Southwest Airlines Bans Active Portable Chargers on Flights, Unless They’re ‘in Plain Sight,’ Due to Fire Risk

Southwest Airlines has announced that, as of May 28, those passengers thinking of bringing a portable charger or battery pack with them to power their smartphone or other device will have to abide by new rules.

According to CNN, the airline is introducing a “first-in-industry” safety policy targeting the common carry-on item, with everyone from students to businesspeople to the simply bored turning to portable chargers to keep their iPhone, iPad, or Android device powered up.

The result? Passengers opting to board a Southwest Airlines flight will be barred from placing charging devices inside their carry-on luggage while actively charging — instead, while in use, chargers must be visible to aircraft crew.

“In the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical,” a Southwest Airlines statement read, per Forbes. “Keeping power banks in plain sight allows for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard.”

Southwest Airlines’ website detailed the specifics related to spare batteries and power banks via its official help center.

“Passengers can travel with up to 20 spare batteries at a time. This includes portable chargers/power banks and external battery chargers for mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Portable chargers and spare batteries must be protected from short circuit by protecting any exposed terminals and packed in your carryon bag or with you onboard. Lithium-ion batteries size must not exceed 100 watt-hours,” the help center explained.

“When a portable charger/power bank is used during a flight, it must be out of any baggage and remain in plain sight. Do not charge devices in the overhead bin,” the airline reiterated.

In 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Logged 81 Incidents Related to Lithium-Battery Events

Last year, the FAA recorded 81 separate incidents related to lithium-battery events, and 620 since it first tracked these events nearly two decades ago, in 2006. Over one-third, or 240 incidents, were linked directly to portable battery packs.

In February, South Korea’s Air Busan banned portable chargers stored in carry-on luggage from being placed in overhead bins as a result of a fire that destroyed a passenger jet. Southwest Airlines is the first U.S. carrier to introduce a similar rule.

“The prevalence of lithium batteries is a potential hazard to aircraft safety,” a FAA study stated, per Forbes, due to “the potential to undergo a process called thermal runaway.” Thermal runaway occurs when there is a rapid and uncontrollable increase in temperature and pressure, which often results in the release of flammable gases.

It should also be noted that both the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ban portable chargers from checked luggage.