Southwest Airlines will require passengers to keep chargers visible due to fire risk
Passengers flying on Southwest Airlines will soon be required to keep battery packs and other portable charging devices visible if they’re using them during a flight.
The airline announced in an emailed statement on Wednesday that this “first-in-industry” policy will take effect on May 28. It is intended as a safety measure that will allow crew members to respond more quickly to potential fires.
“Using portable charging devices while stored in a bag or overhead bin will no longer be permitted,” Southwest said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of its Customers and Employees.”
Lithium-ion batteries are commonly found in a variety of modern gadgets, such smartphones and medical devices, but they can occasionally overheat and catch fire.
According to data collected by the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been at least 22 incidents related to air travel this year involving lithium batteries, some of which have resulted in fires.
Currently, the FAA prohibits passengers from carrying spare lithium-ion batteries, including power banks, in their checked bags. But Southwest’s new policy goes even further by requiring passengers to remove these items from their carry-on bags and keep them visible to the crew during flight if they are in use.
“When a portable charger/power bank is used during a flight, it must be out of any baggage and remain in plain sight,” a page on Southwest’s website reads. “Do not charge devices in the overhead bin.”
In addition, the governments of South Korea and Hong Kong as well as some airlines in China, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries have recently implemented new restrictions on the use of portable power banks during flights, Reuters reported.
South Korean investigators say that a fire, which engulfed an Air Busan plane in January and prompted the evacuation of passengers and crew, was likely started by a portable power bank, according to the BBC.
Shootings at school and home in British Columbia, Canada, leave 10 dead
A shooting at a school in British Columbia left seven people dead, while two more were found dead at a nearby home, authorities said. A woman who police believe to be the shooter also was killed.
Trump’s EPA plans to end a key climate pollution regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency is eliminating a Clean Air Act finding from 2009 that is the basis for much of the federal government's actions to rein in climate change.
Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ
The attorney general's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure, a period marked by a striking departure from traditions and norms at the Justice Department.
The U.S. claims China is conducting secret nuclear tests. Here’s what that means
The allegations were leveled by U.S. officials late last week. Arms control experts worry that norms against nuclear testing are unraveling.
From gifting a hat to tossing them onto the rink, a history of hat tricks in sports
Hat tricks have a rich history in hockey, but it didn't start there. For NPR's Word of the Week, we trace the term's some 150-year-history and why it's particularly special on the hockey rink.
Ukrainian sled racer says he will wear helmet honoring slain soldiers despite Olympic ban
Vladyslav Heraskevych, a skeleton sled racer, says he will wear a helmet showing images of Ukrainian athletes killed defending his country against Russia's full-scale invasion. International Olympic Committee officials say the move would violate rules designed to keep politics out of the Olympics.
