Overview
- Passengers may no longer use power banks during flights, and they are barred from charging power banks via in-seat power outlets.
- Power banks and spare lithium batteries are permitted only in hand baggage and should not be placed in overhead bins where fires are harder to detect.
- Airlines have begun making boarding and inflight announcements, with cabin crew instructed to monitor compliance and ensure batteries stay with passengers if bags are taken at the gate.
- The DGCA cites the risk of thermal runaway from lithium batteries, noting fires can be highly energetic, self-sustaining and triggered by overheating, damage or poor manufacturing.
- Airports have been told to display safety messaging and discourage last‑minute charging, while recent incidents such as the IndiGo taxiing fire and a South Korea case prompted the crackdown, with experts urging stricter one-hand-bag enforcement to keep batteries out of the hold.