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Southwest’s Charger-Visibility Rule Tested as Flight Diverts for Smoking Battery

Flight 1844 was diverted to Myrtle Beach after crew observed a passenger’s portable charger overheating during the policy’s first day.

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Overview

  • Flight 1844 from Baltimore to Tampa made an abrupt turn an hour after takeoff when a power bank began to smoke, marking the inaugural enforcement of Southwest’s new safety rule.
  • Flight attendants swiftly placed the overheating charger in a fire-resistant containment bag and the captain rerouted the Boeing 737 with no injuries reported.
  • The airline’s “keep in sight” policy mandates that portable chargers remain visible during use to enable prompt detection of any malfunction.
  • Industry concerns date back to a January fire on an Air Busan plane in Seoul blamed on a power bank in an overhead bin and an FAA finding of about three lithium-ion battery incidents every two weeks last year.
  • Southwest is the first U.S. carrier to adopt this visible-charger requirement, following similar measures already in place at several international airlines.