New Global Rules for Powerbanks Onboard Airlines

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The UN’s aviation authority has introduced new rules for power banks on international flights. Here’s what travellers need to know before their next flight.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the United Nations body that sets global aviation standards, just announced that passengers will be limited to two power banks each and banned from recharging them mid-flight.

The changes come after a series of lithium battery incidents on commercial aircraft prompted regulators to replace a fragmented patchwork of airline-by-airline rules with a single global standard.

A plane that burned to the fuselage

BEA

On 28 January 2025, an Air Busan Airbus A321, preparing for departure at Gimhae International Airport in South Korea, caught fire. All 176 people on board were evacuated, but the aircraft was destroyed, and 27 people were injured. Investigators identified scorched remnants of a power bank at the fire’s point of origin, concluding that a failure in battery insulation had triggered thermal runaway, a self-sustaining chain reaction of overheating leading to ignition.

A runaway problem

The US Federal Aviation Administration recorded 78 lithium battery air incidents involving smoke, fire or extreme heat in 2024, more than twice as many as in 2016. Between March 2006 and November 2025, the FAA logged 552 such incidents, with 73% occurring on passenger aircraft. Around 223 of the 552 were caused by battery packs and spare lithium batteries specifically.

Safety organisation UL Standards and Engagement says the average passenger today flies with four devices powered by lithium-ion batteries. “The incidents of fire are rare, but they are increasing. We’re seeing as many as two per week, either on planes or within airports,” said the organisation’s president and CEO, Jeff Marootian.

The underlying risk is physical. Thermal runaway is a rapid, unstoppable chain reaction in lithium-ion cells that can quickly result in a battery fire — and in a pressurised cabin at cruising altitude, there is limited scope for crew to respond before smoke spreads.

A patchwork of local rules

After the Air Busan fire, regulators moved quickly but inconsistently. South Korea banned overhead storage of power banks and limited how many devices passengers could carry, while Taiwan’s EVA Air prohibited power bank use entirely from March 2025. Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, AirAsia and several other Asian carriers introduced their own varying restrictions.

ICAO’s Dangerous Goods Panel noted the fragmented global response in October 2025, describing power banks as presenting an “urgent safety risk” that needed to be addressed in a harmonised way.

What changes for you

From now on, the rules are straightforward: a maximum of two power banks per passenger, carried in hand luggage, not checked baggage, and no recharging during the flight. Crew members are exempted and may continue to use power banks in line with operational requirements.

Power banks up to 100Wh are permitted, rising to 160Wh with operator approval.

The aircraft’s built-in USB port remains available. The ban applies to the power bank itself, not to charging your phone directly from the plane’s power supply.