Japanese authorities have introduced a ban on using power banks on flights, affecting all routes into and departing Japan, including transit passengers. The measure follows a risk analysis by the country’s National Institute of Technology and Evaluation and pre-empts an international ruling expected soon.
In 2024, the institute found there were 123 mobile battery incidents in 2024 alone, including mid-flight fires, some of which were captured in mobile phone footage that has gone viral, causing widespread public concern. South Korea’s Air Busan banned power banks from overhead storage compartments in early 2025, after a blaze on one of its aircraft blamed on lithium batteries of the type found in electronic cigarettes, laptops, and power banks. All 127 people on board escaped with their lives, but 27 suffered injuries.
🔥Watch how a power bank exploded in a passenger's luggage at #TallinnAirport! Luckily nobody was injured. That's why these devices must NEVER go in checked baggage – imagine if this happened mid-flight in the cargo hold! #AirportSafety #TravelTips @IATA @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/JpIG6Z0Nyg
— Tallinn Airport (@TLLairport) April 24, 2025
Elsewhere on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Haneda in spring 2025, another mobile battery fire occurred, and smoke began filling an All-Nippon Airways (ANA) flight from Naha to Haneda in the autumn. As a result of fears around the issue, most major Japanese airlines have brought in power bank rules requiring passengers to keep the items at their seats instead of inside lockers, where problems are more difficult to detect.
In the wake of such near-disasters, South Korea extended similar restrictions to those now in force in Japan, across major carriers, including Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, and a number of low-cost carriers. China Airlines, Scoot, and Thai Airways implemented “no-charge” policies in 2025 that strictly prohibit the use or charging of portable power banks during flights.
Fire breaks out in the overhead luggage bin on board Air China flight CA139 while flying between Hangzhou and Seoul.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) October 18, 2025
It is understood that the cause of the fire was a lithium battery in a passenger's luggage spontaneously combusting.
The cabin crew contained the fire and the… pic.twitter.com/IV5LEYxIy5
The propensity of lithium batteries to overheat, catch fire, and emit toxic fumes means the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) classifies them as dangerous goods and has increased monitoring and safety campaigns, as well as trialling screening equipment to improve detection rates when lithium batteries are hidden in checked luggage.
EASA says devices from mobile phones to laptops and power banks or spare batteries should travel in the cabin, have their terminals taped or be placed in individual plastic bags to prevent short circuits.
Watt-hour limits are also in place and are usually 100Wh for most standard consumer electronics (phones, laptops), or between 100Wh and 160Whonly with prior approval for items such as specialist cameras or portable medical devices. Anything over 160Wh is usually not allowed on passenger aircraft.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation, part of the United Nations, is due to rule on the use and carriage of such devices and their batteries imminently.
