by jameavelh MULEN
May 8, 2025
TSA enforces compliance with new security regulations.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warns travelers that electronics containing lithium-ion batteries are no longer allowed in checked luggage. The agency’s summer travel advisory reminds passengers that the ban is in effect. Prohibited items include cell phone battery charging cases, rechargeable and non-rechargeable lithium batteries, cellphone batteries, laptop batteries, external batteries, and portable rechargers. However, travelers can still bring these items in their carry-on bags.
“Spare (uninstalled) lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries, including power banks and cell phone battery charging cases, must be carried in carry-on baggage only. When a carry-on bag is checked at the gate or at planeside, all spare lithium batteries and power banks must be removed from the bag and kept with the passenger in the aircraft cabin. The battery terminals must be protected from short circuits.”
TSA implemented the ban due to the fire risk posed following recent incidents involving lithium-ion batteries exploding in flight. Officials determined that an overheated power bank caused a fire that broke out on a Russian airplane in South Korea in January, leading to the evacuation of 179 passengers and six crew members. In November 2024, a Southwest flight from Denver was forced to evacuate after a passenger’s cellphone caught fire.
Portable chargers and power banks may experience thermal runawayin which a battery cell overheats without warning. Thermal runaway can occur if the battery is defective, overheated, overcharged, improperly packed, or exposed to water.
Flight crews are trained to respond to battery fires when one occurs in the airplane cabin. The FAA urges passengers to notify their flight crew immediately if their devices are overheating, expanding, smoking, or burning during a flight.
The TSA reminds passengers of these changes ahead of the new Real ID travel requirements, which went into effect on Wednesday, May 7. All passengers must have REAL ID-compliant identification to travel on commercial flights. REAL IDs are marked with a star in the upper right-hand corner. The TSA states that passengers who present non-REAL ID-compliant identification may face additional security screening.
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