South Korea announced stricter aviation safety measures effective March 1 following a fire incident on an Air Busan plane at Gimhae International Airport on January 28. So, what should you know about it?
Among the new regulations are limits on the number and capacity of portable batteries allowed on flights. Passengers can only carry a maximum of five batteries with a capacity of 100 watt-hours (Wh) or approximately 26,000-27,000mAh, while batteries exceeding 160Wh (approximately over 43,000mAh) are completely prohibited.
Additionally, charging portable batteries on board is also not permitted. Security checks will be tightened to ensure compliance with these regulations. The Ministry of Transport has also decided to ban the storage of power banks and electronic cigarettes in the overhead cabin storage space, as previously practised by Air Busan.
Moreover, this decision was made to reduce the risk of fire caused by portable batteries, although the exact cause of the fire on the Air Busan plane is still under investigation. The incident was detected by the cabin crew at the rear of the aircraft, but all passengers were safely evacuated.
According to international aviation safety standards, batteries cannot be placed in checked baggage as they pose a risk of causing a fire if they short-circuit due to damage or manufacturing defects. We have yet to confirm other details. So, we should wait for more confirmation from South Korea.
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