Report: Russia’s aviation regulator asks Transport Ministry to ban power bank use on flights

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency has asked the Transport Ministry to ban the use of power banks on aircraft, following an incident aboard a Ural Airlines flight in which such a device caught fire mid-flight, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reports.

The fire broke out on a Ural Airlines flight from Yekaterinburg to Istanbul in February 2026. Flight attendants quickly extinguished the blaze and the flight continued, according to a report by the Ural Interregional Air Transport Administration.

The commission that investigated the incident said in its report that, given the recurring nature of such fires, authorities should consider amending aviation regulations — up to and including restricting or outright banning the use of power banks aboard aircraft for the duration of flights.

Ural Airlines told Izvestia that the carrier is already following Rosaviatsiya’s recommendations and has updated its carriage rules accordingly. S7 stated that under its rules, power banks may only be carried in hand luggage, may not be kept in overhead bins, and may not be used during flight. Aeroflot has similar rules, while Azur Air additionally requires that the devices be kept in protective packaging.

After Izvestia published its report, Rosaviatsiya stated there were currently no grounds for an outright ban on carrying power banks. Restrictions on such devices already exist, the agency said, governed by international dangerous goods air transport safety requirements as well as individual airline rules. Rosaviatsiya added that the Ural interregional administration commission’s position was advisory in nature.

The International Air Transport Association tightened its rules on carrying power banks and devices with lithium batteries aboard aircraft, effective January 1, 2026. The association noted at the time that while fires involving such devices are extremely rare, the number of lithium-ion batteries transported by air had grown by a quarter over the previous year. IATA banned power banks from checked baggage traveling separately from passengers and from storage in overhead bins — in both cases, a fire might not be detected immediately. Under IATA rules, power banks may not be charged from aircraft power sources or used to charge other devices during taxiing, takeoff, or landing.