by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 5:50 PM ET, Tue April 7, 2026
If being able to charge your electronic devices while flying is a priority, take note: Southwest will soon begin limiting passengers to one lithium portable charger on flights.
In addition, lithium charges will be banned entirely from being stowed in overhead bins, according to a report from Reuters.
The new policy is meant to reduce the risk of inflight battery fires and Southwest is not the first example of new measures aimed at curbing the use of lithium batteries.
Just a month ago, for instance, the United Nations aviation agency -- the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization -- announced that use of power banks, or portable, rechargeable battery packs, would be limited to two per passenger. The measure also prohibited recharging of the power banks while flying, according to Reuters.
Similarly, in January, Lufthansa Group rolled out restrictions related to power bank usage flights. In that case, the airline issued a statement saying: “power banks may neither be used nor charged on board Lufthansa Group airlines flights.”
The statement added that “each passenger may carry a maximum of two power banks in their carry-on baggage,” but the devices can only be stored “in the seat pocket, on the passenger’s person, or in their carry-on luggage under the seat.”
Southwest’s new policy on power banks will take effect on April 20. The carrier has also announced that portable chargers are no longer allowed to be recharged using in-seat power.
In late 2025, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert to airlines surrounding risks caused by lithium batteries in aircraft passenger compartments. At that time, FAA data showed that there had been 97 battery incidents involving smoke, fire or extreme heat on flights last year, up from 89 in 2024.
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