BANGKOK — Passengers boarding planes at Bangkok's Survarnabhumi Airport are no longer allowed to carry USB battery packs for their cell phones that exceed certain limits of charging capacity.
Raweewan Netarakavesana, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said yesterday that the regulation is imposed for safety reasons, and that the restriction applies to both "carry-on" and checked luggage.
According to the new regulation, only two cellphone battery packs, not exceeding 32,000 mAh each, will be allowed onboard.
Samat Pum-orn, a director of Thai Airways' security department, explained that the ban is necessary because of several incidents of portable cellphone battery chargers catching fire during flight.
"Spare phone battery is a dangerous device," Mr. Samat said. "If the lithium inside the device is heated, it can ignite."
Mr. Samat added that passengers who have any questions should consult airport staff during their check-in procedures.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is one of Bangkok's two airports. The other airport, Don Mueang Airport, has not reported enforcing a similar policy.
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