Southwest Airlines Limits Passengers to One Portable Charger on Flights

The airline cited lithium fire risks for the decision.

A Southwest Airlines flight arrives at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colo., on Nov. 8, 2025. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Southwest Airlines announced on Tuesday that passengers will be limited to one lithium portable charger each, while banning them from being stored in overhead bins to reduce the risk of battery fires.

Passengers will also no longer be allowed to recharge the power banks using in-seat power outlets, the airline said. They must remain either in an under-seat carry-on bag or on the person.

The policy goes into force on April 20 and applies across the airline’s network of flights. Southwest said the change is designed “to strengthen our ability to contain and mitigate lithium battery incidents, including reducing the risk of battery fires.”

Company officials added that the entire fleet will have in-seat power by the middle of 2027, reducing the need for travelers to bring their own portable chargers. The airline did not detail enforcement steps or penalties for violations, but it framed the limit as a direct response to the hazards posed by lithium-ion batteries in the confined space of an airplane cabin.

The latest step continues a pattern of tightening rules around portable power sources.

Southwest had already moved earlier to address the same risks. In May 2025, the airline required passengers to keep portable chargers visible while using them, a measure that took effect on May 28 that year. That earlier policy formed part of a broader push to keep potential fire sources in plain sight for quick crew response.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a safety alert in September 2025, warning carriers about lithium batteries stored in passenger compartments. The agency recorded 97 incidents involving smoke, fire, or extreme heat on flights the previous year—up from 89 the year before.

The agency said incidents triggered by lithium-ion batteries are now, on average, a weekly occurrence at roughly 1.3 incidents per week. Since 2015, the number of such events has increased by more than 330 percent.

Between March 3, 2006, and March 7, 2026, a total of 709 lithium battery incidents have been recorded, with the majority of cases coming from passenger carriers.

Battery packs and batteries accounted for the bulk of these incidents, with 229 events, followed by e-cigarettes/vape devices, with 122, cell phones, with 81, laptops, with 70, and the rest involving other electronic and medical devices.

On Nov. 5, 2025, a smoke detector alarm from the lavatory of a United Airlines flight departing from San Francisco went off.

“Flight attendants found a passenger in the lavatory who stated their laptop began to overheat. A flight attendant placed the laptop in a thermal containment bag, and the aircraft continued to its destination without further incident,” the FAA said.

Earlier, on Oct. 5, 2025, a passenger’s carry-on bag caught fire during the boarding process in Buffalo, New York, with lithium batteries being the culprit. Passengers were removed from the aircraft, while the fire was extinguished and the batteries were taken out of the plane.

Lithium cells power everything from phones to laptops to the chargers now limited by Southwest. When damaged, overcharged, or exposed to heat, they can ignite in ways difficult to extinguish mid-flight.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.