Biman bans charging, use of power banks on passenger jets

The move follows the recent fire incident in a South Korean plane

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has banned the use of power banks for charging on aircrafts during flights.

The national flag carrier made the announcement in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening.

“Valued passengers of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are not permitted to charge portable power banks via the onboard USB ports, or use power banks to charge their personal devices throughout the duration of the flight,” the post attached to a reel read.

“For the safety of the passengers, Biman Bangladesh Airlines strictly follows Dangerous Goods Regulations of the International Air Transport (IATA) regarding the carriage of power banks, which are classified as lithium batteries,” it added.

On Jan 28, fire engulfed an Air Busan plane in South Korea, as the country’s transport ministry identified a “spare power bank as the possible cause of a fire” citing interim investigation results.

On Mar 14, the ministry cited investigators to say the fire was first detected in a luggage bin above row 30 on the left side of the plane about 20 minutes after the delayed flight to Hong Kong from Busan had been scheduled to depart.

Fortunately, no one died in the incident as 170 passengers and six crew were evacuated from the Airbus plane, which the fire destroyed, though at least three people were hurt.