Southwest limits what number of moveable chargers passengers can carry – what you should know | EUROtoday

Southwest Airlines passengers will now reportedly be restricted to 1 moveable gadget charger on flights, based on a brand new firm coverage.

On Tuesday, Southwest introduced that starting on April 20, passengers will likely be restricted to 1 moveable charger when boarding the corporate’s planes, the Associated Press stories. Passengers can not retailer moveable chargers within the overhead storage bins, and so they will not be allowed to recharge the chargers utilizing the airplanes’ energy shops, based on the AP.

The coverage reportedly builds on Southwest’s current guidelines that require passengers to maintain their moveable chargers out within the open in order that flight attendants can shortly reply within the occasion {that a} gadget begins to overheat.

Portable chargers usually use lithium batteries. When these batteries catch fireplace, they emit poisonous fumes — particularly harmful on an airplane — and may reignite after they’ve been extinguished, based on the U.S. Fire Administration.

In March, the International Civil Aviation Organization printed suggestions that airways restrict passengers to solely two moveable chargers, however Southwest’s new coverage is taking {that a} step additional.

The airline’s Vice President of Safety and Security, Dave Hunt, mentioned the corporate would not plan to go looking baggage or confiscate chargers however will stress to prospects the potential risks of the batteries after they guide flights and arrive on the airport, based on the Associated Press.

The Independent has reached out to Southwest Airlines for remark.

Lithium fires have turn into a rising concern for airways. The Federal Aviation Administration mentioned that extra lithium battery incidents are being reported yearly. The company mentioned that there have been 97 lithium battery incidents in 2025.

Jeff Marootian, CEO of UL Standards & Engagement, which produces the rules for makers of moveable chargers and different gadgets, informed the AP that his group hears about roughly two lithium battery-related incidents each week. He added that there was a 42 % enhance within the variety of incidents in 2025 over the earlier yr.

In January 2025, an Air Busan aircraft getting ready for take off in South Korea was compelled to evacuate all 176 individuals on board when a fireplace broke out and burned via the plane’s roof. Investigators consider an influence financial institution’s lithium battery caught fireplace and prompted the destruction.

In February, an Alaska Airlines flight was compelled to return to a Kansas airport after an influence financial institution overheated and caught fireplace. The flight crew managed to extinguish the flames with a fireplace extinguisher and a thermal containment bag.

To put passengers involved about powering their gadgets comfy, Southwest additionally introduced, together with the brand new coverage, that its total fleet of planes will embody in-seat energy shops by the center of 2027, which it hopes will scale back the necessity for exterior chargers, based on the AP.

“Access to onboard power will continue to expand. By mid-year 2027, our entire fleet will feature in-seat power, reducing reliance on portable chargers and supporting a more consistent, convenient inflight experience,” Hunt mentioned within the Southwest announcement.