All South Korean airlines will ban the use of portable battery packs on board all flights starting this month.
According to the aviation industry on the 20th, T’way Air notified passengers that beginning on the 23rd it will prohibit charging portable battery packs on board, as well as using them to charge other electronic devices such as mobile phones.
Passengers may still bring portable battery packs into the cabin, but they must take steps to prevent short circuits — such as covering the terminals with insulating tape or storing each pack separately in a plastic bag or individual pouch — and keep them in a visible place.
With T’way’s move, all 11 domestic airlines will prohibit in-flight use of portable battery packs.
Five Hanjin Group airlines — Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul — have banned their use on board since January. Jeju Air also began the same measure that month.
Eastar Jet ran a three-month pilot ban starting in October last year and has formally adopted the policy this year.
Air Premia and Aero K also banned in-flight use starting this month. Parata Air has kept the ban in place since it began operations in September last year.
Airlines have tightened carry-on rules after a January last year incident in which a portable battery pack caught fire on an Air Busan passenger plane preparing for takeoff at Gimhae International Airport, destroying the aircraft, followed by similar incidents.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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