Aer Lingus has updated its passenger guidance and is warning people to take extra care when travelling with power banks commonly used to charge mobile phones and tablets.
Airlines have long had rules around how lithium-ion batteries can be transported over concerns that they can pose a serious fire hazard should they overheat or otherwise malfunction.
Passengers are generally speaking only allowed power banks on board in carry-on luggage or if they are completely turned off in baggage that is left in the hold.
Many airlines also set strict limits on how many power banks can be carried on board a plane by a single passenger.
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Power banks are made with lithium salts dissolved in a volatile and flammable solvent and while they are effective for storing energy, they can also be extremely flammable if they malfunction.
US data published last summer based on reports from 37 different airlines highlighted how an average of two flights a week experienced what is referred to as a “thermal runaway incidents” caused by lithium-ion batteries overheating and posing serious fire risks.
In advance of the busy summer season Aer Lingus has started issuing more explicit guidelines to passengers as they board planes.
A spokeswoman told The Irish Times that the airline had decided to update its rules on the carriage and use of power banks on board aircraft “in line with guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)”.
Under the updated policy, passengers are allowed to carry a maximum of two power banks in their cabin baggage.
Cabin crew have also started repeatedly reminding passengers as they board Aer Lingus planes that power banks “must remain easily accessible at all times and must not be placed in checked baggage or stored in overhead lockers”, the spokeswoman added.
She stressed that the use of power banks to charge personal devices, as well as the charging of power banks during the flight, is not permitted and said the measures were introduced in line with updated international safety recommendations relating to lithium-ion batteries.
The updated guidance from Aer Lingus comes as an EasyJet flight from Egypt to the UK had to be diverted to Rome on May 19th when a passenger told crew that they had been using a power bank to charge their phone and had packed both devices into their checked luggage while still connected, with the phone still charging.
