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The Lufthansa Group, with airlines such as Swiss, Edelweiss, Lufthansa and Eurowings, tightened its rules for power banks at the beginning of 2026.
sda
A cell phone battery in checked baggage is enough for a passenger plane to have to make an unscheduled landing. This is exactly what happened on an Easyjet flight this week. Strict rules apply to lithium batteries due to the risk of fire.
Last Tuesday, in the middle of a flight from Hurghada to London, a concerned passenger contacted the crew. She had remembered that her checked baggage contained a power bank that was charging a cell phone. The pilot then decided to divert the plane to Rome as a precaution.
The incident caused nervousness among the 180 or so passengers, as it was initially unclear to many why the plane suddenly descended and changed course. Only later did it emerge that the cause was the small lithium battery.
The fact that an airplane has to make an emergency landing because of a power bank seems drastic at first. However, lithium-ion batteries are actually considered a serious safety risk in aviation. The reason is a physical process called "thermal runaway".
If a lithium-ion battery is damaged or becomes too hot, a dangerous chain reaction can occur. The battery continues to heat itself up, sometimes to several hundred degrees. In the worst case, fire, toxic gases or explosive reactions can occur.
Lithium batteries are therefore considered particularly delicate in aircraft, whether in power banks, smartphones or e-cigarettes. If a battery catches fire, the heat can spread to other batteries and trigger a dangerous chain reaction. An uncontrolled lithium fire in the baggage compartment could damage the structure of an aircraft.
In the passenger cabin, flight attendants can usually detect smoke or intense heat quickly and intervene. In the cargo hold, on the other hand, a battery fire may remain undetected for a long time, and access is difficult.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registered a total of 39 confirmed incidents involving lithium batteries on board aircraft in 2025. These include smoke development, overheating and fire. The number has been rising steadily for years.
Incidents occur time and again as a result. As recently as February, an Alaska Airlines flight in the USA had to turn back after a cell phone and a power bank caught fire during the flight. One person was injured.
Airlines and authorities have significantly tightened their rules for lithium batteries in recent years. What is allowed - and what passengers should be aware of.
Of course, many travelers still don't want to do without additional batteries altogether. Smartphones, tablets, noise-canceling headphones or mobile games consoles consume a lot of energy on long journeys.
Experts therefore recommend high-quality power banks from well-known manufacturers. Good devices have protection mechanisms against overheating or short circuits.
If you rarely travel, smaller batteries are also a good choice. In energy-saving mode, many modern smartphones get through a day's flying relatively well. Alternatively, power sockets at airports or integrated USB ports in the aircraft can help. However, the latter often charge slowly.
Frequent travelers are often better off flying with compact power packs with a quick-charging function instead of large additional batteries.
