk.
On January 28, 176 passengers had to be evacuated off a plane in South Korea, when flames engulfed the entire fuselage before it took off.
Authorities said it was likely caused by a portable power bank in an overhead bin which caught fire after the insulation within it broke down.
If you think you can get around these regulations by popping a power bank or two in your hold luggage, this is already against regulation.
What do other airlines say?
Airlines like Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair all still allow the use of portable chargers on board.
But Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways, all already prohibit the use of these chargers on board, and Emirates is the latest to join them.
Quantas airways ‘doesn’t recommend’ using them, although it isn’t specifically banned.
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