South Korea Declares War on Power Banks: Why You Can't Charge on Planes Now
South Korea has become the first country in the world where aviation safety has triumphed over the comfort of infinite scrolling lovers. All passenger airlines in the country have simultaneously imposed a complete ban on the use of external batteries during flights. The last 'bastion' that surrendered to the pressure of the new rules was the low-cost carrier T'way Air, putting an end to the question of whether smartphones can be charged in the air over the Korean Peninsula. The answer is no.
Unity for Safety
The situation is unique in that the ban is not a selective initiative by individual carriers. All local market players, including giants like Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, are now operating under a single protocol. This turns South Korea into a kind of testing ground for radical aviation safety measures that may soon be adopted in other parts of the world.
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The impetus for such stringent measures was not theoretical fear, but a very real fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan in January 2025. Lithium-ion batteries have long been under close scrutiny by regulators due to their tendency for thermal runaway. When such a device starts to burn in the confined space of a plane at an altitude of 10 kilometers, regular fire extinguishers often prove powerless. The crew has to fight not just a fire, but a chemical reaction that is almost impossible to stop until the elements are completely burned out.
New Etiquette for Battery Transport
Despite the ban on usage, power banks can still be taken on board, but the procedure now resembles preparing to transport hazardous waste. The rules have become unprecedentedly strict, and passengers will have to get used to new rituals before boarding:
- All input and output connectors of the battery must be sealed with insulating tape, or the device must be in a special airtight case.
- It is strictly forbidden to hide power banks in the overhead luggage compartments.
- The device must always be in direct sight of the owner — for example, in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat.
The logic here is simple: if the device starts to smoke, the owner or a flight attendant should notice it immediately, not when melted plastic starts dripping from the luggage compartment. Low-cost carrier Eastar Jet first implemented such rules last fall, and now this has become a nationwide standard.
Context and Consequences
It is worth understanding that according to IATA, the number of incidents related to lithium batteries is increasing yearly in proportion to the amount of electronics in our pockets. South Korean airlines have simply decided not to wait for a disaster, but to act proactively. For passengers, this means only one thing: it is worth investing in devices with energy-efficient screens or simply remembering the existence of paper books, because sockets on airplanes are now a privilege, not a basic right.
While civil aviation struggles with the risks of consumer electronics, military technologies require a completely different level of support. For example, the 'Come Back Alive' fund recently donated mobile complexes for servicing F-16 aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, demonstrating the complexity of modern aviation infrastructure.
