Airlines and relevant authorities are moving towards tightening regulatory controls for the transport and use of portable charging batteries (Power Banks) on board aircraft. This is amid the escalation of security and safety concerns related to lithium batteries and the possibility of their high temperatures or exposure to combustion.
In this context, the new regulations impose the necessity of keeping portable charging batteries exclusively in hand luggage inside the passenger cabin, to prevent them from being placed in bags charged in the cargo hold, to ensure rapid and effective intervention in the event of any abnormal rise in temperatures.
Airlines also place strict restrictions on the capacities of batteries allowed on board the plane. Large-capacity batteries require prior approval, while the transportation of batteries exceeding the established maximum limits is strictly prohibited.
The new preventive measures include instructions not to place these batteries in hard-to-reach places, and the necessity of protecting them from damage or any electrical short circuit, as well as a categorical ban on the use of swollen or damaged batteries.
These precautionary measures come to reduce the risks of what is known as “thermal runaway” in lithium batteries, a phenomenon that may cause a rapid rise in temperature and the battery to ignite, which places the responsibility of flight passengers to fully comply with airline instructions to avoid any potential risks.
