Chinese manufacturers of power banks – the ubiquitous portable batteries used by travellers to charge smartphones, tablets and laptops – are under increased public scrutiny, following a spate of incidents in which defective units were found to have caught fire during commercial flights.
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That prompted the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to impose an emergency ban on air passengers carrying substandard power banks, a safety precaution that went into effect on June 28.
Portable lithium-ion batteries without the China Compulsory Certification (3C) safety mark – a mandatory quality assurance standard for many products sold on the mainland – were barred from domestic flights, according to the CAAC.
The rule, however, left many air travellers confused and resulted in piles of abandoned power banks at Chinese airports.
Under regulations that aviation authorities in Hong Kong and across Asia started implementing from April 7, airline passengers were barred from recharging power banks and using them to charge electronic devices during flights. Stowing power banks in the overhead cabin bins was also prohibited.
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Here is what we know so far about how this power bank scandal escalated.