Handling of Mobile Batteries on Aircraft to Change from July 8

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Scheduled Airlines Association will change the handling of mobile batteries on aircraft from July 8.

This measure is in response to incidents of mobile batteries emitting smoke or catching fire on board aircraft both domestically and internationally. Passengers are requested not to place mobile batteries in overhead compartments and to keep them in a location where their status can always be monitored. Additionally, charging portable electronic devices from mobile batteries and charging mobile batteries from in-flight power sources should be done in places where their status can always be monitored.

Currently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, based on international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), prohibits mobile batteries from being included in checked baggage and restricts the number and capacity of mobile batteries that can be carried on board.

In January this year, an Air Busan aircraft partially burned due to a fire thought to be caused by a mobile battery, among a series of incidents involving fires or smoke. Chinese authorities have also banned the carriage of mobile batteries not certified under the “3C” standard on domestic flights.