After fire in South Korea First airlines ban the use of power banks on planes
A fire on an airplane in South Korea is now having consequences for some Asian airlines: New regulations apply to power banks during the flight.
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- A power bank caused a fire in the hand luggage compartment of an Air Busan plane in South Korea shortly before take-off.
- 169 passengers and 7 crew members had to be rescued.
- Some airlines are now reacting and introducing new regulations regarding the handling of power banks.
The fire of a power bank in the hand luggage compartment of an Air Busan aircraft at Gimhae Airport in South Korea almost led to a catastrophe. 169 passengers and 7 crew members had to be rescued. However, as the plane was still on the ground, the worst was prevented, but the plane almost burned out completely.
The authorities in South Korea reacted first, where only five power banks with 100 watt hours each have been permitted since March 1. In addition, power banks are no longer allowed in the overhead compartment above the seats. A fire could be discovered there far too late, which is why passengers can only stow their additional batteries in the net in front of the seat. Previously, external batteries were not allowed to be stowed in checked baggage in order to prevent fires in the baggage compartment.
Thai Airways is going one step further by completely banning the use of power banks during flights, soon to be followed by Air Asia, China Airline and Eva Air.
Bild" asked the largest German airlines about the issue and they are still quite relaxed. Lufthansa, Condor and Eurowings have not imposed any new restrictions as a result of the incident in South Korea. "Passengers are only allowed to carry power banks in their hand luggage," explains a Condor spokeswoman.
