Overview

• South Korean airlines, including Air Busan, now require passengers to keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and prohibit their storage in overhead bins.
• Singapore Airlines and Scoot will ban the use of power banks to charge devices or using onboard USB ports for power banks starting April 1, 2025.
• Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines have prohibited charging and using power banks on flights since March 1, 2025, with similar rules introduced by Thai Airways effective March 15, 2025.
• These measures follow incidents, such as a January fire that destroyed an Air Busan plane, with investigations suggesting a power bank may have been involved.
• The International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines recommend carrying power banks in cabin baggage and impose watt-hour limits, but airlines' policies remain inconsistent globally.