In the closing weeks of January, an Airbus A321 operated by Air Busan — already running roughly twenty minutes behind its departure schedule — was taxiing on the tarmac at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, when an unexpected and alarming event unfolded. A sudden fire erupted in one of the aircraft’s overhead storage bins, sending smoke into the cabin and forcing the crew to initiate an immediate evacuation. Within moments, the emergency inflatable slides were deployed, and all 176 passengers and crew members exited the burning aircraft. Although everyone eventually reached safety, twenty-seven people sustained injuries of varying severity during the hurried evacuation. The aircraft itself, however, could not be saved and was ultimately consumed by flames.
Subsequent investigations by South Korean aviation authorities indicated that the blaze most likely originated from a portable power bank stored in the bin. Officials explained that the device’s internal insulation appeared to have degraded, causing a short circuit that led to ignition. This conclusion prompted widespread alarm within the aviation industry. As a result, throughout 2025, regulators and airlines around the world have placed such battery-powered accessories under intense scrutiny, identifying them as a growing risk factor in flight safety management.
Power banks, laptop computers, and modern smartphones all rely on rechargeable lithium-ion or lithium-polymer batteries. While these energy-dense technologies enable the portability we depend on daily, they come with an inherent hazard linked to a phenomenon called thermal runaway. This occurs when a battery’s internal temperature rises uncontrollably due to physical damage, overcharging, or manufacturing flaws, initiating a self-heating chain reaction. The process can result in rapid combustion or even explosions. This risk, although statistically rare, becomes especially serious in the confined and pressurized environment of a passenger aircraft.
Only two weeks after the Busan accident, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced new safety regulations. These measures included a prohibition against storing power banks and e-cigarettes in overhead compartments, as well as a ban on charging such devices using in-seat USB ports during flight. Television broadcasts of the burning Air Busan aircraft circulated widely, magnifying public concern and reinforcing the urgency of renewed safety protocols.
Other airlines across the globe soon followed suit. For instance, in May, Southwest Airlines in the United States adopted comparable policies aimed at reducing fire risks from portable electronics. Ironically, just a day after implementing the updated rules, one of its flights from Baltimore to Tampa was forced to divert after a battery charger began smoking midair. Fortunately, the crew managed to contain the situation before it escalated.
Although the Air Busan incident served as a major catalyst for tightening battery safety standards, aviation authorities had already been tracking a notable increase in lithium battery–related emergencies. Data from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that by mid-December there had been eighty confirmed incidents in the current year, compared to eighty-nine throughout 2024. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, annual totals seldom surpassed fifty. This shift means that what once occurred less than weekly now happens, on average, about every four days.
Experts attribute this surge, in part, to the rapid proliferation of personal electronic devices. Travelers today routinely carry multiple gadgets — smartphones, tablets, wireless earbuds, and portable chargers — exponentially increasing the number of batteries in flight cabins. However, airlines express particular concern about power banks, which are often mass-produced and sold inexpensively. Many lack proper certification or employ inferior components and safety circuitry. Devices without protective mechanisms are far more vulnerable to overheating, short-circuiting, and catching fire.
In response to this upward trend, the FAA issued a formal safety alert in early September. The document urged airlines to reassess their onboard fire prevention strategies, update emergency procedures, and refine their passenger safety communications. A key recommendation emphasized passenger awareness: travelers should always keep battery-powered accessories visible and easily reachable rather than stowed overhead. This practice allows cabin crews to detect early warning signs — such as smoke, heat, or chemical odors — and act immediately before a small incident turns catastrophic.
Even carriers that have not yet imposed strict prohibitions encourage passengers to follow these precautions voluntarily. Visibility and accessibility can make the difference between a manageable situation and one that endangers the entire aircraft. Airline crews, for their part, receive rigorous fire-response training. FAA reports describe flight attendants skillfully suppressing smoldering devices using specialized containment bags, fire extinguishers, and even water to cool overheated batteries before disposal.
Passengers are also advised to remain vigilant. If a power bank begins to swell, emit hissing sounds, or release an acrid chemical smell, it should be switched off and isolated immediately to prevent further reaction. Recently, Australian regulators introduced new rules effective mid-December, prompted by two dramatic episodes earlier in the year. In July, a fire erupted in the overhead bin of a Virgin Australia flight; although the plane landed without serious issue, one passenger suffered from smoke inhalation. A few months later, in November, approximately 150 people were evacuated from a Qantas lounge at Melbourne Airport when a traveler’s pocketed power bank burst into flames, causing burns.
While Southwest remains the only major American carrier to codify its new restrictions, similar cautionary behavior has emerged elsewhere. During the autumn season, two separate United Airlines transatlantic flights had to reverse course after passengers accidentally dropped laptops into areas near the cargo hold. Because crews could not access the devices mid-flight, they faced an intolerable risk if the electronics overheated over open ocean, where immediate landing options are limited. The decisions to divert demonstrated a growing emphasis on preventive safety and conservative judgment.
Modern air travel, often regarded as the safest mode of mass transportation, reached its current level of reliability precisely because regulators and airlines have consistently learned from prior disasters. A grim but pivotal example occurred in 2010, when UPS Airlines suffered its first fatal accident: a Boeing 747 cargo jet departing Dubai caught fire after more than 80,000 lithium batteries ignited. Dense smoke quickly filled the cockpit, incapacitating the captain, while fire-damaged controls rendered the aircraft uncontrollable. Investigators later issued thirty-six formal safety recommendations, which led to stringent international restrictions on transporting lithium batteries, including their prohibition as bulk cargo on passenger flights.
Further global actions followed. In 2012, the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization reaffirmed its prohibition on placing spare lithium batteries in checked luggage and clarified in 2013 that portable power banks fall within this category. Despite these longstanding safeguards, ongoing incidents — coupled with the FAA’s renewed caution — suggest that airlines will continue refining policies to strengthen passenger protection. The ongoing presence of smoking or overheating power banks on aircraft underscores the delicate balance between convenience, technology, and safety that defines modern aviation.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/airlines-power-banks-crack-down-rules-lithium-batteries-how-safe-2025-12
