Coming soon, curbs on carrying power banks on aircraft

Coming soon, curbs on carrying power banks on aircraft

 Saurabh.Sinha@timesofindia.com 23.10.2025

New Delhi : India may soon adopt stricter rules for power banks on board aircraft following recent instances worldwide, including one in the country, of lithium-ion batteries catching fire. On Sunday, a passenger’s power bank caught fire on a Dimapur-bound IndiGo flight when the aircraft was taxiing at Delhi airport.

 Now, Directorate General of Civil Aviation is “taking up this issue”, said a senior official. The regulator is learnt to be taking technical inputs on the issue. Foreign airlines are increasingly putting restrictions on power banks. Some require the power bank to be kept in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in front and not in overhead bins. 

From Oct 1, Dubai-based Emirates “prohibited” use any power bank. While it allows a passenger to carry one power bank under 100 Watt Hours, Singapore Airlines from April 1 did not allow flyers to charge power banks via onboard USB ports, or use them to charge their devices.

 Last week, there was a lithium battery fire on an Air China flight from China to South Korea, forcing it to be diverted to Shanghai. 

Fuel leak scare: IndiGo flight to Srinagar lands in Varanasi An IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Srinagar with 166 people on board was diverted to Varanasi on Wednesday after the crew suspected a fuel leak. 

The pilots sought priority landing in Varanasi, where they safely touched down at 4.06pm, officials said. The aircraft — an Airbus 320neo — remains grounded for checks. TNN