Latest news with #portableChargers
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Travel + Leisure
03-07-2025
- Travel + Leisure
Flight Attendants and Frequent Fliers Alike Love This ‘Perfect' Travel Organizer—and It's Only $10 at Amazon
People have many opinions on which travel accessories are the best, from compression packing cubes that save luggage space to toiletry bags that can hang on the bathroom door. However, one underrated item that should be on every list is a tech organizer, because you do not want to deal with tangled cords and misplaced power adapters while you're on a trip. With a well-designed electronics case, everything from memory cards to portable chargers lives in one organized place. The top-selling tech organizer on Amazon is the most obvious choice, with over 30,000 ratings, including from the most practiced packing experts—flight attendants. We read through their reviews to find out why, astonishingly, one of these sells every three minutes. The FYY travel cable organizer pouch is 'the exact solution to the tangle of wire, chargers, reserve batteries, camera cards, etc.,' one reviewer wrote. The smallest size—7.5 by 4 inches—has eight pockets across two main zipper compartments. The pockets vary in size, some being small enough for a little flash drive and others large enough to fit the beefiest of portable chargers. For one flight attendant, it's the 'perfect system' that not only keeps items together and organized, but it also ensures some of the most fragile and valuable things you travel with stay safe from spills and jostling thanks to the padded, waterproof shell. There's a medium size (about eight by five inches and 2.5 inches deep) and a large size (9.5 by six by three) for travelers with more gear to tote. And, this organizer comes in a whopping 23 colors, so you can personalize it to match the rest of your travel gear. Reviewers credit the $10 case for bringing organization into their lives, both on the road and at home. For instance, one parent of a flight attendant bought it for their daughter because it can hold 'a little of everything,' like chargers, Band-Aids, medicine, and jewelry. Plenty of people say they use theirs every day, including one reviewer who lives in a tiny home and wrote that 'the constant tangle of cords and Bluetooth devices and external batteries was maddening,' but this 'perfect little organizer' provided an easy solution. 'We can stuff two people's worth of tiny tech and cords in here, zip it, and hang it on the hook near our keys, and the mess is no longer.' Feeling inspired to sort and assemble your gadgets now? We compiled more of the top-selling travel tech organizers to shop for as little as $6 below. At the time of publishing, the price started at $10. Love a great deal? Sign up for our T+L Recommends newsletter and we'll send you our favorite travel products each week.
CBS News
21-05-2025
- CBS News
Southwest Airlines to require portable chargers be kept out while in use due to battery fire concerns
Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them due to concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt. The Dallas-based airline announced the new policy that will go into effect on May 28 and said passengers may have already seen notifications about the rule when using the airline's app. There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous. There have already been 19 incidents involving the batteries this year, following last year's record high of 89, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics. The incidents have more than doubled since the pandemic-era low of 39 in 2020, and have climbed annually. Some research suggests that portable chargers might be the second-leading cause of battery fires on planes, only behind electronic cigarettes. Compared to the roughly 180,000 flights U.S. airlines operate each week, the number of incidents is still relatively small and lithium batteries can overheat anywhere. However, it is a growing concern for the airlines. "It's definitely a serious risk," said David Wroth, who studies the risks for UL Standards & Engagement and works with 37 airlines and battery manufacturers to minimize them. At least a couple of airlines UL is working with are reevaluating the risks associated with rechargeable batteries, so additional rule changes could be coming. Asian airlines enforce same rule While Southwest is the first U.S. airline to restrict the use of portable lithium-ion chargers, several Asian airlines took action earlier this year after a devastating fire aboard an Air Busan plane waiting to take off from an airport in South Korea in January. In the Korean airline fire in January, all 176 people aboard the plane had to be evacuated because the blaze burned through the plane's roof. The cause of that fire hasn't been officially determined, but several airlines and Korean regulators took action against portable chargers afterward. Korean airlines won't allow the chargers to be stored in overhead bins anymore; they must either be packed in a plastic bag or have their ports covered with insulating tape to keep them from touching metal. In addition, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways both prohibit the use or charging of portable power banks at all during flights. Officials want passengers to be responsible about packing Last summer, a smoking laptop in a passenger's bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. In 2023, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin. Southwest said that requiring these chargers to be kept out in the open when they are being used will help because "in the rare event a lithium battery overheats or catches fire, quick access is critical and keeping power banks in plain sight allow for faster intervention and helps protect everyone onboard." Experts have long recommended keeping rechargeable devices in reach during flights so they can be monitored for any signs of problems like becoming too hot to touch or starting to bulge or smoke. But the airlines have to rely on educating consumers and encouraging them to take precautions. "Ultimately, it comes down to a lot of personal responsibility that we as passengers have to take," Wroth said. Southwest will allow the chargers to be stored inside carry-on bags when they aren't in use. But a spokeswoman said the airline is just alerting customers about the policy before their flight and asking for their compliance. Wroth said that approach is probably best. "We have enough problems with unruly passengers already. And having cabin crew confront somebody over bringing something on board is not likely to be a good situation as well," Wroth said. The Transportation Security Administration has long prohibited e-cigarettes and chargers and power banks with lithium-ion batteries in checked bags, but allows them in carry-on bags. The rule exists precisely because fires in the cargo hold might be harder to detect and extinguish. The FAA recommends passengers keep cell phones and other devices nearby on planes so they can access them quickly. The agency said flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires. Passengers should notify the flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning. The latest research from UL Standards & Engagement said that data from 2024 suggests that portable chargers were to blame in 19% of the incidents, though that was only slightly ahead of the number of cell phone incidents. E-cigarettes accounted for 28% of the problems. Nearly one-third of all passengers carried portable chargers on flights last year. More than one-quarter of passengers surveyed last year said they put vaping cigarettes and portable chargers in checked bags. That is against federal rules, but Wroth said it might be as much an issue of them not understanding the dangers as much as it is passengers trying to hide the devices.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Washington Post
Southwest Airlines will require chargers be kept out while in use because of battery fire concerns
Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt. Southwest announced the new policy that will go into effect May 28 and said passengers may have already seen notifications about the rule when using the airline's app. While Southwest is the first U.S. airline to restrict the use of portable chargers like this, several Asian airlines have taken action earlier this year after a devastating fire aboard an Air Busan plane waiting to take off from an airport in South Korea in January.
