Many objects must not be carried in hand luggage, including larger knives or liquids in containers with a capacity of more than 100 ml.
Therefore, it may be surprising at first that there are also articles that must be carried in hand luggage and are not allowed in checked baggage. These include, for example, external energy providers for mobile phones, tablets, etc. (so-called power banks).
Before departure, it is often mentioned in the safety instructions of flight attendants that the crew must be informed immediately if any electronic equipment on board becomes excessively hot or even catches fire. For this reason, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was banned last year.
The following video impressively illustrates the danger posed by defective power banks.
You don’t want to imagine what could happen if a power bank (or another larger battery) in a checked baggage, i.e. in an inaccessible place in the aircraft, reacted similarly. Although there are certain measures that are intended to prevent the worst from happening (e.g. fireproof containers in which some of the checked baggage is transported), such situations must nevertheless be prevented systematically and proactively.
This is one of many reasons why every checked baggage is X-rayed. Power banks are regularly removed without the passenger’s presence or knowledge.
For this reason and above all because of the safety and security risks described above, power banks, batteries, rechargeable batteries and the like should only be carried in hand luggage.