On Sept 4, a China Eastern plane made an emergency landing in Nanjing, after a passenger’s portable charger caught fire and triggered smoke detectors in the cabin. Police are still investigating the accident.
The flight was on its way from Nanjing to Xiamen, but had to return to the airport due. It is reported that the incident occurred around 8 am, about an hour after the plane took off.
The fire was extinguished by the crew on board, who responded quickly. One of the passengers posted a picture on Weibo, showing the scorch around the seat. No passenger was injured.
According to China Eastern, the flight crew members responded to contain safety risks properly and promptly. They decided to return to ensure safety.
The airport’s security department checked the portable charger that caused the accident and confirmed that it had a capacity of 40.7Wh, meeting security demands.
Strict Rules on Portable Chargers
After the accident, Nanjing airport warns that passengers should be aware that there are strict rules on batteries.
In China, airlines do not allow portable lithium ion batteries to be carried in checked luggage. They are allowed in carry-on luggage but limited to a maximum of 100Wh, or up to 160Wh with prior airline approval.
Each passenger cannot carry more than two such chargers. Using portable chargers during flights is prohibited.
Similar rules are applied in other countries due to safety concerns.
Electronic devices like mobile phones, portable chargers, and laptops often use rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which are likely to overheat and even ignite when if they overcharge or suffer damage.
There are 2 types of luggage on the airplane in China: checked luggage and carry-on luggage. The regulate weight for free luggage and items allowed are different in different seat class.
There are strict regulations about what is allowed in luggage and what is not in China. You should know clearly to avoid trouble when you check in.
Important documents, travel cheque, currency, bill of exchange, jewelry, precious metals and products, manuscript, medicine, and other items for urgent needed are not allowed to be packed into checked baggage.
Alcoholic items can only be packed into checked luggage, but the quantity shall meet the requirements:
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The quantity of the beverage whose alcohol content is lower than 24% is not restricted;
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Each passenger is allowed to take up to 5L alcoholic beverage and the alcohol content should be lower than 70%.
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The beverage that has alcohol content higher than 70% is prohibited.
Passengers boarding China domestic flights are not allowed to carry any liquid item, but they can consign it in checked luggage.
Small quantities of cosmetics are allowed to be carried, one piece for each type. All cosmetics must be placed in a separate bag. The container shall be no more than 100ml in volume.
Passengers can carry some small articles as hand luggage, except lighters or matches, liquid articles, sharps, etc.
Electronic products that contain lithium batteries, such as watches, calculators, cameras, cell phones, and portable chargers, PCs can be taken as hand luggage and consigned in the checked luggage. As we mentioned above, the rated energy of the batteries is limited to a maximum of 100Wh, or up to 160Wh with prior airline approval.
Besides the accidents caused by portable chargers, there are some other items or activities threatening the flight safety. Hacos has posted some articles about air accident and passengers allowance. Read them and know more:
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