(Credit: Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
If you’re taking a Southwest Airlines flight later this month, there are a couple of new portable power bank limits you need to be aware of. Starting April 20, the airline is limiting power banks to just one per passenger, and their capacity must not exceed 100 watt-hours.
Southwest has yet to officially announce the new restrictions, but they were first spotted in an internal memo and later confirmed by The New York Times. With the updated policy, the airline aims to “contain and mitigate lithium battery incidents, including reducing the risk of battery fires,” Dave Hunt, Southwest's VP of safety and security, said in the memo.
These changes come as airlines around the world are tightening rules on devices that use lithium-ion batteries, which can catch fire if damaged, overheated, exposed to water, or overcharged. According to the FAA’s database, there were 39 lithium battery incidents last year.
Southwest began its crackdown on power banks last May. The carrier made it mandatory for passengers to make the power banks visible while charging smartphones, tablets, or other similar devices. They can still keep the power banks in their hand luggage while not charging, but plugging devices to charge in the overhead cabin or inside hand luggage is now banned.
According to Fox Business, Southwest is also planning to ban the use of in-seat power outlets to charge power banks. Hunt’s internal memo said travelers will be notified of the airline’s power bank policy changes before their trip and again during check-in. We expect to see the new limitations specified on this support page.
Starting this summer, meanwhile, the airline will equip some of its planes with Starlink Wi-Fi. By the end of this year, it hopes to have over 300 Starlink-equipped jets.