Southwest Airlines made changes on Friday regarding battery-powered mobility devices, requiring passengers to remove lithium batteries from their wheelchairs or mobility aids before boarding. The airline has made these changes to reduce fire risks stemming from lithium batteries.
The airline becomes the first in the United States to implement this requirement for mobility devices.
The raw text on Southwest’s website reads: “If the battery is securely attached to a wheelchair or mobility aid, protected from short circuiting, and the device can protect itself from unintentional activation, the battery may remain installed in the device. If any of the above requirements are not met, the battery must be removed and transported separately as a carry-on item.”
Transporting the lithium batteries of the mobility devices as a carry-on also falls under Southwest’s single battery size limit of 300 watt-hours (Wh). If a device uses two batteries, each one cannot exceed 160 Wh.
This comes days after the FAA issued a safety alert to airlines about the risks involved with passenger lithium batteries. The administration recommended that airlines review messaging practices to passengers regarding lithium batteries and to ensure that crewmembers are familiar with the firefighting process in the event of an incident.
According to FAA data, air travel incidents involving lithium batteries are on the rise. The 2024 figure of 89 incidents is nearly double that of the number in 2017, at 47.
Many airlines around the world, particularly those in Asia, have implemented strict rules after a fire involving Air Busan flight BX391 in January.
Featured image by the author.
