Southwest Airlines tells passengers to keep chargers in plain sight as it tries to curtail lithium battery fires

Passengers will soon be asked for southwestern flights to maintain their portable trucks at the sight of the horizon while using them due to concerns about the increasing number of lithium battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt.

Southwest announced the new policy that will enter into force on May 28, and told travelers who have already seen notifications about the base when using the airline application. While Southwest is the first American airline to restrict the use of portable charging devices, many Asian Airlines have taken measures earlier this year after a devastating fire on the Busan air plane awaiting the airport in South Korea in January.

There is an increased concern about the fires of the lithium -ion battery on the aircraft because the number of accidents is still growing annually, and the devices where these batteries operate everywhere. There were already 19 incidents that included these batteries this year, after a record number last year, 89, according to the statistics of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The incidents have multiplied more than weakness since the 39 -year -old epidemic has declined, and climbed annually.

Compared to approximately 180,000 flights operating American airlines every week, the number of accidents is still relatively small and lithium batteries can increase temperature anywhere. However, this is a growing concern for airlines.

In the Korean Airlines fire in January, all 176 people on board were evacuated because the fire was burned across the surface of the plane. The cause of this fire has not been officially determined, but many Korean airlines and organizers have taken measures against portable charging devices after that.

Korean airlines will not allow storing shipping devices in upper boxes anymore; It should be packed in a plastic bag or its ports are covered with insulation tape to prevent it from touching the metal.

In addition, both Singaporean Airlines and Thai Airlines prohibit the use or charge of mobile power banks at all during flights.

Last summer, a laptop smoking in a passenger bag has evacuated a plane awaiting take off at San Francisco International Airport. In 2023, a trip from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, has undergone emergency situations in Jacksonville, Florida, after fire caught a battery in the upper box.

South West said that calling these chargers to go out in the open when using them will help because “in a rare state of the high temperature of the lithium battery or indicates the fire, rapid access is more important and keeping energy banks in sight allows to intervene faster and helps to protect everyone on the plane.”

The airline will allow the storage of charging devices inside bags carrying on the bags when they are not in use.

The Transport Security Administration has long banned electronic cigarettes, shipping and energy banks with Li -ion batteries in specific bags, but allowing them in bearing bags. The base is located specifically because the fires in the hanging suspension may be difficult to discover and extinguish them.

FAA recommends that travelers keep mobile phones and other aircraft devices so that they can quickly reach them. The agency said that the flight crews are trained to identify and respond to the lithium battery fires. Passengers should notify the flight crew immediately if it is a lithium battery or their device in high temperature, expansion, smoking or combustion.

A previous report issued last year by UL criteria and participation said that electronic cigarettes were more often more emerging than any other device. More than a quarter of the travelers who were surveyed for this study said that they put excessive cigarettes and lashes carried in specific bags. This is against federal rules.

The standards and participation in UL, part of a safety company that was known as the subscription laboratories, said that it depends on its results on data from 35 airlines for passengers and shipping, including nine US passenger companies.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-05-20 20:59:00