A NUMBER of airlines are set to join the masses in banning a popular item on flights.
A handful of Australian airline companies are set to ban power banks on their flights within the next few weeks.
Qantas and Virgin Australia will ban the useful charging item after one caught fire in an overhead locker onboard a Virgin Australia flight in July.
The new rules mean that passengers will be limited to what size the portable charger is and they must be easily accessible within a passenger’s luggage.
Passengers will also be limited in how many portable chargers they take onboard to just two.
Virgin Australia’s chief operations officer Chris Snook said: “Globally, more lithium battery-powered devices are now being carried by travellers, and while these items are generally safe when packed and handled appropriately, this move will minimise any potential risks associated with these devices.”
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Changes in policy for Virgin Australia will come into force on December 1.
Passengers will be limited to a power bank capacity of 100 watt-hour – anything more than this and special approval will be needed.
As for other Australian airlines, the ban will take effect from December 15 for Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar and the maximum capacity of a power bank allowed will be 160 watt-hour.
The ban will apply to all international and domestic flights.
In an announcement last week, the airlines confirmed that power banks will still be allowed on flights, they just need to be somewhere accessible – so ideally in you underseat bag in front of you or the pocket in the back of the seat.
Virgin Australia flights will also not allow power banks to be stored in the overhead compartment.
Power banks will also be banned from checked-in luggage.
If a passenger needs to charge their device during a flight, they can use the in-seat USB ports.
The Australian airlines are not the first to introduce limits on power banks, as a number of other airlines have already introduced rules such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines.
If you want to know whether your power bank is allowed on a flight you are due to catch, first have a look at your airline’s website to find out its capacity limits on power banks.
Then, to calculate the watt-hour of your power bank, multiply the battery capacity (mAh) by the voltage (V) of the internal lithium battery and divide by 1,000.
Australian airlines introducing new rules on power banks follows a statement made by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) in the US, back in September, after 50 incidents had been reported concerning power banks onboard flights.
The FAA said: “Lithium batteries stored in passenger overhead bins and or in carry-on baggage may be obscured, difficult to access, or not readily monitored by passengers or crewmembers.
“Because of this, detection of thermal runaway and firefighting measures may be delayed in flight, increasing the risk to safety.”
The Sun’s Head of Travel on what the power bank rules mean for your flights
The Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot explains:
AS staying connected becomes ever-more important, a ban on the handy gadget that can keep our devices topped up could be seen as a pain.
But the catastrophic consequences of a fire on a plane are an obvious reason to make rules stricter.
After countless incidents – and with so many counterfeit and faulty goods out there – it makes sense they are cracking down.
But airlines do need to understand the need for us to be able to top up our devices in the air. With plans afoot to get rid of physical boarding passes in the coming years, making sure we’re able to use our devices will become even more essential.
Adapting plane interiors to include USB ports will alleviate the need to top up on the go.
And more needs to be done to highlight the new rules – and the dangers these devices can pose.
In other aviation news, Ryanair is set to axe all flights to European islands often compared to Hawaii.
Plus, UK airport gets new long-haul flights to one of the world’s best cities – the first in nearly 20 years.