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Japan plans to ban the use of power banks on flights following fire safety concerns in the cabin.
According to NHK Japan, passengers travelling on domestic Japanese airlines will soon be unable to use portable chargers on board.
Travellers in Japan will also reportedly be limited to a maximum of two portable chargers per person, not exceeding 160Wh, in carry-on luggage.
Rules currently outline that battery chargers exceeding 160Wh are prohibited in carry-on baggage. Batteries under 100Wh are not restricted by a maximum number.
The move would form new guidelines under the Civil Aeronautics Act due to the risk of defective lithium-ion battery fires on aircraft.
It is the lithium-ion batteries used in power banks that have raised major concerns among airlines and aviation safety regulators due to the risks of overheating.
Last July, rules in Japan permitted the use of power banks if they remained in sight at all times, not stowed in overhead lockers.
Japan’s transport ministry is expected to introduce the new restriction on the use of batteries on board from April.
Lithium-ion powered devices will also be banned from charging using the onboard power outlets.
All lithium-ion batteries are already banned from travelling in checked luggage.
Japan’s National Institute of Technology reported 123 accidents related to mobile batteries in 2024, up 160 per cent from the 47 cases in 2020.
The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is also discussing potential rule changes on flying with power banks.
The new restrictions follow a series of incidents in which portable charger batteries have caught fire on flights.
In January 2025, South Korea’s Air Busan banned power banks in luggage in the overhead cabin after a huge fire destroyed one of its planes on the runway.
Passengers are no longer allowed to keep power banks in luggage stored in overhead cabin bins after one of the airline’s planes was engulfed in flames last year.
Read more: These Australian airlines have banned ‘fire hazard’ items from plane cabins
