[Liftyee]

Interesting... anyone know if they've released the rationale/data behind this? I could see a few reasons why power banks present a larger risk than phones/computers (battery capacity, quality control), but it seems like the 100Wh battery limit already covers one of these.

In a similar vein, China banned non-CCC certified (the equivalent to UL or CE) power banks on flights from 2025, which seems to be targeting the quality control side of the problem. Not just on paper - the security officers inspected every lithium battery I was carrying, even the one in my flashlight.

[capnrefsmmat]

Discussion is included in the Dangerous Goods Panel report, agenda item 4.3 (pages 39-41) and Appendix E (beginning page 89). https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/DangerousGoods/DGP%...

Paragraph 4.3.3:

> While data indicated that portable electronic devices were more often the cause of fire in aircraft cabins than power banks were, the latter were a significant concern due to their increased use and a prevalence of lower-quality products with defects or vulnerabilities that were more likely to lead to thermal events. Power banks were also not offered the same level of protection that batteries installed in portable electronic devices were provided. The amendments therefore focused on power banks.

[trebligdivad]

Another possibility is that you tend to keep an eye on where your phone and laptop are; there have been some plane fires where people drop a phone into a seat and it ends up getting bent, but at least they notice it fairly quickly. (Will people know the direction if their USB-C power bank is charging from their phone or their phone is charging from their power bank?)

[tristanj]

Look up Air Busan Flight 391, a power bank in someone's carryon caused the entire plane to burn down in 5 minutes. The airplane (an Airbus A321) was destroyed. The only reason there was not total loss of life was because the plane hadn't taken off yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Busan_Flight_391

[ranger_danger]

This could happen with any battery-powered device though. But I don't see ICAO or FAA banning e.g. laptops any time soon, even though they may carry more energy than a single power bank.

[Blackthorn]

Have you seen what passes for quality on the random power banks sold by Amazon?

[markdown]

Random power banks are about the same quality as random USB drives.

[NetMageSCW]

Fortunately random USB drives are unlikely to catch fire.

[zarzavat]

Phones tend to be designed by companies competent enough to design a phone. There's a skill floor required that just doesn't exist for power banks.

Another reason is that phones get replaced more frequently, whereas a power bank will be continually used essentially until failure. I only stopped using my last power bank because it puffed up like a balloon.

But yes, probably where this is all headed is that some day in-seat power will be banned so that you can only discharge and not charge your devices.

[mtmail]

Galaxy Note 7 was a notable exception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Note_7#Battery_...

[dbcurtis]

It seems to me that compared to your phone, a power brick dangling off a charging cable is much more likely to slip off your lap unnoticed and get wedged in the seat hinge only to get subsequently punctured.

I recently took a flight where I had a laptop, my phone, a power brick, a new power brick for my wife, a second phone (for reasons) and a battery for a piece of ham radio equipment in my backpack. As I got on the plane, I was thinking I was probably one of the risker passengers on board :) Anyway, when I use the brick, I keep it zipped in a jacket pocket with just the charing cable coming out in an effort to keep it from finding its way to a place that it shouldn't.

[sofixa]

> I could see a few reasons why power banks present a larger risk than phones/computers (battery capacity, quality control), but it seems like the 100Wh battery limit already covers one of these.

Yeah, and it's the other one that is the main problem. It is simply impossible to know the quality of a power bank by looking at it.

> China banned non-CCC certified (the equivalent to UL or CE)

And it costs nothing to stamp the logo as if you're certified without actually going through any certification. Powerbanks are almost expendable, and can be acquried from supermarkets, corner shops, airports, even night clubs. There are even disposable ones (horrible idea). The more complex and expensive the device (like a laptop), the more certain can you be that there will be at least some quality control. In a $5/5eur powerbank, which any one could potentially be, it's almost guaranteeed there would be none.

[fmajid]

One deterrent is, in China corporate criminals are executed, like those who put melamine in infant formula.

[seanmcdirmid]

> One deterrent is, in China corporate criminals are executed, like those who put melamine in infant formula.

At least in that case, no corporate executives were executed (I was living in China at the time so followed the case closely):

Those Executed:

Zhang Yujun: A farmer convicted of producing and selling over 770 tons of melamine-laced "protein powder" to dairy wholesalers.

Geng Jinping: A milk collection center manager who added the toxic powder to fresh milk before selling it to major dairies like the Sanlu Group.

Corporate Executives: The highest-ranking executive involved, Tian Wenhua (former chairwoman of Sanlu Group), was sentenced to life imprisonment rather than death. Other executives received prison terms ranging from 5 to 15 years.

Other Penalties: A third man, Gao Junjie, received a suspended death sentence (which typically commutes to life in prison), and several others received life sentences or long-term imprisonment.

[bilbo0s]

That's awesome for consumers in China.

What about the rest of us?

That kind of fraud is oftentimes only a fine in many other nations.

[hdgvhicv]

Maybe we should get our governments to execute corporate criminals?

[Ekaros]

And stock holders. Too long they have gotten the profits, but suffered none of the losses personally from their own bank accounts.

[SoftTalker]

The Chinese fly internationally too. So there's some motivation to not have these in other countries.

[bilbo0s]

Not really worried about the Chinese. As was pointed out, they just hang a sword of damocles over the head of every entrepreneur and engineer who even thinks about doing something like that.

What about power banks from India? Vietnam? Malaysia? Korea?

That's what I'm saying. If there are nations where you can get away with it, then those power banks can end up in Western, African or South American markets.

(I'm counting getting a fine, or paying a bribe, as getting away with it. I don't really consider those punishments that will provide sufficient deterrent.)

[seanmcdirmid]

> What about power banks from India? Vietnam? Malaysia? Korea?

90% of powerbanks made are from mainland china. Worrying about powerbanks made outside of China is like worrying about guns made outside of the USA, theoretically possible, but those countries are so dominant and efficient in those fields that it is more of a "what if" rather than a real concern.

[whatshisface]

You can get away with it in the US, if you can get regulators to approve it.

[yftsui]

> “China banned non-CCC certified, … which seems to be targeting the quality control side of the problem”

that’s not fully true though, ROMOSS is the brand that sold power banks caught fire, however all of those were CCC certified.