NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is reviewing the norms related to carrying of power banks inside flights.
The development comes after an Indigo flight from Hyderabad carrying 198 passengers caught fire after landing at Chandigarh airport on May 5. The fire was triggered allegedly by a power bank. The fire in the cabin was doused and all the passengers plus six crew members were evacuated safely.
The aviation regulator, DGCA, had already revised the rules pertaining to power banks in January this year following a fire incident due to a power bank on board an Indigo flight which was taxiing at Delhi airport before departing to Dimapur on October 20, 2025.
As per the rule, power banks cannot be used to charge mobile phones or any gadget during a flight. It also mandates that the power bank needs to be placed only in the hand or carry-on baggage inside the flight and must not be placed in the overhead compartment.
“The rules were already in place. However, it was not adhered to very strictly neither by the passengers nor the crew. This incident is a wake-up call. The regulator will now put in place measures to ensure that these rules are followed strictly by all airlines and passengers,” an airline source told this newspaper.
The regulator is also examining the rules in place for carrying of power banks followed by airlines in other countries, the source privy to the matter further revealed.