HIBAPRESS – Agencies
All Korean airlines have banned the use of portable chargers during flights, amid increasing safety concerns following a series of battery-related fire incidents.
According to the Korean news agency Yonhap, TY Air announced on Thursday that it will prohibit passengers from charging smartphones and other electronic devices using portable chargers during flights, starting Monday. Yonhap reported that with this decision, TY Air became the last company among 11 passenger airlines in the country to adopt this measure. Low-cost airline Eastar Jet was the first Korean airline to ban the use of portable chargers during flights in October. Jeju Air, the country's largest budget airline, implemented this policy in late January. The national airline Korean Air and its four subsidiaries, namely Asiana, Jin Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul, also implemented this ban in late January. Airlines explained that passengers can still carry portable chargers in the passenger cabin, but their ends must be covered with insulating tape or placed in a separate bag, and they must remain within reach at all times and not be stored in overhead compartments. Concerns about the use of portable batteries on board aircraft increased after a large fire broke out on a Air Busan plane at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in January 2025.
