For ads-free news, click here.
From NY Post: Southwest Airlines is implementing a surprising new restriction on portable chargers to keep these notoriously incendiary devices from bursting into flame mid-flight.
Starting May 28, passengers will be required to keep their power banks in plain sight, making the budget carrier the first to roll out a policy of this kind.
The logic is that the portable phone juicers run on lithium-ion batteries that can overheat and ignite, so keeping them in plain sight allows flight attendants to identify and extinguish the hazard before it’s too late.
“In the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical and keeping power banks in plain sight allows for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard,” a Southwest rep said, according to Fortune.
“Using portable charging devices while stored in a bag or overhead bin will no longer be permitted,” a Southwest spokesperson told Business Insider. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees.”
Passengers will be allowed to keep portable chargers in their carry-on bags, so long as they are not being used.
From 28 May, Southwest Airlines will require passengers to keep portable chargers, or power banks, in plain sight while in use during flights due to the fire risk.https://t.co/Sz3GgsDH0I#Southwest #SouthwestAirlines #airtravel #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/PiCgggfcPl
— AviationSource (@AvSourceNews) May 21, 2025
Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them.
DETAILS: https://t.co/tcuuJRYPMs
(📷: Adobe Stock/stas_malyarevsky) pic.twitter.com/7Burt5DxiY
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) May 21, 2025
READ MORE at NY Post.
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
