All airline passengers limited to 2 power banks

Travellers are now limited to bringing no more than two power banks on board flights, following new rules set by the global aviation authority.

A power bank. File Photo: Debraj Roy/Pexels.

Passengers are also now officially banned from using them in-flight, though many airlines had already banned their use in the cabin.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) introduced the new rules on Friday.

A Saturday press release from Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said that the move was to “address the emerging risks to aviation safety posed by lithium battery power banks.”

Safety concerns

Onboard power bank fires rose 42 per cent in early 2025, according to Aviation Weekly.

In January last year, a fire broke out on an Air Busan plane during take-off at South Korea’s Gimhae International Airport. The plane was preparing to depart for Hong Kong – all on board were evacuated safely, though seven were injured.

The Air Busan fire on January 28, 2025. Photo: YTN.

Initial investigations suggest a portable power bank may have exploded in an overhead luggage compartment.

Two months later, a Hong Kong Airlines flight en route to Hong Kong was forced to make an emergency landing in the mainland Chinese city of Fuzhou after a fire broke out in an overhead compartment, media reported. Passengers suspected it was caused by a power bank.