If you’re planning to fly this summer, pay attention to this news: lithium batteries —the ones in your phone, your power bank, your laptop or your vape— have become the biggest safety risk for airplanes, according to the UK aviation authority. And the problem is growing: incidents with these devices on flights have doubled in just one year.
Specifically, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has detected that in 2025 there were 643 cases of devices with lithium batteries in checked luggage, compared to 316 the previous year. Incidents of devices that overheated or failed during the flight also doubled, going from 123 to 206. On average, according to the CAA, each person now carries four lithium-battery devices on every flight. And the problem is that, if one of these batteries overheats in the cargo hold —where nobody can see it or act— it can cause a fire that is impossible to control in time.
What can you do to travel safely? The rules are simple: power banks, phones, vapes and any device with a lithium battery must always go in your carry-on luggage, never in the bag you check in. Only two power banks per person are allowed and they cannot be charged during the flight. If you carry a laptop in checked luggage, it must be completely switched off. The reason is simple: in the cabin, the crew can detect overheating and act; in the cargo hold, they can’t. In fact, last month an EasyJet flight had to divert to Rome because there was a power bank in the hold, and in October a video went viral showing flames coming out of the overhead compartment of an Air China plane, caused by a lithium battery. Experts also recommend always buying chargers and batteries from well-known brands and avoiding cheap products from dubious sellers, which are the ones that usually cause these problems. Travel informed and, above all, travel safe.
— Marta, for inteligencia intermitente.
